You've got to think right...

My favorite bible verse is Proverbs 23:7, "As a man thinks, so is he."

This verse is very relevant to baseball training... especially pitching, since that is my particular area. However, it is relevant to all aspects of instruction.

I am writing this today because I live in the world of instruction and notice that players (and parents) fall into a few categories:

• Expect something for nothing... these do not have the drive or commitment to put in the necessary time and effort to improve.
• Think training is a "microwave oven"... expect IMMEDIATE improvement. These become frustrated when adjustments take longer than expected. They may quit the process because they have faulty expectations. An example that I use sometimes is this, "making mechanical changes is comparable to walking. You walk a certain way... and this is learned over a period of time. Let's say that one day you decide to get walking lessons. The walking instructor tells you that you are not walking correctly... that to walk correctly you must kick your right heel up with every step. Now tell me, how long and how much work would it take for you to change how you walk?" Do you get it now? Do you see how much work and commitment this involves?
• Some think training is irrelevant... they think that you either have it or you don't. They think that playing on a team and getting instruction in practice will be all they need. These never reach their potential no matter their ability. 
• Some think right!... these understand the importance of doing things right. These are also committed to make the adjustments no matter what it takes. They say, "I don't care how long this takes or how difficult it is, I'm gonna do it." As an example, I have a pitcher who has worked with me for 6 years. The first two, every fastball he threw cut (curved). This took velocity off his fastball and made location very inconsistent and difficult. His mechanics were terrible and caused all of this, but he had a good arm. However, he was (is) a bulldog. He would (will) not quit. And today, he has dramatically increased his velocity and command of pitches. He throws fastballs that run (move to arm side). And he has made some very significant mechanical adjustments. He will listen and learn. He will take risks to try new things. He also made his high school team and will eventually pitch in college. And, he will be a very good pitcher at both levels.

To highlight this, I read an article in Golf Digest this week about Tiger Woods. To make a long story short, he has had 5 different swing coaches over the past 30+ years. He is still working on making adjustments and must pour vast amounts of time and effort into the process.

So my encouragement to you is to "THINK RIGHT"... "DON'T QUIT"... who knows, your breakthrough my be just around the corner.