Trying Hard ≠ Competing

This tweet from Coach Bomber at Sac City really fired up the Hard 90 coaching staff!

We hear this all the time - "just try your hardest and it will work out."

As you can see, high level baseball coaches do not want players to try - they want players to compete and the two are not synonymous.

Learning to truly compete is not easy, nor is it always fun and certainly not comfortable.

Trying hard vs.competing:

Well I tried my best on that at bat - but it was a bad umpire and his zone favored the other team.

The competitor learns the umpire's zone and makes adjustments from pitch to pitch - fouling off tough pitches and finding a way to win an at bat. The competitor also shares the information with his teammates, so they are prepared and can make adjustments.

Well I tried my best - but the coach just does not like me and I will always be a role player on this team. Mom/Dad - can we switch teams?

The competitor goes and talks to the coach and asks what he needs to do to get better. The competitor works when no one is watching. The competitor looks at this as a challenge and relentlessly attacks his training until he is so good that the coach must have him in the lineup. All the while keeping a great team attitude.

Well I tried my best, but the pitcher threw below hitting speed.

Well I tried my best, but the field was not in good condition.

Well I tried my best, but the other team was bigger - are they legal players?

Well I tried my best, but the coaching staff did not prepare my for the games.

Well I tried my best, but it was just too hot.

Well I tried my best, but I had a big test this week.

You get the picture - to truly accomplish - you must compete with whatever environment that is put in front of you.

“Excuses will always be there for you. Opportunity won’t.”

Borrowing from Coach Stotz at Stanford: "Our teams competed at whatever they did- whether is be who can spit seeds into a cup, who could make the best plays in mass fungo or in the actual games."

At Hard 90, we teach players to compete from the very beginning. All of our training, practices and games are laced with competition - competition with yourself (get better everyday), competition with your teammates (games in drills up to spots in the lineup) and competition with other teams (play the very best competition).

So the next time you get knocked down - get hit with adversity - "want it more" - figure out a way to compete.

“The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough. They’re there to stop the other people.” ― Randy Pausch