|
This
Player Enjoys His Baseball
Pitching Instruction a lot but…
Have you ever had one
of those days when something or someone says really
surprises you?
I had one recently.
Let me explain.
One of the most
frequent....I won’t say complaints….but challenges,
parents express to me is that their kids aren’t
working very hard away from their instruction. Now
don’t get me wrong, it’s not all the parents and
kids, just a few. But, we as parents all go through
this challenge with our kids.
Is this
normal…typical? I think so. How many of us adults
can train on their own and keep up the schedule and
intensity of our workouts without some help? Not
many if you ask me.
Look at some of the
best athletes in sports today. Most, if not all,
have their own personal trainers. Why? To help keep
them on track. To do the extra work. To keep the
intensity of their training up.
I work with a lot of
baseball pitchers….and hitters for that matter.
Recently I had a conversation with one of my
long-time students and his parents. I’ve been
working with this student primarily on a one-on-one
basis. Let’s call him Cartman to keep his anonymity.
Cartmans a pretty shy
person, but is very driven to become a great
baseball pitcher. He takes instruction and coaching
extremely well. What I’ve noticed recently is that
his training has been…..well…shall we say
lackluster.
He’s been struggling
with his motivation a little lately. I can’t blame
him. It’s a tough grind….to train five or six days a
week.
He’s always been a
little reluctant to join our Elite Pitching Class. I
was always a little curious as to why he shied away
from the class. Was he too shy or nervous? Did he
think he would get a better workout one-on-one?
I don’t know.
I suggested to him
that he try our class. I wanted to see if the high
energy in the class would help him get motivated
again. Break things up for him a little.
A few weeks ago,
Cartman gave the class a try. As I watched him go
through the class, I noticed he was smiling,
laughing, but working a lot harder. This continued
all week and into the next.
When I had a chance,
I asked him how he was doing and if he enjoyed the
class and if he was having any fun. I was pleasantly
surprised with his answer. He told me it was really
motivating to see the other guys work hard. He says
the camaraderie and the fun banter going on makes it
feel like a team atmosphere. Boy, was I glad to hear
that. That’s exactly why we put these classes
together. To help make the training a lot more fun
and generate some high energy in the academy.
Was it the class or
was it just breaking things up a little?
I believe Cartman’s
motivation was renewed again because of the
camaraderie and the high energy levels in the class.
We all need social interaction. The class provided
him with some social interaction with like-minded
athletes and it broke up the routine again.
One of the biggest
things I got out of this “experiment” was that
Cartman was having fun. When we are enjoying what we
are doing, we are going to put a lot more effort
into the activity.
You coaches out there
listening?
Let’s make the game
fun again….and the training. If it becomes work…or
drudgery, we will never be successful. The brain
tells the body that the activity is drudgery and
doesn’t want to do it. Who would. To me, pulling
weeds is drudgery. To someone else, it is fun. They
are probably a lot better at it than I am. I love to
hit golf balls. Now that’s not drudgery. For my wife
Laura, going to hit golf balls doesn’t motivate her.
If you are in the
Portland area and are looking for a bit of fun and
training, check out one of our classes like our
Elite Pitching Classes for the serious pitcher, or
our popular Approach Hitting class. For the younger
ballplayer, we have our Baseball 101 class where
you’ll work on fielding, hitting and pitching.
CLICK HERE
So, keep the training
fun and a little competitive for your best results.
Until next time,
Train Like a Champion
Today!
P.S. Here’s that link
again for information on classes at the academy.
CLICK HERE
|
