Never Be Satisfied

Recently one of the country’s top high school pitchers came to see if we could help her with her moving pitches. After watching a few reps, I asked why she didn’t want more speed. She hesitated for several seconds and asked, “Is that possible?”

I explained that the barriers which were inhibiting her moving pitches were also holding down her speed, even though she was already among the nation’s elite. She was as good as anybody out there, but not as good as she could be.
The next couple of days were exciting for both of us as the speed and movement soon made it very challenging for the catcher to handle, but since they play on the same travel team the catcher was more than happy to learn to deal with deal with these new skills. A couple of weeks later I was working in a different state when a pitcher came to see if we could help her moving pitches. The exact same scenario unfolded. The moral of the story: When you think you have peaked, find someone who can push you further.
Sometimes when a kid hits a plateau, it is not the kid who is stuck. It is the Instructor. That is when our Instructors go back to school, consulting with one another, sharing videos, and coming at things from different angles until they find a solution.
If you hit six home runs, how do you know you couldn’t have hit eight? If your batting average is .550, wouldn’t it be heartbreaking to later discover that a few changes could have made it .750? I spoke with very young catcher this weekend who said her “pop time” is 1.7. Wow, that is amazing. I thought she was boasting, but then she humbly said, “I think I can get it lower”.
A parent called from a distant state to talk. Her daughter was thinking of giving up pitching because she was so discouraged. She was once dominant, but hitters gradually caught up with her and she can’t stand being average. I told the mother that I would be honored to work with the pitcher because that is exactly the type of attitude I want. As I asked more questions, it became clear that the pitcher was continuing to do the things she had always done and could not understand why they no longer worked. She was answering her own question. She is continuing to do what she had always done instead of stretching herself, getting out of her comfort zone, and looking for new approaches. The hitters certainly did and that is why they passed her.
Every record is made to be broken and eventually they fall because someone refused to be satisfied with being the best, instead wanting to be the best he or she could be. If you have big dreams, refuse to allow others to tell you how bad you are. Especially ignore those who tell you how good you are. You may be as good as anybody out there, but that doesn’t mean you are as good as you can be.