On Doing The Work

Since my son was 4, I've coached his baseball team. This year, he turned 9 and we both agreed that it was time for Dad to take a step back so I'm just helping out on game days for the less competitive of the two teams he plays on.

It's a lot of new guys. Kids who are just playing baseball for the first time which should've started two years ago are just now getting the chance to.

The challenge with that is that you end up with two groups - kids who've been playing since they were three years old...and first-timers.

It's the age where the kids are pitching and there are only three ways to get out of an inning:

• Make 3 outs.
• The other team scores 5 runs.
• The other team bats through all 9 hitters.

This is where it starts to get interesting.

The challenge with that is that when you've got a bunch of little guys playing for the first time, there will be a lot of learning - especially for aspiring young pitchers.

Pitching at 8 and 9 years old is one of the most complex parts of the game.

You're out there, all alone, with 8 of your buddies staring at you hoping you throw a strike.

Parents from both teams are staring at you - half hoping you strike the other kid out, the other half hoping he crushes a home run off of you.

And for the uninitiated AND initiated alike, the pressure is real...especially when things start to go wrong.

Over the last few weeks, I've seen a lot of really excited little boys trot out to the mound, excited for their first opportunity to pitch.

And when things go wrong, that excitement fades very quickly.

Kids start getting hits, or you can't seem to throw a pitch even near the plate and are just walking everyone.

There are no outs, bases loaded, and the biggest kid on their team is coming up.

And that's where character is made.

The decision to play.

My son and I discussed that this rec baseball season would be a tough one. He chose to play travel baseball to scratch his competitive itch, and as part of that agreement...he would fulfill his commitment to his rec team as well.

We knew a lot of the kids on his team in particular were new to the sport, so he committed to being a good example and leader - which is his wheelhouse.

They've lost every single game this year. Typically, they've lost by 10 or more runs, forcing an end to every game before actually playing all of the innings.

On the flip side to that, a lot of new guys have gotten an opportunity to play and to learn - but sometimes baseball teaches hard lessons.

When you're losing games in blowout fashion, it usually means the pitcher is getting clobbered too. That means that some of our guys who've pitched have really been through the wringer this year.

Along the way, I've taken time to teach them some important life lessons that have been good reminders for me so I hope you find value in them too.

1. Keep Doing The Work - When the hope wears from their face and they look like they want someone to come to save them, I remind them - "keep doing the work!". It's become a mantra for us and is a great reminder that sometimes, despite your absolute best effort, there is absolutely nothing you can do to make a situation better (or to keep it from getting worse) except to continue doing the work.
2. Lucky Breaks Go Both Ways - Most often this is reserved for that pitch that was super close to being a strike but got called a 'ball'. Particularly during the aforementioned struggle session when nothing is going right and their biggest kid is coming up. On the flip side - when a call goes your way, take it and say 'thank you'.
3. The Only Way To Get A Hit Is To Swing The Bat - Every kid wants to get a hit. Every kid's parent wants them to get a hit. Some kids just want to get a hit so that their parent leaves them alone about it. Again, when you're getting blown out every game, there are not a whole lot of hits going your way, SO I tell every kid the same thing when they walk up to the plate - have fun, and swing the bat...the only way to get a hit is to swing the bat.

And that works - "have fun and swing the bat!". It's conveniently also the instruction manual for cracking open a pi?ata, which is a good analog for first-time baseball players, it turns out.

So if it feels like you're getting clobbered and none of your pitches are reaching the plate, just remember - keep doing the work because lucky breaks go both ways, and the only way to get a hit is to swing the bat.

See ya next week.