I've had the chance to volunteer at RCTC this spring with the baseball team. This is a great opportunity to get back in the mode of coaching. The head coach has delegated some responsibility to me with the outfield and 1st base coaching duties. We've played 6 games here in Minnesota/Iowa (going 1-5) and the team has some talent.
What they're struggling with, however, is the mental side of the game. You really have to be crazy to play baseball. Think about it. It's one of few sports where you have an opportunity to really dwell on mistakes and the action doesn't allow you to easily forget. For example, if you have a bad at bat, you may not hit for 2-3 innings or not at all. If you make an error, you may not have the chance for another play all day! Faster paced sports such as basketball or football require you to not think about the last play because the next one is happening in the next 10 seconds.
You need to be mentally tough to succeed in baseball. A 30% success rate in the game could reap millions of dollars in the major leagues. That's failing 70% of the time! How you deal with failure is the true measure of how well you play. You can hit the ball as hard as you can, produce a screaming line drive.....and be caught by an outfielder. Do you get frustrated or think I couldn't hit the ball better than that and tip your cap and move on. On the flip side, a hitter can mishit the ball off the end of his bat and wind up on 1st with a bloop single.
I read Ron Washington, manager of my team the Texas Rangers, saying "Good hitters learn from outs, bad hitters complain about them."
Kind of like life, huh? Some days we hit the ball on the button, but don't have anything to show for it. Then we plug along and something great happens. Are you in a rut mentally? I am right now, worrying about my job, this summer, finances, etc. But I know that I need to be mentally tough and get through these times. Thankfully, Jesus has said His yoke is easy and His burden light. Will you take this moment and ask Him to guide your decisions and rely on His strength.
I welcome any comments that you may have and send me an email if you get a chance.
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1 comment:
Do not worry, for what good does worry give you??
Cast all your cares upon HIm, who created you, the Universe, the very idea of baseball, the trees from where the bats originally came from, etc...Does He not know more than us? Do we think our worry impresses HIM?
NO, the Lord looks at us worrying and says..Where is your faith?
Why do you doubt?
You are like a ship in the high seas being tossed to & fro
On one is impressed by your worry!
Get a grip on the Christ, cry out to HIM with all you heart & soul to take you deeper in HIM and He'll teach you more about baseball than you could possibly imagine!
He loves you and is waiting, waiting to take you deeper into His ways. Loves ya, LeDona
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