Attitude

Make the other side say "Got Beat"---you lose when you don't put in the ffort--you get beat because the other team was better that day

Paul

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Big game last night. We go in undefeated in conf play with three to go. We are ranked 5th in the state and 17-4 overall. We have yet to play a complete game imo. Some nights the pitchers have carried us. Some nights the bats have. Some nights the defense has been outstanding. Some nights the baserunning has been very good. Last night we played a complete game. We won 11-0 threw a combined no hitter with one pitcher going 5 the other one going 2. We banged out 9 hits only struck out 3 times and made no errors on the bags or in the field.

But the thing I was most proud of was not these things stated above. No the highlight for me was what a young man did up 11-0 in the 7th inning. He got jammed on a deuce that was inside. He hit a weak ground ball to the 2b with 2 outs and no one on. He busted down the line and dove in head first just getting beat by the ball for out 3. Now what is so great about that? This same young man early int the year would hang his head if he didnt sting it. He would sulk internally when it didnt go his way. He has been sent to the pine to think about it. He has been benched a couple of times for other options. He has had a dh for him in several games.

What I saw was a young man growing up. I saw the attitude of a winner. A young man that wasnt sulking because he missed a pitch and didnt sting it. No, a player that was looking to make a play. All he cared about was doing whatever he could do to get on base regardless of the situation.

Its a great feeling as a coach when you see your young boys start to become young men in the game. Its a great feeling when you start to see them finally get it. That was the proudest moment in the game for me as a coach. I ran over and chest bumped him as he was called out. Dang it thats what you are looking for in a player.

Thats a winners attitude. They could careless if they are 0-3 or 3-3. They get their a** out of the box and they try to make it happen. They dust themselves off and they go play defense.

I dont want to hear about how its faster to run through the bag. Thats not the point of this post. Lose yourself in the game and compete. Have a winners attitude. There is no place or time for whiners and complainers in this game. When I see a young man sell out for his team I get chill bumps. When I see a player battle and compete and play with a winners mentality I get pumped up. Its not about winning and losing. Its about learning that you win when you compete with everything you have and you give everything you have. You can look in the mirror and know that you gave it your all and you never gave in. Players that do this never lose. They just run out of innings to play.

quote:

Originally posted by Coach May:
Its about learning that you win when you compete with everything you have and you give everything you have. You can look in the mirror and know that you gave it your all and you never gave in. Players that do this never lose. They just run out of innings to play.

Yup!

ABSOLUTELY COACH MAY!! The kids that do everything they possibly can for the team - they leave the ball park (win or lose) and can't wait fo rthe next game,knowing they gave it everything they could.

THEY will be great in whatever they choose to do in life!

Attitude is really another tool. We often talk about heart and the role it has in being successful. Attitude is just as important. You can have passion and work your tail off, but be able to control your behavior when you don't end up the top dog or you have a bad day. Never enjoyed watching great players if they had an attitude that stunk! Still don't.

My daughter just completed a powder puff football season. Her team lost their game yesterday. She felt she got "trucked" by an opposing player and huffed and puffed when we left. I felt a bit embarassed and am still not happy with her. I appreciated her competiveness, but felt like her attitude wouldn't have been quite so sour if her team had won. Don't enjoy watching negative attitudes! We haven't had our last discussion about it!!

Coach May, when I read your post I kept thinking about George C. Scott's rendition of Patton:

"Don't die for your country, make the other poor son of a ***** die for his country!"

Man, you need to write a book on guts.

Coach May,
I really wish you were my sons coach!

And who knows, if he had run through the base he might have beat it out. Unless he was avoiding a tag he was showing hustle but not hustling. Now he probably thought he was doing it right so you can't fault the player, but these headfirst slides into first hurt teams, just like diving for balls to show hustle when it isn't the proper play. Nothing more exciting than a legit diving catch, but there's a lot of dives for show in HS baseball and some of those turn into doubles. I don't want to hear about how attitude is more important than playing the game right. There's no attitude better than playing the game right.

Sorry, but I've seen too many kids with "great attitudes" out there making mistakes, while solid players who won't fake the hustle sit. I've heard a coach praising a kid for diving for a ball when the kid has a track record of diving for routine catches and at times turning them into doubles.

So my question is whose fault is it that the kid was playing the game wrong? I'm sure he was doing what his coach wanted him to do. What I see here is the attitude of a player who has learned that the coach is right even when he's wrong. He's figured it out. Too bad.

Real hustle is the guy who backs up every play, even when nobody notices. Real hustle is the guy who runs hard through the base every time, even on a pop up. Real hustle is the guy who gets to the ball on time so he doesn't have to dive. Real hustle is the shortstop who goes hard to his right for a grounder with nobody on and doesn't dive because his only chance to get the runner is to field it cleanly. A real team player is an outfielder who sees he isn't going to be able to catch the ball and changes his route to cut the ball off instead of making a showy dive and letting it get by him. Real hustle is the other outfielder who backs up the play so that the outfielder going after the ball can dive without worrying about giving up extra bases. Real hustle is a pitcher covering first on a routine groundout to the right side, just in case. Real hustle is the catcher and right fielder backing up the throw to first base. Real hustle is the catcher covering third base when the third baseman gets pulled off the bag. Real hustle is the baserunner who keeps his eye on the throws just in case rather than going back to the bag and talking to the infielder.

What isn't real hustle? Diving into first base, sprinting out to your position (nothing wrong with it but not real hustle), diving for a ball you can't reach.

Who's a real team player? It isn't the guy shouting the loudest from the dugout trying to impress the coach, it's the pitcher who tells the infielder who just made an error "No problem, I know you got my back, I'm gonna throw a grounder, let's get two." It's the infielder who quietly tells the pitcher to hang in there and throw a grounder without making a show of it. It's the kid on the bench who tells the guy who just struck out he'll get them next at bat. It's the player with average ability who spends hours and hours in the cage and turns himself into a good hitter. It is the player who does the right thing because it is the right thing not because he's trying to show off for the coach.

There are kids out there who are naturally loud and supportive and there are kids out there who are naturally quiet and supportive. Both are good for teams. Unfortunately, there are coaches who insist on loud and showy from all of their players. (Don't take this one personal Coach May, I assume that you don't do that and I realize that when you've got a kid who has been dogging it that showing hustle by diving into first is a positive step even if it isn't the best play. Next step is to channel that newfound hustle into correct play.) Also don't think that I'm against diving for the ball at all. We've got a infielder who dives a lot. He doesn't have great range and he makes up for it with some brilliant diving plays. He wouldn't get those balls without diving. In his case it is real hustle.