How much (optional) work to put in and how?

How?  Ban Girls.   

Darn kid went to his girlfriends instead of going with me to hit. 

Sometimes you can put in too much work and overthink.  We built a cage and purchased a pitching machine that my son could use for batting practice or catching.  He and his father made sand bags, 2 speed ladders and bought a jump rope.  He would get up at 5am go to the backyard and work out with his stuff, then go to the cage and hit and catch 4-6 days a week.  Go to school, go to baseball practice, come home and hit in the cage again.  Some days, if the practice was later he would come home from school and put on a weighed vest and go run hills.  He got in great shape, had a pop time under 2, and had a good year but starting to struggle with batting because he over analyzed every swing.  I finally told him to let go, have fun and just play baseball!!  Now having a really good first year in college and playing ball.  His coaches love his work ethic and drive!  I still remind him it's still just a game and to have fun playing!!  Having great team mates like he has now makes it even better!! 

Goosegg posted:

Thought I'd start a thread which has emerged on the 2017 HS thread.

(OK, first, S grew up in Southern Cal and the weather does allow baseball just a bit more than the NE.)

To me (all done and through), it's all about the extra work. My position is simple: building baseball skill is an incremental process and the more you do it, the more incremental progress a kid makes. Some kids have a head start; some are bigger; some finished growing early and have coordination, but eventually most fall within the bell curve of potential. The separator (i.e., reaching that potential) is extra work - and very few put in enough to separate them from the crowd; and only those separated play at the next level. (In other words, kids don't reach their final baseball potential unless they do that extra work.)

How to do it? That is the issue/problem. And each family needs to figure out how - how, after focusing on academics, is there enough time to work extra? But there are enough kids out there who do figure it out.

(One story that used to make the rounds here was about Alan Trammel (great MLB SS) who carried his glove with him where ever he went and figured out ways to work on his game.)

I think it comes down to the kid.  There are kids who are SO athletic and naturals they can work an hour extra and be starters on Varsity. Then there are kids who work 20+ hours per week and can't match the natural kid.  Then there are naturals that find the 20+ hours and then you have a MLB candidate. 

For most life gets in the way.  Maybe they have to get a sibling on the bus in the morning so morning workouts can't happen.  Maybe they are struggling in school and need tutor lessons every day.  Maybe they have to work to pay for their travel ball.

Sometimes it isn't about wants or drives it's about opportunities and the life the kid has.

I have a theory that almost every athlete can work hard and get to some college level of their sport.  Some have to work a lot less than others.  Some just choose to not, or can't due to other reasons, all of what is necessary and never reach the next level.  To move on into pro sports and succeed I believe you have to be a freak of nature in some way and just be touched by the hand of God. I would never tells my kids the freak of nature part and give them an excuse not to go for a goal, but you do have to win the lottery basically to get that far.

My son's high school currently practices or plays M-F and the team will also meet up to hit on Sundays. By the time you factor in homework/study time and oh yes, time for being a teenager, there's not a lot of extra time. I think it's more important to really focus and get the most of out the practice time since there isn't a lot of extra time.

When he gets a day off, I really don't want him thinking about baseball. 

I am all in for extra work. I am all in for working your butt off. All of my kids worked their butts off to get to play in college. My 2018 is working his butt off also. However, we must not lose sight that these are kids and these are the last days of childhood. Work, work , and more work. Sure. But there has to be more time put into academics and some time put into family activities. But please dont neglect your teenage sons need to be a kid. We try and carve out a little time for that. Work and play baseball six days a week and one day hang out with friends, biking or movies or just hanging out. Most of his friends are aspiring baseball players like him or athletes heading to college. Not much time for girls but they seem to find time. Not during high school season, for most. 

His work load triples in summer but we make time for family vacations in summer and allow him to bring friends just as their families ask for persmission for him to go with their sons. Tough balancing act for sure but extra work is a must , so is understanding that there must be time allotted for other things that are important too.

Anyone can take swings off a tee or even dry swings.  It take less than 15 minutes to take 100 dry swings.  5 days a week thats 3000 swings over 6 weeks.

A bucket of grounders, after team practice.  Flyballs.  Point being with a little individual time you can increase your reps by 1000's over a season.  It makes a difference. Ozzy Smith spoke about HS he would practice his glove work by bouncing a ball off a wall.  

There is no possible way within a team practice that a kid can get enough reps to achieve their potential.  Not unless practices are 6-7 hours long!

All athletes also need to have days off to rest, recover and grow stronger too

Thanks goose this thread is very timely for me. Was just talking to son about making a plan today. And my friends Caco and Shu also make great points. Caco add to the list money for instruction. I can diagnose a lot of issues but can't seem to quite find a way to correct that clicks with him. And paying about 5k already for his baseball experience and being only one of five kids...  we are at our limit. 

Shu time away for father and son can be good. Went to a friends house yesterday who has a fishing pond. Couple kids from their team and a few from our team all got together plus a football player. We commented on what a great day it was for them to unwind a bit. And us to. There was a streak there for several hours I don't think anyone mentioned baseball!

so my 2 cents...  those of us who are obviously not lottery winners have to pick something to focus on. For us ultimately I just don't see him making it as a positional player. It takes a large dose of reality to admit that. He is a freshman hitting clean up on his JV team so you really do want to delude yourself but this is too important so you can't. That means any effort we squeeze time in for needs to be pitching related. To complicate things the far more likely scenario is a football scholarship - and those are 100%!  So I think what we are going to do is focus on strength & fitness with an emphasis on maintaining/increasing flexibility. Try to walk that fine line is serving two masters. 

Every kid who played college ball from my son's HS team were the ones staying after official practice getting extra reps in. These were the same ones who would get together on weekends to get in some extra work, both during and off season. Talent takes takes a player so far and the work ethic is what will get them to the next level (and each and every player has their own "next level") regardless of natural talent. For my son at least, that work ethic and discipline was reflected in his grades as well as any task he takes on.  

BOF posted:

Every kid who played college ball from my son's HS team were the ones staying after official practice getting extra reps in. These were the same ones who would get together on weekends to get in some extra work, both during and off season. Talent takes takes a player so far and the work ethic is what will get them to the next level (and each and every player has their own "next level") regardless of natural talent. For my son at least, that work ethic and discipline was reflected in his grades as well as any task he takes on.  

So how did the "stay after practice" thing work.  Where the coaches there?  Was it just on the kids?  Did they use the school facilities?  Is there support from coaches, AD and administration?  At my kid's school, it appears that work outside of practice is not really supported.  He has been "kicked off" the basketball court while working on free throws.   

Get a set of ankle weights.  When you come home from practice, put them on and when you wake up in the AM, take them off (wear them on days off as well, no running with them on, but going up and down stairs and everything else, really works the hip flexors - often forgotten and simple to work).  Doesn't seem like much, but you will get faster without doing anything else (running hills and stairs without weights helps as well).  This worked for me during my soccer days. 

Goosegg posted:

Thought I'd start a thread which has emerged on the 2017 HS thread.

(OK, first, S grew up in Southern Cal and the weather does allow baseball just a bit more than the NE.)

To me (all done and through), it's all about the extra work. My position is simple: building baseball skill is an incremental process and the more you do it, the more incremental progress a kid makes. Some kids have a head start; some are bigger; some finished growing early and have coordination, but eventually most fall within the bell curve of potential. The separator (i.e., reaching that potential) is extra work - and very few put in enough to separate them from the crowd; and only those separated play at the next level. (In other words, kids don't reach their final baseball potential unless they do that extra work.)

How to do it? That is the issue/problem. And each family needs to figure out how - how, after focusing on academics, is there enough time to work extra? But there are enough kids out there who do figure it out.

(One story that used to make the rounds here was about Alan Trammel (great MLB SS) who carried his glove with him where ever he went and figured out ways to work on his game.)

I think you answered the question with your parenthetical comment at the end. The player has to want to, and the player has to be determined to figure out ways to work on his game.

I have seen parent-player combos where both were all-in, where neither showed much commitment, and various combinations of one having a higher level of motivation than the other. Parental desire can give players a big head start. However, no matter how much parents contribute with their initiative, organization and resources, I've never seen the final baseball outcome outstrip the player's desire and motivation. 

Golfman25 posted:

BOF posted:

Every kid who played college ball from my son's HS team were the ones staying after official practice getting extra reps in. These were the same ones who would get together on weekends to get in some extra work, both during and off season. Talent takes takes a player so far and the work ethic is what will get them to the next level (and each and every player has their own "next level") regardless of natural talent. For my son at least, that work ethic and discipline was reflected in his grades as well as any task he takes on.  

So how did the "stay after practice" thing work.  Where the coaches there?  Was it just on the kids?  Did they use the school facilities?  Is there support from coaches, AD and administration?  At my kid's school, it appears that work outside of practice is not really supported.  He has been "kicked off" the basketball court while working on free throws.   

BOF's experience is similar to what we have seen.  99% is just kids, no coaches.  Ocassionally you can get some post practice one on one time with a coach but it's rare and think it's a lot to ask of coaches.  Yes it is at the school fields most of the time.  Post practice, preseason, and weekends.  Not sure if it is aloud, tolerated, or simply ignored by AD and administration.  It is just like when I went to school 30 years ago and every school I have ever been to through the years looking for place to hit balls and take grounders.  It seems as long as you are respecting the grounds no one cares you are there.  Respect the hierarchy.  If it's just you and your kid and a team shows up you need to move.  Leave it cleaner than you found it.  Don't "host" an event without proper permission like Sunday pick games.  

son had a great group of athletic friends who would take time off on weekends to play soccer, pick up basketball or any other sport.  My son has always been the organizer, calling kids to play games or asking buddies to stay after practice to throw him balls or practice together.  Most of his core friends went on to play college sports, baseball, football and 2 basketball player.  Most had been together since kindergarden and had good work ethics.  I made sure we had family time and grades stayed on track.  First semester 3.8 and staying strong.  One big factor?  Strong religion and faith.    It never hurts to say a prayer and be thankful for your gifts.  ( son when younger struggled through seizures and other health issues), which I think drove him when healthy to work harder.

With a tremendous amount of focus you can get a heckuva lot of good swings in, and hitting drills accomplished in 15 minutes, even just hitting on a tee in the basement with nerf type balls

Same thing with 10 minutes of hands progressions & glove work

there is no excuse not to get that done 5 times a week at a minimum.  Doesn't require driving somewhere and hiring someone

Golfman25 posted:

BOF posted:

Every kid who played college ball from my son's HS team were the ones staying after official practice getting extra reps in. These were the same ones who would get together on weekends to get in some extra work, both during and off season. Talent takes takes a player so far and the work ethic is what will get them to the next level (and each and every player has their own "next level") regardless of natural talent. For my son at least, that work ethic and discipline was reflected in his grades as well as any task he takes on.  

So how did the "stay after practice" thing work.  Where the coaches there?  Was it just on the kids?  Did they use the school facilities?  Is there support from coaches, AD and administration?  At my kid's school, it appears that work outside of practice is not really supported.  He has been "kicked off" the basketball court while working on free throws.   

You know my lingo by now... just more hurdles to jump.  Yes, in today's world, it can be more challenging... can't use fields without authorized supervision, many coaches are tapped out with hours they already put in, not as many plain old pick-up games as there used to be, blah, blah, blah.  

Our staff has a position that if players ask for extra or individual work, we will usually accommodate.  We will, 9 times out of 10, stay and give more cuts, more reps, more instruction, bullpens, whatever they want or need.  But they have to ask.  We generally have great kids who are fairly committed, play travel outside of HS and have aspirations to play beyond HS.  They know we will help.  They talk lip service about goals and hard work.  At the end of the day, few actually ask with any degree of regularity.  Some will only ask after we have expressed some frustration that no one is taking us up on the extra help.  

Even without a willing support staff, there are ways, as others have described.  The desire has to be strong enough to push beyond normal effort and lip service.  Yes, kids will get kicked off of school grounds these days.  Yes, its a shame.  It happens.  Another hurdle.  Find another hoop.

2forU posted:

Get a set of ankle weights.  When you come home from practice, put them on and when you wake up in the AM, take them off (wear them on days off as well, no running with them on, but going up and down stairs and everything else, really works the hip flexors - often forgotten and simple to work).  Doesn't seem like much, but you will get faster without doing anything else (running hills and stairs without weights helps as well).  This worked for me during my soccer days. 

Excellent idea.  I think I'll also get a pair for myself.......to many good books and shows like Homeland and Billions are slowing me down.  

cabbagedad posted:

Golfman25 posted:

BOF posted:

Every kid who played college ball from my son's HS team were the ones staying after official practice getting extra reps in. These were the same ones who would get together on weekends to get in some extra work, both during and off season. Talent takes takes a player so far and the work ethic is what will get them to the next level (and each and every player has their own "next level") regardless of natural talent. For my son at least, that work ethic and discipline was reflected in his grades as well as any task he takes on.  

So how did the "stay after practice" thing work.  Where the coaches there?  Was it just on the kids?  Did they use the school facilities?  Is there support from coaches, AD and administration?  At my kid's school, it appears that work outside of practice is not really supported.  He has been "kicked off" the basketball court while working on free throws.   

You know my lingo by now... just more hurdles to jump.  Yes, in today's world, it can be more challenging... can't use fields without authorized supervision, many coaches are tapped out with hours they already put in, not as many plain old pick-up games as there used to be, blah, blah, blah.  

Our staff has a position that if players ask for extra or individual work, we will usually accommodate.  We will, 9 times out of 10, stay and give more cuts, more reps, more instruction, bullpens, whatever they want or need.  But they have to ask.  We generally have great kids who are fairly committed, play travel outside of HS and have aspirations to play beyond HS.  They know we will help.  They talk lip service about goals and hard work.  At the end of the day, few actually ask with any degree of regularity.  Some will only ask after we have expressed some frustration that no one is taking us up on the extra help.  

Even without a willing support staff, there are ways, as others have described.  The desire has to be strong enough to push beyond normal effort and lip service.  Yes, kids will get kicked off of school grounds these days.  Yes, its a shame.  It happens.  Another hurdle.  Find another hoop.

I get it.  I was just wondering how these schools approach it.  Our school.  Forgetaboutit.  As I said, they are kicked out of the gym when practice isn't in session.  Fields are locked up on weekends.  So we have to find alternative locations.  Yes, it can be done.  But it can be a big hurdle.  Probably one reason why most of our sports teams suck. 

I would be hesitant with the ankle weights and do more research.  I've heard they can contribute to knee problems.  Perhaps that has been debunked?

3and2Fastball posted:

I would be hesitant with the ankle weights and do more research.  I've heard they can contribute to knee problems.  Perhaps that has been debunked?

I've heard the same but maybe that's because kids were running and playing basketball in them back in the day. 

hshuler posted:

3and2Fastball posted:

I would be hesitant with the ankle weights and do more research.  I've heard they can contribute to knee problems.  Perhaps that has been debunked?

I've heard the same but maybe that's because kids were running and playing basketball in them back in the day. 

My kid seems like a fairly typical teenager, in that he does backwards "dunks" on doorways entering and leaving rooms, jumps into the couch, jumps off the couch to imitate Yadier Molina at random moments, runs into a room to give me his imitation of Steph Curry's jumper and assorted other goofiness.

I'm not convinced that his teenage brain is wired to remember not to do all that stuff when ankle weights are on!

3and2Fastball posted:

hshuler posted:

3and2Fastball posted:

I would be hesitant with the ankle weights and do more research.  I've heard they can contribute to knee problems.  Perhaps that has been debunked?

I've heard the same but maybe that's because kids were running and playing basketball in them back in the day. 

My kid seems like a fairly typical teenager, in that he does backwards "dunks" on doorways entering and leaving rooms, jumps into the couch, jumps off the couch to imitate Yadier Molina at random moments, runs into a room to give me his imitation of Steph Curry's jumper and assorted other goofiness.

I'm not convinced that his teenage brain is wired to remember not to do all that stuff when ankle weights are on!

Hilarious!

Ive said this somewhere before..

Told my son and daughter that their effort need to match their goals.  Kids are ok with HS ball, than HS practices are good enough.  Want to play college, then the extra work is needed.

I can tell you that I heard the same thing about the knee issues.  They were saying the same thing in the 1980's.  The orthopedic doctor  that told me about them said not to run, so I did not run.  He also told me about other exercises to avoid to prevent knee injuries (seated knee extensions put his son through college). Those that chose to run hills and stairs with ankle weights developed knee and ankle issues.  I'm almost 55 now and have no knee issues (I also added in 12 years of power lifting in-between the 80's and now).  I ran thousands of hills and bleacher stairs without the weights.  My top 100 yard dash was timed at 10.2.  This does not mean that others won't have knee or ankle issues.  I would recommend using them while being aware of your body.  Hip flexor work will help with the number of rotations your legs can make (leg turnover rate will increase). 

I will also add that there are many other factors to building speed (flexibility, back, glutes, hamstring, hip flexors).  I was just suggesting adding something inexpensive and easy to add to the already packed schedule for son of Goosegg that worked for me back in the day.

http://healthyliving.azcentral...ing-speed-16149.html

A player has to identify skills he needs to improve and physical attributes he needs to improve. Then he has to prioritize what's important in his life and make his schedule.

We had the weights and equipment in the basement. We had a tee and a soft toss machine (and netting) in the garage. It allowed for easy scheduling of a lot of work. But we still spent a lot of time on a field working on fielding. In the winter they did a lot of the weight work at school. 

My daughter is five years older than my son. They fought like crazy. He worked at antagonizing her. He was good at it. The most peaceful time at our house was when they worked on hitting together in the garage. 

The only lessons they took were speed camp geared towards running the bases and sixty time for him. He took hitting lessons between soph and junior year mostly to change a habit than his swing. It was about the proper attack on a middle-out pitch. 

We had it covered. We also had a hoop and painted free throw and three point arc in the driveway and a collapsible, full size soccer goal in the backyard (had to be put away when not in use - damn HOA). I wanted to put a sand volleyball court in the backyard (daughter played volleyball/I played amateur tournaments on the beach when I was younger). The HOA shot it down. A pool is Ok. Drunken pool parties are ok. Volleyball isn't. 

Golfman25 posted:

cabbagedad posted:

Golfman25 posted:

BOF posted:

Every kid who played college ball from my son's HS team were the ones staying after official practice getting extra reps in. These were the same ones who would get together on weekends to get in some extra work, both during and off season. Talent takes takes a player so far and the work ethic is what will get them to the next level (and each and every player has their own "next level") regardless of natural talent. For my son at least, that work ethic and discipline was reflected in his grades as well as any task he takes on.  

So how did the "stay after practice" thing work.  Where the coaches there?  Was it just on the kids?  Did they use the school facilities?  Is there support from coaches, AD and administration?  At my kid's school, it appears that work outside of practice is not really supported.  He has been "kicked off" the basketball court while working on free throws.   

You know my lingo by now... just more hurdles to jump.  Yes, in today's world, it can be more challenging... can't use fields without authorized supervision, many coaches are tapped out with hours they already put in, not as many plain old pick-up games as there used to be, blah, blah, blah.  

Our staff has a position that if players ask for extra or individual work, we will usually accommodate.  We will, 9 times out of 10, stay and give more cuts, more reps, more instruction, bullpens, whatever they want or need.  But they have to ask.  We generally have great kids who are fairly committed, play travel outside of HS and have aspirations to play beyond HS.  They know we will help.  They talk lip service about goals and hard work.  At the end of the day, few actually ask with any degree of regularity.  Some will only ask after we have expressed some frustration that no one is taking us up on the extra help.  

Even without a willing support staff, there are ways, as others have described.  The desire has to be strong enough to push beyond normal effort and lip service.  Yes, kids will get kicked off of school grounds these days.  Yes, its a shame.  It happens.  Another hurdle.  Find another hoop.

I get it.  I was just wondering how these schools approach it.  Our school.  Forgetaboutit.  As I said, they are kicked out of the gym when practice isn't in session.  Fields are locked up on weekends.  So we have to find alternative locations.  Yes, it can be done.  But it can be a big hurdle.  Probably one reason why most of our sports teams suck. 

Yeah, I hear ya.  I think, when it comes to "extra" work, you pretty much have to take the school out of the equation unless someone on the coaching staff is driving or supporting it and has keys to the castle.  Unsupervised use of grounds is a huge liability line item these days, unfortunately.  We have a gated field.  I can't say on record that I encourage kids to jump the fence but they know not to tell me when they do   Like I said, I wish it was a bigger problem than it is... wish I got complaint calls from AD that more kids were sneaking on the field to play.

The extra work happens either before or after practice. In addition, there may be the weekly or occasional 1/2 hour lesson (assuming the HS coach approves).

Other than that, growth occurs with rest, recovery and nutrition. That's it, that's the end of the story.

An interesting and recognizable topic arose on another thread lamenting the first baseman whose inability to scoop a ball loads his fellow infielders with errors. This example ties into the concept of extra work and how can you fit it in.

First basemen at college all can hit; but that can mean a home run hitter or a guy who hits for average. So, the first requirement of a first baseman is hitting; if a kid can pass the hitting threshold, what stands out is slick fielding. Slick fielding means the ability to scoop.

There is no team practice which can develop scooping skills. Scooping skill is an individual skill - and one which can be developed. Fifteen minutes a day of working on scooping is a thousand scoops a week; every ball field - from little league through HS has a place it can be practiced. Fifteen minutes a day - extending over years - will catch a coaches eye and bring love from your teammates.

Goosegg posted:

An interesting and recognizable topic arose on another thread lamenting the first baseman whose inability to scoop a ball loads his fellow infielders with errors. This example ties into the concept of extra work and how can you fit it in.

First basemen at college all can hit; but that can mean a home run hitter or a guy who hits for average. So, the first requirement of a first baseman is hitting; if a kid can pass the hitting threshold, what stands out is slick fielding. Slick fielding means the ability to scoop.

There is no team practice which can develop scooping skills. Scooping skill is an individual skill - and one which can be developed. Fifteen minutes a day of working on scooping is a thousand scoops a week; every ball field - from little league through HS has a place it can be practiced. Fifteen minutes a day - extending over years - will catch a coaches eye and bring love from your teammates.

Agreed.  Catchers generally get zero work during the season.  So I told the kid that rather than grabassing with his teammates while the other team warms up, infield, outfield, etc., go down to the bullpen with a friend and work on blocking and receiving.  He tells me he can't because the coach wants them all on the fence watching the other team warm up.  So there's a good 20 min wasted.  

Goosegg posted:

An interesting and recognizable topic arose on another thread lamenting the first baseman whose inability to scoop a ball loads his fellow infielders with errors. This example ties into the concept of extra work and how can you fit it in.

First basemen at college all can hit; but that can mean a home run hitter or a guy who hits for average. So, the first requirement of a first baseman is hitting; if a kid can pass the hitting threshold, what stands out is slick fielding. Slick fielding means the ability to scoop.

There is no team practice which can develop scooping skills. Scooping skill is an individual skill - and one which can be developed. Fifteen minutes a day of working on scooping is a thousand scoops a week; every ball field - from little league through HS has a place it can be practiced. Fifteen minutes a day - extending over years - will catch a coaches eye and bring love from your teammates.

Or as was the case when my son was growing up, having a 1B that was 6'4 in 6th grade helped tremendously.  My son was a SS and got in the habit of using every bit of that 6'4 kid to get guys out at first.  I guess he figured it was better to throw them high and have him go up and get them then throw them in the dirt and have him have to make a scoop

https://www.drivelinebaseball....;utm_campaign=buffer

Weights work on the ankles why not the wrist?  I would question why you would throw with the weights, seems like it could increase your chances of injury, just like with the ankle weights.

I really don't like the term work but like everyone else here I've used the term.  I don't believe parents should be deciding how much "work" their kids ought to be doing with respect to baseball.  If that is what is in their heart, it won't seem like work to them.  To someone who loves baseball, "working" at the game is part of the fun hence, they don't see the effort they put in as work.  They are simply having fun. 

Parents should encourage their kids to do activities they love to do and hopefully it will not seem to them like they are working.  Hopefully, a parent never has to tell a kid how much to work - they will figure it out on their own because there is almost nothing else they would rather be doing anyways.

Well dang.  Hit four buckets of ground balls.  It was work for me.  Been a while.  My hands hurt. My arms hurt.  

ClevelandDad posted:

I really don't like the term work but like everyone else here I've used the term.  I don't believe parents should be deciding how much "work" their kids ought to be doing with respect to baseball.  If that is what is in their heart, it won't seem like work to them.  To someone who loves baseball, "working" at the game is part of the fun hence, they don't see the effort they put in as work.  They are simply having fun. 

Parents should encourage their kids to do activities they love to do and hopefully it will not seem to them like they are working.  Hopefully, a parent never has to tell a kid how much to work - they will figure it out on their own because there is almost nothing else they would rather be doing anyways.

+1000!!!!

I don't agree that kids know the definition of hard work - that is a concept which needs to be taught.

The essence of getting better is pushing boundaries; Olympic athletes have coaches who push beyond what the athlete even suspects is in the tank; same with all athletes. It's the purpose of a drill instructor in the army - push beyond preset boundaries.

There are times a player needs to be pushed, there are times it isn't needed. A kid has no context within which to judge if he is "working hard" - and that includes the diamond, his first part time job, chores, studies, preparing for standardized tests.

This is true of a player who articulates the desire to play at the next level; without understanding the degree of commitment: 7 days a week, 365 days a year. As parents, it's our job to lead and guide and explain; why? Not because we want an MLB player; it's because the kid has laid out a goal, but has no knowledge of the tools to use, the drills to run, swings to tweak, and we try to teach the steps needed to reach the goals.

All of this pre-supposed that a kid loves baseball; but loving baseball isn't enough. Some kids have better work ethic - but very very few know how hard to work, how to make work productive, and how to juggle the multi-tasking needed to climb the pyramid.

I believe that once a kid has potential, has desire, has found a love of baseball - he still needs to be taught how to make that combination come together with the glue of hard work. He learns that over time. As he gets older, he needs less and less "reminding" that its only hard work which can capture his full potential and allow him to move upward.