Each time I start with a new pitcher or group of pitchers in a clinic setting (including sessions for college pitchers), I always begin with the question, “Why are you here?” My question is often met with blank stares.
Most players, after some thought, offer the opinion that they want to learn to pitch, to get better at pitching, or because they hope to move on to a higher level of baseball. Some players will say they’re here because they love the game of baseball. I disagree. I don’t think that’s why they’re here, and these answers reflect distinct lack of clarity about what they want to accomplish.
In the video below I offer added thoughts about introducing players to meaningful goal setting.
Simply learning, getting better at pitching, hitting, fielding, or any other skill, has no real goal in mind. Moving up in the baseball ranks is just a dream. You can love baseball while sitting on the couch or in the stands as a fan. None of these statements are goals: they are hopes or aspirations.
Until we have true goals I believe it’s almost impossible to get where we want to go. I don’t think that a goal is truly a goal until we write it down. There’s something about putting pencil to paper that makes a goal concrete, cementing it in our brain. Until there is clarity about the goal our brain doesn’t see it as real. And failure to have goals, specifically written goals, makes it impossible to achieve them.
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