Bravo Catch 43...
quote:
But I'm trying my hardest and doing whatever is in my control
Exactly. The best you can do is decide what YOU stand for, no matter what the circumstances. It’s called character, it is hard won and it is in very short supply.
44 is VERY old fashioned/archaic/idealistic. I am not sure the current set of circumstances is as much about the loss of team and community as it is about the loss of character. IMO team and community are built on character. The players I respect live team and community everywhere they go. They do so through their character.
I guess in the end the question comes down the some basic values. IMO, A man is not about his statistics, possessions, or his accomplishments, or his wins, or his titles or his $12M bonus checks. A man is about what he stands for on the inside, no matter what it looks like to those whose values have been twisted by the fickle winds of current circumstance and popular opinion. What hasn’t changed in baseball 100 years is the test of character to the player, and the opportunity to become a character guy. To those whose opinions matter, to those who see long term character will always matter.
The sad thing is what HAS changed in baseball and society wide is our attitude toward character, toward fame and celebrity, toward winning and statistics at all costs. Currently much common wisdom says it is acceptable to take the money and run. To switch teams on a whim. To use PEDS. To bail if you do not start. To demand your gratification instantly. To be a star at all and any costs. And to do it quickly or leave without consideration with respect to team, team mates, coaches, family, or consequences as long as it would appear to benefit me and make me more high profile. You are simply a fool in the eyes of many if you do not. While there has always been an element of this out there, IMO it is more pervasive now than it has ever been.
Sad thing is that struggle fosters character. Waiting makes it all the sweeter. Earning it provides you with strength and confidence to face new challenges, again, down the road. Facing difficulty makes you dig deeper and decide what you really stand for down deep, what you believe in other than your own ego and your statistics. And team? Team success that is built on the character of players, is more rare, harder to achieve and in the end all the more sweet than any individual success. Ask any team that has won in Omaha.
IMO There is nothing more central or basic to baseball at the youth/HS/College game that building character team and values. It’s a laboratory to develop and teach life skills and character and team. When faced with adversity, do you dig in for the long haul, or you whine and bail out? Do you look for shortcuts? Can you rally the troops and take a shot at an impossible dream? Says a great deal about who you are and what you value. And it says a great deal about family and what they value. Says a great deal about society and what we value.
Told my players...REGARDLESS of what the circumstances are...every time you step on the field you set an example...you get there early, you work harder, you do the work others will not, you support your team, you treat others with respect, you rally the troops....you be the character rock if no one else will. You are on the bubble? Subject to politics? Get off it. You take pride in your ability to outwork, out hustle, and out last. You may not start, you may not play, but you will be different. No one else may speak up, but they will know you have their backs and much more importantly you will know who you are what you stand for. And you will carry that skill set and that knowledge and that confidence, and that ability to bring others together for the rest of your life. It is what successful lives are built around.
You will face difficult life situations...coaches will leave, players will leave, you will face horrendous coaches and teams...and you will be unfairly criticized and judged and taken for granted and looked over and ignored and used and lied to...but in the end it doesn’t really matter. You are bigger than circumstance. It was never about the specific situation it was always about handling the situations, using them to be a better human being and teammate. Every adversity you will face will make you stronger and better. Every self centered player and team that crashes around you because it/they lack character, will be a case study for you. If through it all you hold strong to your values and learn to wait, and work, and care, and struggle and create teams out of individuals, you will have the respect of people who really matter, and that includes yourself.
The bad news is that yes, character guys and team are out of fashion. The good news is that character guys, and team stand out more now than they ever have, and that presents true opportunity. The good news is that those whose respect is worth having still respect character and team. That respect is hard earned, worth winning and long term. That’s what sport is about and that is where it’s worth lies and that is why it endures. Character and team are built into the human psyche, it is who we are, and at some level deep down we all know that. It takes great courage to stand for something solid and real, to risk the temporary trappings. Such courage will never go out of style.
44
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