From Coach Aaron Weintraub: Initiative Breeds Success

Guys like Aaron Weintraub, Tom Hanson, and H.A. Dorfman have really influenced and encouraged me to be a better coach. Check out the following advice -- pure gold in my opinion -- that I recently got from Coach Traub in an email:

"Success, according to John Wooden, is 'the peace of mind that comes from knowing you did your best.' It's not a result of merely thinking about doing well; action is required. Unfortunately, watching TV, being lazy, procrastinating, and 'just hanging out' seem to be pretty popular in our society. This provides you and I with a great opportunity to get an edge over average people. With initiative, we will try and try again. Then, if we can manage to keep what's working and change what's not working, we'll have a fail-proof formula for success.

"Harvey Dorfman said that the three levels of mental toughness are: 1) Want it; 2) Know what to do, and 3) Do what you know.

"First you need to figure out what you want. This can be difficult for everyone, but is particularly challenging for young people who are still learning about themselves and exploring the many opportunities that life has to offer. Next, figure out what to do. Great young teams consistently come from a culture where the kids are constantly watching, talking about, and playing their game. This is not the norm! Everyone can learn what's right and what's wrong in this information age. When the pupil is ready, the teacher will appear. This is so because the person who urgently wants to learn what to do to get what he or she wants will take the initiative to look for this information. If you wait for an outside force to throw the answers in your lap, they may never come. Constantly asking WHY and HOW breeds greatness! Whether from trial and error, other people, books, the internet, or elsewhere, a person with the initiative to persistently ask the right questions will find the right answers.

"The top level is doing it. Take action. Give it your best effort, because the reality is that this step will define your self-esteem (the reputation you acquire of yourself) and your success. You cannot fake peace of mind -- you've either earned it or you haven't. Doing what you know as best you can also maximizes your chances for superb outcomes (the stuff outside your control that many people call success). The gap between good and great is wide, but the work it takes to make that huge leap is often a very small increase over what you are already doing. Small differences made consistently over time separate high achievers and the first source for these difference-makers is initiative. So, initiative breeds success."

So, go take the initiative and another step toward being everything you were created by God to be -- today.

See you on the field,

A Season is a Time ... and a Process

I am reminded this time of year every season how we start to see our team take shape. We see guys fitting into roles. We always have some surprises and some twists and turns along the way. Through our scheduling, preparation, and deliberate work, we invariably improve and are playing about our best baseball when we get to the end of the season.

However, this year's team has had to battle through more injuries than any I have seen in my nine years of coaching the Mustangs. So, it makes embracing the process that much more important.

With a lot of young players ... new players .... and players recovering from injuries ... players playing new positions ... broken bones in multiple players ... it's been a little topsy-turvy around here.

But we are making it and I see us getting better.

When I see adversity like we have, I see a real opportunity. I really do. I see us on the precipice of doing some great things.

And we get there one day ... one game ... one practice ... one pitch ... one play at a time.

See you on the field,