Calm Down

His mentors all told him the same thing. Calm down. He knew it. From his earliest years, he could not control his emotions and the resulting words that flowed from his mouth. Yet, in order to have sustained success, even to simply keep his position with the team, he...

Three Tools of a Great Encourager

He was the team’s voice, its cheerleader. Whenever someone needed encouragement, he was their guy. Whenever things got quiet in the dugout, he picked up the volume. He always seemed to know the right thing to say at the right time to elevate everyone else around...

Reminder: Words Matter

He never saw it happening. Over and over, he simply told his players he loved them and thought they could do it. He knew them, knew what their hurts and fears were, knew how to really get to them with what he said. And he used his words accordingly, building them up,...

The Older I Get, The Better I Was

Isn’t it interesting how baseball guys tend to misremember the facts of their careers? The same old stories get better and better with every retelling. “The older I get, the better I was.” In most cases, it’s for effect and is entirely innocent. However,...

The Danger of Knowing Your Players and Coaches Well

Baseball players and coaches spend lots of time together. Baseball is like that. Practice can last for hours, much longer than basketball or football with their intense physical exertion. Since baseball is played at a different pace, both practices and games take...