Opening Day in Florida

Well, we made it. After a 27-game season with twists, turns, trials, tribulations ... and triumphs, too, this youngest Mustangs Varsity ever is here in Auburndale.

Getting here was an adventure, too, with a car breakdowns and sickness along the way. In a strange way, I feel confident this morning that we've got them right where we want them.

I really enjoyed our time together with the parents last night. What a blessing.

Today we have Opening Ceremonies at 10 AM EST. Our first game is vs. the Montgomery, AL Saints at 7:30. The Saints defeated us last year in pool play, and they are a Number One seed. We play the Southwest Dallas Spartans at 10 AM tomorrow. I think we'll be ready.

After last night's thunderstorms, the weather for the rest of the week looks good.

Our team believes they are going to have a good week here. You can see that in them.

I do, too.

See you on the field,

Coach Rut

Whatever it takes ...

Don't you want this guy on your team?

Embrace the Process ... finishing strong and continuing on

I was talking to one of our parents the other night, and I told her that I am enjoying this season very much. But I also love the off-season. It's fun and rewarding to work toward doing one's part to help make a better better than before, yes, even better than ever. I really love doing this year-round.

As we come down the stretch, I would encourage you players to be working hard each day on your On-Your-Own assignments. You each have a lot of things you can be doing to stay sharp and get even sharper down the stretch. Are you working in a way that inspires and encourages your teammates?

And also, think about fine-tuning your routine on game days. How do you prepare to perform at an optimum level? You probably know this by now. If not, well, pay attention and put in place the pieces of an outstanding routine. If you have questions in this regard, talk to your teammates who consistently perform at a high level. See what they are doing and incorporate what works for you.

Looking into May and the summer, for those of you who want to take your game to the next level, I would highly recommend you look into playing baseball this summer and/or fall. And by that, I mean look into playing beyond our games in the Cooper League. The Cooper League is great, but I would highly recommend you look into playing more this summer and fall, and also you should look to play with quality players and against quality opponents.

Of course, each of us have things to work on and improve upon in the off-season. But playing in the offseason gives you a practical opportunity (especially against quality opposition) to measure where you are and get better.

In this regard, I am reminded of a story about the great Tom Seaver when he was warming up for Red and was about the Mets ... his old team. A teammate walked by the bullpen and told Seaver that his fastball "looked good". Seaver kept working. Then he looked at his teammate, motioned over to the Mets dugout, and said, "They'll tell me if my fastball is good."

See you on the field,

Lots to look forward to ... Lots to play for

Here's what's coming down the stretch ...

4/15 (Thurs) Varsity vs. Cooper -- Under the lights, we'll get another crack at our friends at Cooper. I expect an inspired effort by the Dragons and a battle that will prepare us for what is ahead.

4/17 (Sat) V/JV vs. the Angels -- That about says enough, but there's more. It's Family Day, with food between the games and a chance to visit with and welcome our visitors from Dallas. Also, the Angels are sticking around to play the West Houston Thunder's Varsity after our game.

And, oh, yeah ... the Angels value their relationship and rivalry with us so much that they are skipping the finals of the Texas Tournament to be here and play us.

4/19 (Mon) Varsity vs. the Power -- We finally return to Barton Park for a home game vs. the Power. Expect a battle and for the Power (who have beaten us twice this season) to come with a great effort.

4/22 (Thurs) JV/V vs. the West Houston Thunder -- Our JV and home finale at Barton. Our friends and rivals with the Thunder have been playing great baseball over the last half of the season. Last time we played them, they beat us, 13-8. This will be a great send-off for Florida.

4/26 (Mon) - 5/1 (Sat) -- Varsity competes in the Homeschool World Series in Auburndale, FL. This will be our first time to play out-of-state, and with the new format the field will be wide-open. Also, for those of you interested at the next level, HWSA informs me that there will be college scouts in attendance. As for us, we look at this as a great time to celebrate our season, play well (we always play well when we get to HWSA competition), and set the stage for the great things we have before us next season.

But hold on ... we have great things before us even now. Let's go get them.

See you on the field,

Coach Rut

Why I do what I do ...

Imagine a faraway field in Florida ... So, goes the story told by a man (still a kid inside) in his 40's:

"A team and its fans await the result of a year, no years of labor.

And a Mustang hitter in red and black waits on deck. It's the bottom of the 7th. It couldn't be, could it? Could it all come down to this? It seems it could, because it did.

Yes, this player had had his moments through the years and his baseball career. There had been ups. There had been downs. There had been in-betweens. And now it all came down to this.

The team had talked about preparing for moments such as these -- that the key was to treat it "just like practice" and stay in the moment. Go pitch by pitch.

Still, this was the moment. The Mustangs were down by one run in the last inning of the last game of the season. A championship was on the line.

As he was on deck, memories of the years of work, sweat, great days at practice, and tough days, too, were there. He laughed about how one teammate would always say the most amazing things that would make every one laugh at the right times, well, mostly the right times. Sometimes he irritated the coach, and the players laughed about that ... when the coach wasn't around.

He went over a few mechanical reminders in the on-deck circle as the opponent changed pitchers. Yes, it would be the opponents' ace to try and close it out. A few fans gave well wishes, and then a most amazing thing happened. He was calm and ready. It was amazing, but the practice, the off-season work, the ABC's, the practice and preparation had led to a quite confidence in this tense moment.

Sure, there were nerves. But they were the nerves of ready excitement.

Bases loaded, two outs, and the Mustangs trailed, 5-4. We were out of pitching. It was do or die. Two runs now to win, or lose either in this inning, or later.

Deep breath. Wait, another deep breath.

He stepped into the box. The Mustangs' fans were as loud as they had ever been, but to him they were so much background noise in this moment of moments.

First pitch. Strike one, but it wasn't his pitch. It was a fast ball at the knees on the outside corner. He stepped out of the box.

Next pitch. Ball one. A curveball up and away. Deep breath.

Next pitch. A ball. Wow, a close pitch on the inner half where he likes it, but just inside. 2-1.

But then the pitcher threw his pitch ... inner half at the thighs ... a fastball at about 84-mph.

And he swung. Right. Through. It. 2-2.

He stepped out. It was a "yellow light" moment. A = Act confident. Remember that time when he got a big hit vs. the Angels, and the ball seemed the size of a grapefruit. Ah, yes. That's the ticket. B = Deep breath. And control the breathing at the plate. C = Control those thoughts. "I'm the man. Next pitch is mine. Line drive up the middle. Let's go."

Back in the box. "Make my two-strike adjustment. Bring it."

It was then that everything just seemed to crawl to a near stop. The pitcher did the unthinkable. He threw that nasty curveball. It broke toward the outside corner ... nearing the knees.

But this Mustang hitter had been locked in on the ball seemingly for a baseball eternity, indeed, since it left the pitcher's hand. He had picked up the pitch and spin immediately, so when it struck his bat and resulted in a solid "ping!", he was not surprised. The line drive headed up the middle, just past the diving shortstop.

Runners were flying, and coach was frantically waving the winning run home from third.

Then there was the play at the plate .... they hit the cut-off, the relay was there, the slide ...

And ... SAFE!!

Mustangs poured out of the dugout in a mad celebration. They mobbed the game-winning hitter at first base. As his teammates headed toward him to mob him, even in that moment he remembered ... even in that wild moment ... to run the play out and make sure he got to first base so there would not be a force out.

The dog pile started between 1st and 2nd. Every player got on.

The coaches just looked, laughed, and hugged each other.

Mustangs fans cried. And they hugged. They cried some more. The coaches cried.

At the bottom of the dogpile was the Mustang who had got the game-winning hit. Amid the crushing weight, whooping, and laughter of his teammates, he thought how the best part of all was that he had done this with his friends.

Everything was worth it now. Everything.

Relationship with each other, their coaches, with their families, and ultimately withe Jesus Himself had held this team together and gotten them to this special moment. Now he knew. Now, he understood.

Winning was great, but it was better to have done it the right way, for the right reasons ... and with the Mustang Nation."

As the story above drew to a close, the former Mustang wiped tears from his eyes. Remembering that moment with his teammates was special, even more than a quarter of a century later.

And oh ... The former Mustang told this story now to his team ... the team that he now coached. And he concluded with this:

"And boys, no men, that's what I remember about being a Mustang ... that what we accomplished together was for a purpose higher than ourselves. We did it for each other. Ultimately, we did it for Christ. We worshipped together on the field, on that day and many others. Lives were touched and impacted for eternity. God was honored and I hope, no, I believe that He smiled at us.

Now, you go do the same."

And so it goes.

Easter and Baseball

What does Easter have to do with baseball? Well, let me think a bit.

I love them both, for one thing. They both take place in the Spring, for another.

I guess, most of all, they remind me of limitless possibilities.

You players have heard my tale of how I played for a team (8th-grade) that once scored 12 runs with two outs in the last inning. I started the two-out rally with an infield hit. The next time I came up to bat, I walked. I scored twice in the inning.

And we lost ... 13-12. The game ended with the bases loaded. Strike out ... swinging.

That game also marked the last day of my pitching career. My coach figured he couldn't do any worse with me, so he put me in to pitch with us down, 11-0. I gave up two runs and was relieved to get out of the inning with us down, 13-0. Just goes to show that every pitch and run are important.

I was almost the winning pitcher. I coulda been a contender.

I remember another game where I was listening to my favorite broadcaster, Gene Elston, call the Astros on one hot summer night when I was in junior high school. I spent a lot of my summer nights this way, listening to the Astros on the radio. This was before the days when all the games were on TV. Gene was a factual, mild-mannered broadcaster, the anti-Milo, if you will. He rarely got excited.

But on this one night, the Astros (who were hopelessly out of the division race) were down 5-0 and mounted a furious two-out rally to beat the Expos, 6-5. As Enos Cabell's single chopped through the left side of the Astrodome turf, Gene "the cool machine" became ecstatic ... screaming, for the first time ever, I think ... "Astros win! ... Astros win! ... they did it! Given up for dead, they scored 6 runs with two outs to beat the Expos!!"

I did the same, running through the house to report the result. If Gene was excited, it was time to party!

Oh, the beauty of this game. You know, even with a time-limited game, the game doesn't have a definite ending point. Some one has to get the last out. Until that last out is made, all things are possible.

We've seen Mustangs teams pull this off before, too, like our 6-run, two-out rally over Parker-Tarrant -- against a pitcher who just got drafted in last year's MLB draft -- in the Texas Tournament in 2007 ... like our 7-run rally in the last inning to beat St. John's in the 2008 Cooper Tournament.

You might say Jesus was "given up for dead", too, except He really was dead. The beauty of the resurrection story is that Jesus rose from the dead. People just didn't think He was gone from this earth; He was. But then He was back!

When I got my mind around this truth while I was in college, it literally saved my life.

If Jesus conquered death, then indeed all things are possible. It's never over, no matter how dire the situation. There is always hope. There is not only hope, there is a chance and a way.

With Jesus, the game is always still going. So, let's "play ball," if you will.

Happy Easter, every one.

Mustang Offense ... Misconceptions and Conceptions

So, why put this up here? What if people are reading? Well, I hope they are. No, really I do. I'll explain later.

But here's the bottom line: If we execute our offensive plan as a team as we continue to grow and improve, it won't matter so much what our opponents are doing.

At the plate, remember, it starts with the three "E's" ... Expect your pitch and hit it where it wants to go ... Every one has a two-strike adjustment ... and, Eyes ... broad to fine focus.

Focusing on these three elements of hitting will keep a hitter on track and out of prolonged slumps. When a team buys in ... that is, each player is executing the three "E's" consistently ... then special things start to happen. We have made progress and seen bits and pieces of this during the season. We've got a ways to go still.

So, let's talk about a few key concepts.

First, our approach is not ... I repeat, is not ... passive. Rather, it's controlled aggression. Remember, we expect our pitch. We are not surprised to get it. Go back and read the Hitting Chapter from "The Mental Game." As Al Oliver expected his pitch, he thus saw it more.

I liken what we are doing to turning down sparrows while we are on a big game hunt. We are aggressive, but we know what we are hunting for. We decide, not the opposing pitcher.

Regarding the two-strike adjustment, keep the following in mind ... every one has one (meaning we make a mechanical adjustment to give us more plate coverage and a quicker bat while expanding our hitting zone to cover the whole plate). Also, we are not trying to "just put it in play." While making our adjustment, we are still trying to hit the ball hard.

But doesn't the two-strike adjustment run counter to "Moneyball" theory? That is, aren't we now hitting more on the pitcher's terms and adjusting our general approach of looking to hit our pitch? Yes, indeed. But we are doing so to neutralize the pitcher's advantage with two strikes. Furthermore, the value of putting the ball play is much higher at the high school level than MLB.

As we continue to work our approach at the plate, some times our offense will appear methodical as the innings roll along. But ... the excitement is usually on the way.

Here is what we are seeing, over and over. Our offense continues to improve and get stronger as the game goes on, as we continue to put pressure on the opposing pitching staff and defense. When it's late in the game and things are getting interesting, we are often ready to play our best offense of the game.

This happens for a number of reasons. For one thing, when our hitters are seeing pitches, so is the rest of our team in the dugout. Also, we tend to get into bullpens sooner. When we get to tournament time, the benefits of what we are doing is amplified even more.

So ... buy in.

Our stock is rising.

See you on the field,

Coach Rut

So, you want to play in college?

Some of our players want to get to the next level and play. If this is not for you, that is perfectly fine. My encouragement to all of our players is to commit their best in our program to become the best Mustang they can be. And do it for the Lord and your teammates.

Through the years, though, we've also had a number of players who have expressed interest in playing baseball at the college level. This post addresses what it takes to get there.

First of all, we have compiled some great information regarding the nuts and bolts of what it takes to get to the next level. I'd encourage you to check out the "College Bound Athletes" tab on our website.

Beyond the great info contained on our website, I'd like to offer some advice based on my research, experience as a high school coach, and myriad conversations with other coaches, scouts, and other people in the know regarding what it takes to play college ball.

To play in college, the following is strongly encouraged/recommended:

1) Work on your game year-round. If you lack the passion to work on your game in the off-season on a regular basis 4-5 days/week, you likely like the passion needed to succeed at the college level. This doesn't mean you're a bad guy. It just means that you are probably not cut out to be a a college player;

2) Related to 1), make sure that you play in the off-season, as well (at least in the summer or fall, if not both). By this, I mean that you play more than the very short summer season at the Cooper League;

3) Earn respect and cultivate relationships in the game, but especially with coaches. Guess who are the first people contacted by a college coach;

4) And guess what a college coach wants to know ... What is the player's work ethic like? How does the player handle adversity? What kind of student is he? What is is GPA? (You know, these coaches want players who will succeed academically and not become academic casualties.) Is he respectful and a good teammate? Does he have a presence on the field? What kind of young man is he? These considerations are not secondary ... they are primary. Wow. Think about this for a minute. Once a college coach realizes that a player has the ability to play college ball (there are lots of players such as this), he wants to make sure that the player is the kind of young man who can succeed in college and in a game/environment with many pitfalls; and

5) Most fundamentally, cultivate your character. To succeed at anything worthwhile, a person needs relentlessness and a commitment to his chosen mission. If God has called you to play baseball, then get to it ... and with no apologies. I don't apologize for being a coach; I do apologize for being a lawyer, but that's another story. But really, I jest. I realize that my calling from God is just as sacred as if I were on the mission field. It's what He made me to do. Be relentless. Be positive. Be the kind of young man who refuses to be discouraged. You will get opportunities, as a result. In fact, I believe you will be a magnet for them.

Finally, I am reminded of a passage from "The Mental Game": "A winner knows that the verb 'to be' must precede the verb 'to have'."

All of us would do well to work harder and more deliberately at what we are called to do.

Respect for the Game

A lot of what really is simply "baseball etiquette" comes under the rubric of what baseball people like to call "respect for the game".

We ran headlong into some of this on Saturday.

Baseball is a funny game, on so many levels. There are many written rules, some of which are followed more rigorously than others. There are many unwritten rules, as well. Most of these unwritten rules stem from a sense of honor or a realization of the humbling nature of the sport ... where the difference between a game-ending double-play and a base hit can be an inch ... or less.

But know this: The unwritten rules of the game are followed, or generally there are severe consequences.

Many of the rules from baseball's unwritten code stem from one of the foundational commandments of the game -- Thou Shalt not Show up Thy Opponent.

On Saturday, one player was loudly proclaiming that he thought he knew our signs (he didn't).

In baseball at the college level and up, that player would likely be beaned for such conduct. This seems harsh, I know. But the player showed disrespect for the game by proclaiming publicly that the opposing team's signs were discovered. This is not done in baseball, because it's disrespectful to the opponent.

We can slide into the bag hard, but respect for the game means that a player does not try to injure another. The game presents enough trials and tribulations of its own.

People who have watched, played, or coached the game for any period of time know that umpires make mistakes, but these tend to even out over time. It shows a lack of respect for the game and the opponent to blame a loss or bad performance on the umpires.

We wear our uniforms correctly, with our caps straight forward and our jerseys tucked in ... always. It is not cool to cock your cap to the side. Rather, it merely looks like you have been out on a windy day. Wearing our uniform correctly not only shows respect for our team, but also to those who have worn our uniform before. Furthermore, wearing our uniform correctly is not only required by the written rules of the game, but it also shows respect for our opponents. We are dressed for the occasion, so to speak.

In our dugout, we show respect for the game by pulling positively for our team. Some teams yell for pops from the dugout while the ball is in the air. That is bush league and shows a lack of respect for the game. I mean, do they really need such an advantage? Think about it.

Also, we realize the situation of the game and make sure that we don't appear to be making merry at our opponents' expense, especially when a game turns into a blowout.

We don't run up the score. For my part, I neglected to hold up a couple of runners when we had a big lead on Saturday. I thought that could have been interpreted by our opponents as showing them up. That's why we talked about it after the game.

Again, this is a humbling game, and we treat those who play it with us with the respect that they deserve and the grace that we all need.

Respect the game. Respect your teammates, coaches, opponents and the umpires.

Do all of this because you respect yourself and, most fundamentally, the Lord Himself.

Like life, baseball doesn't fit into a neat little package

One of the keys to growth in baseball ... and in life ... is to keep reevaluating and changing. You have to, because just when you think you have it wired, you see one of those things that just sends you back to the drawing board and scratching your head.

Ron Wolforth and I were discussing recently the whole process v. results debate. Ron says he is a results guy; that is, he is a practical guy who is after results in working with players. I want results, too, but I think that the best way to get there is to focus on a solid process.

Ron's point was, though, that your results will ultimately tell you whether your process is working. That is, if your process is messed up, it doesn't do much good to focus on it. For instance, you can focus all you want on hitting with your eyes shut, but that's a questionable process that will be borne out in the results you'll get.

I agree with Ron.

So, the challenge for each of us as players and coaches is to evaluate how we are going about our business. How are we going after the results we seek? Are we doing enough of what we know is required? Are we doing those things that we know will lead us where we want to go?

Always strive for excellence. Ask yourself and others questions about what you're doing and why.

If you are continuing to have bad at-bats, then that's a cue, isn't it, to ask why? If a particular skill or play remains difficult after much practice, then maybe it's time to examine how we are practicing that particular skill.

For that matter ... are we practicing it at all? How much are you doing on your own to get better each day? A little progress each day makes a huge difference over time.

For me, I strive to keep all things on the table always. Remember players what we committed to at our retreat. We told each other that we'd give our best and do whatever was in our power to help this team get to its maximum potential.

So, when we seem to run up against obstacles we find ways to go around them, to grow, to adapt, and overcome.

If the game weren't mysterious and fraught with difficulties and inexplicable challenges, you know, it wouldn't be nearly as fun.

See you on the field,

Coach Rut