Be You, Be you, Be You

One of the hardest things for me to learn was that great pitching is not a “look”, not a rigid set of movements, and that every kid should arrive at the perfect place in a way that is unique to her.  If an athlete is trying to look like someone else, if she is measuring herself against someone else, it can make the journey much more difficult.  I thank my new partners, Jenn and Austin, for helping me better see this in our athletes.

Very much related to that is a theme I use constantly.  “Quit looking at what you “are not”.  Stop dwelling on shortcomings.  Just as you were created with specific weaknesses, you were also given special superpowers.  I watched three kids in the past week who have fabulous potential.  One was completely stuck in certain movements so badly that she could not be herself. 

Another athlete had become consumed with the thought that she was not as strong and athletic as many people her age.  Another felt she was far behind in her development and had started with us too late.  What an honor it was to work with them and see them make giant leaps. 

Being consumed with the things they lacked, and perceiving themselves as not measuring up to others, was keeping them from exploring who they might be.  A friend says something to this effect, “Often the best athletes are not the greatest athletes”.  He says that they are not necessarily the most gifted, the most coordinated, the strongest, or the fastest.  They have found one thing that they do very well and they have honed it into a fierce weapon.

Decide who you are gonna be, who you can be, and who you are most confident in being.  Bring it to us.  We can help with the movement, the strength training, and the strategies to work within those objectives.

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