I’m sitting here on the bus after getting swept by the scores of 17-7, 3-2 and 13-0. We are currently 2-8 on the season. This is the toughest start to a season that I ever have had to deal with. Why? The first reason is because of the team that we have. We have a group of guys that really care about the outcome of this season. The majority of this team was a part of a team that had their season ripped away last year. We were 14-5 and leading the nation in hitting. This past series we left 33 runners on base. What happened? How did we get here? If I were to listen to the masses I wouldn’t be posting this blog. I am a division 3 assistant baseball coach that is leading a team that is 2-8. Who cares what I have to say? How can you be a good coach and have a team performing the way that they are? I think I know the answer to this. 

I have a presence online and my players know that. I post what types of practices they go through and how I think it could be beneficial to making them a better baseball player. I’ve done this during their abbreviated fall and spring practice. The season has come and it hasn’t equated to wins. It would be easy to say that we don’t have the talent, need to take the pressure off of ourselves, work harder and all the generic things losers say. I don’t want to be a loser and I know that we do not either. What’s next? Keep working. I created practice plans for my hitters that I thought would help them get ready for the season. It failed. I have now evaluated where I believe where I went wrong. I’m not going to go into the details of exactly what I did wrong was but I will post what we are doing in practice. If I do not feel strong enough about the practice plans that I am putting together that I don’t want the world to see them, I have failed. I spend my time studying what could create a winning offense but all that matters is execution. I need to be better at executing my practice plan. 

Another reason that this season is so tough, is because I spent so much time learning how to make these guys the best they possibly could be. College is a transformative time. In my unique past, I learned what it was like to be on a losing team and a winning team. The teams that lost were not great at communication. I will dive into communication with my guys because they need it. Losing can cause depression. If you are not performing in games, it can carry over into your personal life. If you are not playing on a losing team, it can give thoughts as to why you’re even playing the game. I can’t and won’t let this happen. The next few weeks I will over communicate my expectations to my hitters and everyone in the weight room. I believe that communicating what we need to work on a daily basis is extremely important. We have some issues that we’re struggling to correct. My goal is to constantly put them in situations that will remind them of what they are fixing, also known as feeding the issue. This is where I hope I’m able to teach these guys life lessons through baseball. If there is a problem that you are facing, run at it, not away from it. 

I will not conform to a culture of baseball that says winning is all that matters. We have great kids on this team with a lot of talent. I don’t get mad at our players when we fail or lose. I get mad at our players in two different scenarios. The first one is when they don’t think they are good enough. I know that not everyone can be confident at all times, but there is a difference between being real with yourself and giving in. I have players that are going through struggles that they have never gone through in their entire life. This is a crucial time for me to help them. I need to show them that just because they have failed for an extended period of time, it’s not over. It’s easy to say that baseball is a game of failure. To live it is a completely different thing. The second thing that makes me mad is when a player says they don’t know what is wrong. I can’t accept that answer. You have to give me something. If I allow my players to tell me that they have no idea what is wrong, I allow complacency. These are extreme examples but they do apply. When your significant other is upset with you and you don’t know why. Do you just ignore it till it goes away or do you tackle the problem head on. I want my players to have the tools to tackle these issues head on. 

I don’t think anyone reading this will discredit what I have to say because of our win-loss record. It is my hope that those reading this will give you the courage to keep reaching to be better when the culture tells you not to. I want my players to constantly look for improvements in their baseball game so that it carries over to the rest of their life. I want coaches reading this to keep posting their content when their team isn’t doing well. I used to say that I use my platform to spread positivity amongst coaches. I don’t think I agree with that anymore. I want my platform to be seen as something that constantly makes you think, “can I be better?”