President's Day 2012

Baseball in February
Tournaments | High School

The cold, the wind, the rain. February baseball needs to deal with all three and baseball families and players make adjustments.

This President's Day weekend all three (cold, wind & rain) came in strong Friday night and shut down baseball in the 972 area code, leaving families and players indoors, dry & warm.

Question: Is playing baseball in February just a waste of time in North Texas?
Playing baseball in February is like stealing base second base. Stealing second base? For a team/player that knows how to steal bases - the odds are good that they will steal second and be in scoring position. For a team/player that does not know how to steal bases - you will give a defense an out and possibly put your batter in a whole.

Playing baseball in February all depends on the experience of your team; families, players and coaches.

Experienced Team: An experienced team will leverage indoor workouts for more than just hitting - know how to use small fields for situations and positioning, build muscle memory for skills and drills, and slowly get their pitchers arms in shape. An experienced team - adjusts to weather; knows that it is okay to cancel practice if the weather doesn't cooperate, knows to add a practice to take advantage good weather, has a flexible practice plan, and discusses situations to train the baseball mind. The weather never frustrates or worries this team.

In-Experienced Team: An in-experienced team will force workouts indoors and is compelled to 'keep up with the Jones'. This team will only use the indoor workouts for hitting - maybe pitching - but never realizes that they could be training the baseball mind. This team never cancels practice and doesn't ad-hoc schedule practices to adjust to weather changes. This team is often frustrated and worries that their players are 'getting behind'.

Final Thoughts: Baseball in February is not a waste of time, just like stealing second base. Teams just need to know how to leverage indoor workouts, have confidence that 'one practice' is not going to make-or-break a season and prepare their families for cancellations and adjustments. Keeping February workouts lite, focused on fundamentals and developing baseball thinking should be the focus in February baseball.

So this President's Day 2012 weekend, I sit - indoors, dry and warm. Tournaments, games, scrimmages and practices cancelled - it's okay to take a day off. Enjoy your day today, enjoy your weekend off - because as you know - when March comes around it's "Madness!!"

Sportsmanship

At some point all of us – even the most successful professional athletes – have to venture out into the business world or what some people like to call the “real world.” While it is our primary goal to help the young baseball players improve in those sports, we are very aware that there is more to life than athletics. There are many valuable life lessons that can be communicated through sports participation, and it is our hope that the young athletes take away something that will help them later on in life. One of those key lessons that we hope to impart is the value of sportsmanship.

When people think of sportsmanship, they naturally think about sports. Well, sportsmanship is defined in this way: Someone who plays fair, sticks to the rules and accepts defeat without any rancor or bitterness. On the field, a good sport plays hard and tries his or her absolute best to win within the scope of the rules. A good sport doesn’t complain to the officials, doesn’t “trash talk” and helps an opponent who falls down get back to his or her feet. When all is said and done, this person has no regrets. The athlete put forth his or her best effort and played fairly, earning the admiration and respect of teammates, coaches, officials and opposing players. Despite being a true competitor, this person is willing to openly congratulate opponents and accept even the most bitter of outcomes, because he or she knows that there was nothing more that could have been done within rules of the game to change the end result.

Just because the root sports actually is part of the word sportsmanship doesn’t mean that sportsmanlike behavior is important only on athletic fields. In life, people who are honest, consistently give their best effort, don’t make excuses, respect others and are able to accept everyday outcomes without complaint or holding grudges are generally the ones who succeed. They are the type of people that any wise CEO would want to build a company or organization around. Because of their attitude, work ethic and professionalism, those who consistently exhibit sportsmanlike behavior in the “real world” earn the respect of their peers, have many friends and admirers and enjoy the highest level of job satisfaction. People will go out of their way to help make a good sport successful. They are people who can go to bed every night satisfied, knowing that they have given their best no matter the outcomes of that particular day.

In life, each day presents many ups and downs. There are far more small defeats than major successes. Good sports don’t get bogged down in these small setbacks. They accept the outcomes, acknowledge that someone might have had a better idea and push on toward bigger and better things. For people of that mindset, success is right around the corner. For poor sports there are nothing but excuses and complaints, which suck up energy and waste valuable time.

A good sport believes that his or her approach is the right one and will not resort to underhanded or deceitful tactics for the sake of improving the results. This person goes back to the drawing board and puts in the time necessary to achieve a more desirable outcome, confident that his or her approach will ultimately lead to success. Poor sports are easily frustrated and often resort to tactics that may prove successful in the short term, but ultimately come back to haunt them.

Coaches, managers and executives always will find a place for those who display the traits of good sportsmanship. Others will come and go – either because they become too miserable, resort to dishonesty or wear out their welcome. Remember that sports help develop young athletes’ sportsmanlike traits and will set them up for success on the field, in the classroom and beyond.

Winter Break | What to do?

In this competitive 972 Area Code - baseball is a year round sport - so there is only a short break that comes around for players. One of the breaks coming up is the Winter break. So...what do you do during the Winter break.

REST YOUR ARM
It has been said, "Your arm only has a certain number of throws in it." With young arms and bodies growing - it is during these breaks that you want to give your arm a rest. Playing baseball all year round and throwing all year round - puts a lot of throws in your arm and overuse may stunt the growth and development you will need later. Rest your arm.

If you are worried about arm strength - don't be. This will come - and this will come as you grow older and with the development and conditioning of your legs. Taking a break from throwing will give your arm muscles a chance to grow, bones to set and tendons to rest.

GET YOUR LEGS IN SHAPE
Run, run and do more running. Mix it up with long distance, sprints and jump rope. Your legs are a key component for baseball. You just don't use your legs for running around the bases or tracking down balls. Your legs are used to hit (hit with power)...your legs are used to throw (throw for distance and speed)...your legs get your through the spring season.

Run, sprint, jog, jump rope, ladder drills - get your legs in shape over the winter break - you will be surprised at far you will go in the spring with your legs solidly under you.

WORK YOUR CORE
Along with your legs, your core (abs and back) are critical for baseball - hitting and throwing. Get your abs and back in shape - sit-ups, supermans, bridges, weighted balls, trunk twists. After every running session do some ab and back strengthening drills.

SWING THE BAT
You don't always have to go to the cages to keep your swing in tact. Do some dry cuts - this only takes a small amount of space and while you take dry cuts, you can work your brain with some visualization drills. If you can get to a cage, get some swings in and focus on strong technique, don't worry about power and timing. Get your swing technically correct and when the spring rolls around, you will have your legs and core ready to go to supply the power you need.

Rest the arm, get your legs and core in shape and keep swinging the bat.....have a great winter break and an awesome spring season.