Youth-Athlete's Sport Blog

In baseball and softball, all nine fielders have defined responsibilities and need to move on every play.

Base hit to right field with a runner on first or runners on first and third, the play goes to third. More...

In baseball and softball, all nine fielders have defined responsibilities and need to move on every play.

Base hit to center field with a runner on first or runners on first and third, the play goes to third. More...

In baseball and softball, all nine fielders have defined responsibilities and need to move on every play.

Base hit to left field with a runner on first or runners on first and third, the play goes to third. More...

In baseball and softball, all nine fielders have defined responsibilities and need to move on every play.

Base hit to right field with bases empty, the play goes to second. More...

When I was getting my MBA, I had a normative microeconomics professor spend a lecture on the individual self evaluation decision making process. The key take-away from that lecture was:  determine what you want, count the cost, and then pay those costs.  Determining what you want and counting the cost is about goal setting.  Paying the cost to achieve success is about long-term dedication to developing the knowledge and skills to be a high performer.   More...

In baseball and softball, all nine fielders have defined responsibilities and need to move on every play.

Base hit to center field with bases empty, the play goes to second More...

In baseball and softball, all nine fielders have defined responsibilities and need to move on every play.

Base hit to left field with bases empty, the play goes to second More...

In a previous post, I wrote about expectation and goal setting, now let us finish with aligning your goal setting and using your goals to block out others expectations.   Excellence is largely dependent upon knowing what should be accomplished, how it should be accomplished, and how much the player believes in their ability to accomplish what they desire.  Setting goals and controlling expectation is all about knowing what you want to accomplish, doing it, and getting positive reinforcements for your accomplishments.  In order for this positive feedback loop to be effective, your goals must be aligned with your personal goals, the team goals, and your long-term objectives.  More...

I could have started this series of post with goal setting, but the usual case is for a player to be overwhelmed by outside expectations and then realize they need to bring these external influences under control by setting their own goals.  Your goals should be used to establish your expectations, but unfortunately many times it is done the other way around.  Let me write a few words about establishing long-term and short-term goals and my next post will be about how this can be used to set your expectations.  More...

I have written a couple of posts pertaining to how coaches can develop their teams, so it is now time to spend a few posts discussing how players should approach their game.  The player’s mental approach to the game is many times difference between player mediocrity and greatness.  Unfortunately, coaches often neglect the mental side of the game and the players are left to deal with it themselves.  Let's start with the question of expectations.

How much does an athlete have to "prove" themselves and others?  More...