“What you tolerate, you encourage.”

BE A CHAMPION
I learned a long time ago that you can expect great things from people who feel good about themselves.  They set long and short term goals and don't boast their talents to others with words.  Rather, they lead by work ethic, play and example. Those are the players that I enjoy coaching most. Always remember that a good portion of your athletic career will help shape the person you become later in life.  I owe much of who I am today to this great game. Work hard, stay positive and leave nothing behind.

Personal Responsibility In Daily Excellence     

LEARN SOMETHING NEW
"When you’re green you grow and when you’re ripe you rot.” The first thing you need to realize is that you don't know everything.  You can always learn something new or better your game in one way or another.  Once you realize that your game can always get better, the sky becomes the limit. Find some space to get your rep's in and listen to your coaches and get quality rep's.   

You learn to do by doing......... 

CONDITIONING
I'm a firm believer in taking care of the body.  It doesn't matter whether your in season or out of season.  You can always go out and get bigger, stronger and in tip top shape.  I took great pride in this growing up.  I remember thinking that I was the only one up working out while my competition sat at home.  Do the extra's as it always pays off in the end. Begin training your game earlier each year and work on your game in the off season as well.  Don't just hang you bat on the wall until next year.  Keep working at it.  It worked for me.  

HITTING LESSON
When I speak on rotational hitting, I often refer to the lower half using the analogy of The THREE HITTING EYEBALLS to help kids remember the skill.  A lot of times I'll place a black dot on both knee caps and on my belly button to help teach them the proper fundamentals of the stance and hitting position (launch position).  The point here is to help the hitter keep his/her hips from opening up prematurely while within their stance or hitting position.  While in both positions, all three eyeballs should be looking at or facing home plate.  Therefore, the most important issue here is to keep the toes pointed straight ahead.  Once the hips open up, your front foot will open slightly as well helping utilize your full hips.       

PLAYING CATCH
You need to have a purpose in everything you do on the ball field.  I love playing against teams that have no clue how to play catch properly.  I believe that a lot of players and coaches feel that this is a time to solely warm up the arm while my teams work on many different aspects of the game during this short time.  Our infielders are always moving their feet playing rhythm catch and working on receiving the ball, tags and cutoffs. My outfielders are working on catching the ball on the throwing side and footwork.  My catchers are working on popping up out of their stances, throwing to a target and footwork.  ALL of my players work on throwing to a target AT ALL TIMES! Have a purpose in everything you do. Remember, how you practice is how you'll play in games!  

CONCLUSION
I hope this information can help you with your game.  Being a good ball player/athlete is hard work.  I grew up with a lot of players who had god given talent at a really young age.  However, they didn't work as hard as others and within a short time period they weren't as good as those same players they competed with during the early years.  Lead by example and don't rely on your teammates to get the job done for you.  I had the great fortune of playing on a national championship hockey team that won the tournament by playing well together.  We fed well of each and were in tip top shape.  Too many times young players get too wrapped up in their own accomplishments.  Be a team player and always remember that one player doesn't make or break a team.  If you play together and give your very best effort you'll have nothing to hang your head about.  Being a winner is not the end result, but how you carry yourself and how hard you work in my opinion.  Winning is an attitude!  Keep your chin up and eyes forward on the prize! 

TEAM= Together Everyone can Accomplish More. Good Luck.