Play the Game, Not the Opponent

Most games are lost, not won.

~ Casey Stengel

I've been starting each practice this season with a simple lesson.  After the kids unload the car and organize the equipment in the dugout, we meet for a couple of minutes in front of home plate.  "Take a knee, eyes on me."  I particularly enjoy this age (8-10 year olds) because they are young enough to remain consistently obedient and old enough to understand simple lessons in sports philosophy.

Lessons are typically limited to a favorite quote or mantra from a collection I keep.  They sometimes provide an opportunity for me to reference a historical figure, if I'm quoting a Hall of Famer or some other sage of the game.  The lesson is a way to have an important baseball insight sink in and, hopefully, last a lifetime.  Sharing it in this way, with the players quiet and attentive, seems to work better than just mixing it into the chatter they hear while active.  After the first few practices, the kids now eagerly await the next lesson - it's like cracking open a baseball fortune cookie for them each week.  And it probably solidifies their respect for me as a coach who seems prepared and experienced.

I share the lesson, repeat it, and let it sink in.  I then ask players to tell me what it means to them.  It's fun to watch their minds figure out ways to process, interpret, and re-state a little baseball gem.  I try to ask them again at the end of practice what that day's lesson was, and then I ask them again at the start of the next practice before introducing a new one.  A weekly tradition; a routine, a lesson learned together.  Tradition and routine form bonds.

My hope is that a few favorites resonate with certain players and stay with them.  I hope memories of their year on my team include not just highlights on the field but takeaways of wisdom that guide them through their sports future.  And while I still have them, I can help them refer back to one of our team lessons whenever they start to lose their way in the heat of action and excitement.

This Saturday's lesson was to "play the game, not the opponent".  I could have coupled that with Stengel's quote above, but I'll instead save the quote for a future practice to reinforce the same basic message.  In youth baseball in particular, focus on your job and doing it correctly, to maximum success.  Fielding correctly.  Throwing to the correct base.  Making good base running decisions.  Backing up the correct base.  Don't spend time distracted by anything or anyone else - doing so will only detract from what's important.  

In youth baseball in particular, most games are lost, not won.  And while it's normal to keep track of runs scored to determine the game's winner, we could just as easily keep track of overthrows, dropped balls, and lost composure. The team that pays less attention to playing its own game usually loses.