Hustle is the one thing every kid controls

It doesn’t take talent to hustle — anyone can do it. Yet so few players do it consistently, and the funny thing is that hustling is far more fun than not hustling!

An easy grounder to second. A pop-up to short. A slow roller to first. The typical player drops his head and jogs on all of them, because he’s expecting the out.

But fielders aren’t perfect, especially at the youth level. If you jog, the fielder can boot it, recover, make a throw that pulls the first baseman off the bag and still get you out. If you sprint, the only way they get you is with a clean play.

Far too often, I’ve seen a batter stand in the box watching a spinning roller he assumes is foul. Then it stays fair, and he has no chance.

We took our walks when the other team wouldn’t throw us strikes. But we never walked to first.

A walk isn’t a dead ball. Ball four may get away from the catcher, or the runner on second may steal third on the pitch, and a batter who sprints to first gives the first base coach options.

After strike three, don’t assume the catcher caught it cleanly (if dropped third strike rules are in play, sprint to first). If he did, run back to the dugout with your head up. A batter who mopes back tells his teammates that something’s wrong.

Sprint on and off the field, too. That’s where the tone gets set, and as coaches, we can’t expect players to do it in games if we don’t practice it.

Hustle and the lack of hustle are both contagious. When one player sets the example, good or bad, the others are bound to follow.