Baseball is a difficult game of ups and downs. It can be a major roller coaster ride, especially hitting. There are hot streaks and cold streaks. There are games you may barrel up the ball four times and still go 0 for 4. Through those rough patches, you must be mindful of your actions on the field. Control your impulses. Your behavior will impact the team, but it will also personally hurt you. You never know who may be in the stands watching. You may have a coach who came to watch you play. You may have a coach who came to watch another player, but took notice of your behavior because he could hear and count the number of f-bombs you thought you said under your breath walking back to the dugout. You may be venting; you may be letting off steam. However, you did not solve a problem. You only made other people a part of your problem. This behavior may rub your teammates and coaches the wrong way. You may think that you are demonstrating passion, illustrating your love for winning and excellence. What is actually happening is the development of perceptions that you are only concerned about your results: your batting average, on base percentage, and other data that will get you what you want. Self-awareness and mindfulness are learned skills that require a significant amount of practice. For some, it may require a routine or mentoring. You can eliminate your cancerous, negative energy through many different strategies that we won't get into during this blog post. The first step is to recognize what you're doing and the impact it is having on you and others. If you are someone who wants to play at the next level, you do not want coaches to see you behave this way. You will minimize opportunities.  

Coach Mike VanderBunt