2-1 in 18 innings..a Sport Psychology Dream

    The spring has had a challenging start to it thus far.  Our team has had six injuries of varying severity with three guys out for the year so far.  Without going into too much detail, it has changed the complexity of our team significantly.  More importantly, it has ended the high school careers of at least two of the players.  That is something that has been very hard to deal with.  Regardless, I do not think anyone within the state of South Carolina feels bad for us and plans on spotting us any runs when we play them!  The challenge has been to keep the same high aspirations the team had before the year as the names in the lineup have been changed.  Something I think has helped with this transition is our clear expectation for everyone in the program and a goal we set of, "Being as good as we can be each day."  Guys getting hurt hasn't changed that a bit.  It was kind of cool to see John Calipari has the same expectations for his team in pursuit of history.  I saw a quote prior to the tournament starting where he said, "All I want for my team right now is individually to be the best version of yourself."  That is really all any of us can and should expect.  That best version may change over time and may even fluctuate daily, but it's a great perspective.

        The injuries have made the start a bit of a roller coaster ride as our team searches for its identity, and that roller coaster continued with an eighteen inning game on Tuesday night against one of our rivals.  The game, a tense one for all involved because of the numerous up's and down's that an eighteen inning game will bring, was a sport psychology dream with all of the story lines that developed.  It would be impossible to mention every one, but I will discuss a few general thoughts I had and hope to incorporate some concepts that will help others in the future.

1. The Toughest Moment in Baseball History That Wasn't:  Somewhere around the 5th inning or so, we were locked in a 1-1 tie.  We pinch-hit a kid with freakish athletic ability who has worked to try to play catch up with some baseball skills and knowledge of the game over the last couple of years.  He worked the at-bat and got drilled in the arm.  After advancing to second base on a bunt (I think?  18 innings remember!), he stole third.  The player slid extremely late and crushed his ankle on the bag as the ball scooted away.  "Score!" was the call and the goal of the player as he proceeded to do the unthinkable.  With his left foot dangling to the side, he hopped on his right foot in a perfectly straight line and scored ahead of the throw.  The player then collapsed in agony and had to be carried off the field.  Unfortunately, he got the bad news of having a severe leg and ankle injury that required surgery Thursday.  That is much more important than the result of a game, but the focus of the blog is the game so back to it.  As the player is lying in agony, the opposing coach is discussing the play with the umpires.  The umpires walk off several times to discuss what happened.  Any coach knows this is never a good sign and is likely going to result in 50% of the people involved in the game being extremely upset with the end of the conversation.  The umpires decided that one of them had blown the play dead because of a "concern for safety of the player" (never mind that he had been standing on third and decided on his own to go home).  I've never seen this happen in a baseball game in my life, but the decision was indeed made.  Our team was upset (about the player and the play), the hitter ended up striking out to end the inning, and little did we know the night was just getting started.  Regardless of the result, the player who hopped home showed unbelievable courage with his effort on the play.  It was the toughest individual effort I have ever witnessed in person and something I will never forget.  Moving past it proved a tough challenge.  Much thought was spent on how we should have scored instead of how we would do so again in the present moment.

2. Hitting In the Dark:  Hitting a baseball is one of the hardest things to do in baseball.  We've all heard the axiom about hitting a round ball with a round bat square.  Well something that can make it even harder than normal is attempting to hit in the dark.  Once we got into the seventh inning or so the sun was down completely, and any light would be of the man-made variety.  The lights at the field we were playing at were better served for listening to a little Barry White and making some moves than hitting.  This led to 11 innings of pitchers looking like they are all throwing 7-10 mph harder and an unprecedented amount of fist pumps as they threw fastball after fastball past hitters on both sides.  This was a major challenge to hitting.  When broken down to the most fundamental of levels, one must see the ball to hit.  The lights made it tougher than normal.  What made it even tougher, however, was if the hitters allowed the lights (uncontrollable) to take away from their focus on the task at hand (controllable).

3. Separating Elements of the Game: This relates to some of the inevitably gross offensive lines that occur in an offensively-challenged eighteen inning baseball game.  As hitter after hitter went back to the dugout or ended an offensive threat shaking their head after a strikeout or weakly hit ball, the challenge was to then move on and play defense.  Both teams did a really good job of this.  Guys did a really good job of separating different elements of the game and moving on.  Again, both teams did well with this and are to be commended.  Although it has been said that experience is the best of teachers, my hope for the offensive players is that they do not have too many opportunities to learn like this one!

4. How to Pitch in the Dark: It was at least as fun to pitch as it wasn't to hit during this one.  The confidence of three guys in particular who threw during the "Dark Ages" portion of the game was great to watch.  They threw like nobody was going to hit them and pitched through some tough spots.  The hitters did a poor job of placing proper value and effort with each pitch of each at-bat.  What I mean is all too many times one strike quickly became three, and swings were either of the gorilla or puppy variety.  There was very little free and easy to anything offensively.  The pitchers were the direct inverse of this.  "Here it comes.  See if you can hit it!" was the attitude on the mound when one run was probably going to win the game.  I'd encourage these guys to "pitch like you're in the dark" every game by throwing each pitch with the same conviction.

5. Every Moment Is as Big as We Make It:  This is perhaps the greatest lesson I think a game like this can teach.  In sports, so often we place an added emphasis on "crunch time."  This could be the final two minutes in a football game, the last inning of a baseball game, or the closing minutes of a basketball game.  My questions would be this: "What makes the final out of a baseball game any more valuable than the other twenty-six?"  "Is a touchdown in the final two minutes worth more than six points?" "Why do basketball teams change the way they have successfully gotten the lead in the first fifty-nine minutes in hopes of hanging on to a game?"  With this in mind, everyone will remember one or two plays from a 2-1, 18 inning game that "made the difference" in the game.  That difference, in reality, isn't any greater than every other play.  A baserunning mistake to start an inning is just as important as one to end an inning.  A great defensive play is still only worth one out.

In my opinion, the greatest of both athletes and teams are those who are able to best approach every pitch or every play with the same intensity and focus.  Consistent behavior yields consistent results.  Why would you then purposely have a completely different approach to the end of the game?  That only creates discomfort and likely hurts performance.  Now, if you are the rare player who seems to perform better in these "clutch" situations, then I would challenge you to reevaluate where your focus is during all of the other situations.  Chances are an adjustment in doing so would help you to be a better overall player.

Those are just a few of the topics that stood out to me in this marathon game for the ages.  There were certainly others like guys battling through 0-6's to get big hits late in what proved to be the deciding inning (we won 2-1).  It was a great game though and one I will never forget being a part of.

Have you ever participated in a long, extra inning game?  Were there moments or lessons that stood out to you?  I'd love to hear about them.  Tweet @Coach_Ehrlich, or shoot me an email atehrlichb1@gmail.com.  Win now!

Characteristics of a Great Teammate #2: Great teammates don't criticize execution.

#2: Great Teammates don't criticize execution.

        Great teammates don't criticize execution.  What I mean here is great teammates don't get on each other for things like not getting a hit or making an error.  One of my all-time favorite comments that crack me up at a baseball game is when I hear someone yell to the pitcher, "Hey! Throw strikes!" as they are struggling to throw them.  For what should be a very clear reason, I have yet to hear a pitcher respond with "Oh thank you for the great advice.  I had been trying to throw balls but will change my objective now."  There is a way to encourage teammates, and that isn't it.  I am also not a fan of players yelling out mechanical help to hitters.  "Get your foot down!" or "Keep your head on the ball," are two staples you may have heard.  The last thing hitters should be focused on is mechanical adjustments mid at-bat.  "Hit it hard right here," "Have a good one," or "See the baseball," are much better choices for encouragement.  They are controllable, task-oriented, and focused on action.

        When I first began brainstorming for this characteristic I wrote, "Great teammates don't criticize performance."  I backed off of this because I do think there are at least a couple of aspects of performance teammates should have the right to criticize:  effort and attitude.  If a teammate does not give full effort, it is well within your right to get on them.  Hopefully, the coaches do so and enable you to do fulfill your responsibility of playing the game.  Attitude is another part of performance that is within the realm of being policed by teammates.  Like effort, it should be handled by coaches if possible.  Many times players with consistently poor attitudes become experts at disguising them.  A, "Yes sir" to the coach may be followed with a sarcastic comment behind the coach's back.  These are the guys who stir up trouble behind the scenes.  If not handled early, one attitude can become four or five VERY QUICKLY.  Criticizing attitude is something great teammates are able to do.  If you're going to do it, however, you better be accountable for your attitude in return.  You can't criticize a teammate for throwing a helmet when he is struggling only to do it yourself a couple weeks later as you struggle.  The key is to expect from others what you expect from yourself.  It's kind of a Golden Rule of being part of a team sport.

Do you have good or bad examples of criticism of teammates?  Like always, I would love to hear them.

The Leyland Letter

       One of the best things about working on a staff where everyone has goals of developing as a coach and person is you get to share resources.  Early last week one of the other assistant coaches I work with sent me one of the coolest things I have gotten the chance to read.  It was a letter from Jim Leyland to a pitcher who, by the quick research I did, was probably about to experience his first Major League camp.  Leyland, after a seven year absence from managing, was about to take part in his first with the Detroit Tigers.  About a month and a half prior to pitchers and catchers reporting, Leyland sent a letter to players introducing himself and his expectations.  The letter is littered with great sport psychology messages and is no doubt influenced by Leyland's time with basebal sport psyc legend Harvey Dorfman.  Here are a few of my favorite nuggets from the letter:

1. Wanting to Be a Winner vs Realizing What It Takes to Be a Winner
Everyone who participates in sports wants to be a winner.  Nobody goes into a game saying, "Boy I hope we lose," or "I sure do want to play poorly today."  Leyland mentions "great preparation, dedication, discipline, and the desire to be the best."  I love all of these adjectives.  Understanding what they are and their importance is essential to being a winner.

2. Telling Players They Are Good
About halfway through the first paragraph Leyland makes the comment, "Maybe some of you don't realize how good you are yet but I do."  The fact that a Major League manager felt compelled to say that to players going to Major League camp is great for perspective.  If these guys need to be reminded or helped to realize how good they are, then how about the players the majority of us coach?  They probably could use a reminder from time to time or someone to believe in them.  One of the coaching lessons sport psychology teaches is that our expectations for individual players affects the way we coach them and ultimately how they develop while under our watches.  Do you tell the players you coach they are good?  Better yet, do your actions show that you think they are good?

3. THE ENTIRE SECOND PARAGRAPH
Wow!  I love everything about the second paragraph.  So many times we tend to worry about the teams or players we are competing against.  How are they preparing this offseason?  When the games come, what are they doing?  Who do they have on their team?  Who is pitching?  "Who cares?" is the message Leyland sends, and I couldn't agree more.  A while back I wrote that mentally tough baseball players approach every game the same way.  The opponent is irrelevant.  The game is what we play.  While that may come across as cocky, I don't believe that it is.  My thought is only that getting caught up in the opponent takes away focus from the task.  Having a plan is important, but the focus should be on what you are doing instead of your opponent.  That is huge to me.

I also really like what Leyland says about nerves and how he wants his players to be "totally relaxed and having fun."  It's okay to be nervous, but how you react to nerves is key to performance.  Then, even at the Major League level, relaxation and enjoyment are important.  "Playing freely" is a phrase I like a lot.  Pete Carroll is big on it, and its roots are in The Inner Game of Tennis.  I want players to feel so prepared for competition that they are able to enjoy it.  This is something I think is easy to lose sight of but is crucial to sports.

4. Knowing Who You Are and Staying True to Yourself
The start of the third paragraph talks about how Leyland is as a person and manager.  He mentions a couple of adjectives that describe him and his imperfections.  The key here is Leyland clearly knows who he is at the point in his career that the letter was written.  That is HUGE for any coach.  There are many ways to be successful as a coach, but self-discovery and being true to yourself are very beneficial.  Trying to be someone you are not can be sniffed out quickly by players and contradicts everything we teach them about knowing who they are as athletes.

5. Remembering How Hard Baseball Is
Leyland makes a comment about halfway through the third paragraph about his admiration for the ability the players have and realizing how hard baseball is to play.  This is great to me.  Sometimes as coaches we forget how hard it is to play the game of baseball.  We think to ourselves, "How can Johnny not hit every ball hard after all of the excellent coaching I have given him?"  Well, he can't because it isn't possible.  If it were that easy, everyone who plays would be good.  Although I think it is very important to have standards for your players, let us not forget our own trials and tribulations as players (at any level).  Most of us are trying to help pass along the great lessons and experiences the game of baseball has given us.  Let's help players to deal with the adversity they will surely encounter and help them to enjoy the great game by creating realistic expectations for performance.

Those are a few of the takeaways I got from The Leyland Letter.  What about you?  Were you drawn to something else?  Do you hate something Leyland says?  I want to hear about it.

Here is the Letter:

Here is a link to what appears to be the original site to post the letter with thoughts from the recipient Jordan Tata:
http://www.tasba.com/news/2015/2/24/my-letter-from-jim-leyland

Step Forward, Not Up

Disclaimer: Read the entire blog post before you label me a mental coaching dreamer!

        "Step up right here!"  We all have heard it.  Many of us have probably said it.  Maybe it was in a situation where a big hit was needed or a team seems flat.  Maybe it was when a player was injured, and an opportunity was created for someone else.  I know I've said it before, but I also know I've become very careful about how and when I say it.  For me, the majority of times call for a step forward instead.

        Step it up implies that you need to do more than what you are already doing.  You have to step up your performance.  Here is the flaw in this.  What if I'm already giving my best effort?  If I am already giving everything I have and the results are not there, then that can create a very helpless situation already.  Then, I am being asked to step it up even more.  I envision someone on a flight of stairs being told to, "Step it up."  They reach for the next step on the staircase only to realize there isn't one.  What is the result?  They plummet to the ground.  The same can hold true for your performance.  If you reach for that step that isn't there, your performance can actually suffer tremendously.  This can be a hitter trying to swing too hard and flying off of the ball.  Maybe a pitcher overthrows, and their stuff flattens out as a result.  Another visual I thought of with one of the guys I coach with is the appearance of everything the player does being a little too quick.  It's the setting on your DVR remote that is somewhere in between "play" and "fast forward."  Think about one of those football recruiting videos that look just a little bit unnatural.  This is what someone who is looking to "step it up" looks like.

        So instead of a step up, I would like a step forward.  The step forward's implication is that the opportunity is presenting itself and looking for players to volunteer.  For all you secret The Bachelor fans, the opportunity is asking you if you would like to accept this rose.  If you choose to accept, then the step forward is just doing what you have always been capable of.  There is no need to change who you are to compensate for the situation at hand.  Down a couple of runs?  Well then step forward with your best at-bat.  You can't get them all back at once.  Instead, the comeback must happen one pitch at a time.  Control the box, and do what you do best.  Has there been an injury or a player departure of another kind?  Again, the worst thing you can do is try to replace that player.  You are not them, and you never will be.  At the same time, you are the best in the world at being yourself.  Be your best to help compensate for the loss by stepping forward.  The MLB Sirius station has been doing a lot of Spring Training interviews with players, managers, and front office members.  One of the topics that inevitably comes up is how to replace that trusted veteran who left as a free agent or the guy who will be out all year with an arm injury.  I really enjoy hearing the different responses.  If you are a fan of MLB Network's discussions, the radio version is like MLB Network on steroids.  There is something about it being radio instead of TV that makes the people interviewed much freer and candid in their responses.  The best I have heard all acknowledge that you can't replace a "James Shields" or a "Max Scherzer."  The next line usually goes to how them leaving presents an opportunity for a young guy to prove themselves.  I think of a guy like Joe Panic last year with the Giants.  After an injury to Marco Scutaro, the Giants tried several guys at second base.  Joe Panik was called up and eventually given his chance to win the job.  He did not try to be Marco Scutaro.  Instead, he played his game.  The result was a great rookie of year and culminated with some big hits and arguably the biggest defensive play of the postseason.  Panik, ironically, was incredibly calm during all of this.  There was a clear trust in who he was as a player, and he ultimately helped the Giants win the World Series.  This happened by stepping forward rather than up.

        One thing I would like to make clear is that I am not completely against the phrase "Step it up."  There are absolutely times where players or teams need to do so.  For me, it is more in the manner of stepping up effort or focus.  Coaches can tell when a team is flat or a player isn't giving his best effort for whatever reason.  If this is you, then definitely step it up.  If you are giving your best effort, then you need to be able to live with the results.  Keep stepping forward with that best effort, and the tide will eventually turn.  Thanks for reading, and be sure to "step forward" today!