I was watching some videos from MLB Spring Training yesterday (what else would I be doing with a few free minutes in my day?!?) and saw a 2 second clip of Manny Machado that really caught my attention.
No, he wasn't hitting a 500 foot moonshot into the parking lot. And he wasn't making a ridiculous diving play at 3rd look easy. And no, he wasn't in a press conference talking about the $400,000,000 contract he wants.
Here's the video:
Not much going on in this clip, right? Well, here's what I saw.
He was taking a super easy swing and popped a batting practice meatball pitch straight up into the top of cage; the perfect reminder that HITTING IS HARD!
In fact, hitting a baseball hard is the most difficult thing to do in any sport.
The best players in the world only get a hit 3 out of 10 times.
The best players in the world pop up pitches they "should" have hit hard.
The best players in the world swing and miss at pitches they "should" have hit.
The best players in the world swing at pitches they "shouldn't" have swung at.
The best players in the world don't swing at pitches they "should" have swung at.
We all agree that every single one of those statements is true.
And since that's the case, why as parents and coaches would we ever get upset or frustrated at A KID for making the same mistakes that the world's best players make every single day?
Here's another list of truths. This baseball season, with 100% certainty, your son will:
- Strikeout.
- Swing at pitches out of the hitting/strike zone.
- Not swing at pitches in the hitting/strike zone.
- Swing and miss.
- Weakly hit pitches he could have hit hard.
Also, this same list will be true next season. And the season after that. And the one after that...every single day until they stop playing the game.
Since we know all of these things will happen, rather than get frustrated, upset, or disappointed when they do, let's simply accept that these occurrences are a regular part of every game for every single player at every single level of baseball, not draw extra negative attention to them, stop expecting perfection, and instead focus on being positive and encouraging while using the mistakes as an opportunity to teach.
What happens when we celebrate an aggressive swing (even if they missed or swung at a bad pitch)? Our players will feel confident and free of pressure on the next pitch.
What happens when pat them on the back after they strikeout instead of getting angry? Our players will feel supported at all times and understand that nobody is expecting perfection, so they shouldn't either.
What happens when we model good behavior and a forward-thinking mindset after mistakes occur that nobody enjoys, but that are absolutely inevitable? Our players start to be less emotional when faced with adversity, begin to play with more perspective and less stress, and ultimately will perform better for the rest of the game and season.
"Failure" is part of baseball, sports, and life. There's not a single human being in history who has lived a life completely free from adversity, challenges, and struggles. Encountering speed bumps is 100% inevitable in every game we play and in every day we live.
What's so cool about youth sports is that these moments of struggle are meaningless in the big picture; nobody's life has changed because of their performance on a Little League field.
No 11 year old has ever received a college scholarship because he went 3-3 in an Intermediate game.
No 12 year old has ever been sent back down to tee ball because he struck out 3 times in a game.
No 8 year old got pre-cut from the High School team because he dropped a fly ball.
What shows up in the scorebook and on the scoreboard this season is "meaningless."
That said, moments of "failure" - even when then stakes are inconsequential like they are in youth sports - do have meaning in the way we teach our kids to deal with adversity. If we coach and parent our kids the right way, baseball can absolutely help them be better prepared to handle real challenges in life as they get older. (Oh, and it can make them better ballplayers, too!)
So, let's all commit to using the inevitable moments of "failure" this season as a way to teach resilience, grit, and determination rather than unrealistically expecting perfection and missing the massive opportunity to positively shape our kid's character for the rest of their lives.
Play Hard, Have Fun!