A selfish player becomes an unemployable adult
I believe strongly that a coach's job is bigger than winning games. Baseball teaches a ton of life lessons, and it's our job to help young players learn from them.
Baseball will chew up and spit out the players who can’t handle it mentally. And it will expose weaknesses that come up later in life, over and over again.
Of all the lessons the game teaches, being a team player is the one I worry about most.
The best teams that sustain success boast more than a collection of talented players. They have players who work for one another and realize they can’t carry the team by themselves — players who care more about the win than about their four hits.
After a big win, a good teammate isn’t pouting in the dugout about his three strikeouts. After a tough loss, he isn’t smiling and bragging about going 3-for-3.
Some players never get this. And if it isn’t corrected at 11, it doesn’t magically fix itself at 25.
An athlete who can be a positive team player is more likely to be one later in life.
You’ll need to work with people in every job you ever have. You’ll need to take direction. You’ll need to handle it when someone else gets the credit. You’ll need to keep going when things aren’t fair (and they won’t always be).
How do you handle the player who only cares about his own stats?
Still have a question? Ask Coach Fungo.
“A selfish player, if not corrected, may be an unemployable adult.”
I wrote the long version of this when I coached the Spiders: Youth Baseball and Life Lessons on SpidersElite.
Play like a scout is watching
It can be hard to get players to do the little things that so often decide games. So I tried something different with my team: Play like a scout is watching.
“There is something special about a player who always hustles. He stands out.”
No fielder should stand still on a ball in play
On every ball in play, I want all nine players moving at the same time. Watch the pitcher on a base hit, though, and you'll usually find him still standing on the mound.
“A pitcher who backs up can keep one base from becoming two, three or four.”
The Count
Call balls and strikes and watch what the count does to the hitter. Five seasons of big-league numbers.
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