Every coach is looking for the player that possesses leadership and mental toughness. The one thing that has not changed in our game forever is the importance of giving your best effort all the time and not just when things are going well for you or your team. Effort is something that we have total control over and there should never be a good reason why we cannot give our best effort every moment we are on a field. Whether it is the biggest game of the year or just a practice, effort is paramount in building long term success. The game is tough enough and good players must understand the importance of playing the game one pitch at a time and winning each pitch, which results in winning games. It is often seen that players and teams will come out strong and get a lead against an opponent and then put their effort on cruise. How many times have you seen a let down when the opponent is perceived to be weak? Others quit working hard when way behind, subconsciously thinking that a comeback is too unlikely to deserve their best effort. In reality, if we have outs left – we always have a chance to comeback and win! Another scenario is the effort sometimes is lost with two outs. I have seen some big innings occur with two outs in my career and once again, effort and mental toughness is essential for those big innings to occur.
How do we as coaches and parents develop the mindset with today’s athlete that effort is essential to success? I have often told my players that if we can control our attitude, effort, and focus – we can have success! We must demand this effort on a daily basis in practice. And when we get the effort that we are looking for, we must be ready to praise the athlete. Too often, when we have the player that gives you 100% everyday; we tend to take it for granted. As I look back over the years of coaching, I can honestly say that recently we spend more time coddling the talented kid that lacks the main ingredients of a winner – Effort!
Another factor in giving great effort and is also controllable is negativity. Have you ever had the player that is high energy, giving great effort, showing leadership qualities when they are performing well yet when things go bad, their efforts levels are cut in half? Normal competitors have trouble staying confident when things aren’t going well and their performance is struggling. This is a fact of the game that anyone that puts on a uniform will have to learn to deal with. Some athletes become negative when it’s too cold, too hot, not feeling perfect and make excuse after excuse. Whatever the situation, these are examples of not putting out your best effort when you perceive yourself as the victim of the game. Learning how to have a positive approach, give maximum effort always, and commit yourself to control the controllable. This game is not so much about the wins and losses as much as it is the satisfaction of executing the game. By doing so, you can be the one that leads by example and constantly display the mental toughness it takes to have long term success in the game. Enjoy the opportunity to display a great effort on a regular basis! Your coaches and teammates will take notice!!!
Until next month!
Coach Candrea