Get on this card...anyway you can!
Yesterday I was speaking to a baseball family about some concerns that they had for their son and his high school playing career. It seems that this player is conflicted about what he should be doing when it comes to position playing. The player for his age is very good at several positions. Enjoys playing ball and like most of us wants to be the best he can be for his team at whatever position the coach wants him to play on any particular day. Of course some of the positions he plays better than others but can be an asset for the team at whatever position that is that day. This of course brings me to my point...the more positions you can play obviously you become more valuable to your team.
This got me thinking about how coaches think. Of course we would like to think that when we are observing players that we think we know what positions each player can best help the team. Sometimes that position might not be what the player or players want at that time but it can better help the team if you put forth the effort to play. I think back to when Ryan was 11 years old. Our team, the Astros at Southeastern Cal Ripken, was loaded with talent. We all thought that Ryan would be our first baseman. He was probably the best choice, however, we had other players that due to mobility issues would make our team stronger with Ryan in the outfield. Telling Ryan that he was going to be playing center field most of the spring and summer and it was the best option for our team. He wasn't happy! Explaining to him that it was the best for the team didn't ease the pain of being told he wasn't playing is primary position. However, once he understood that he was playing outfield and not first base he began to embrace the position. Once he began to embrace the position he got better at it. Our 2006 Astros went on to go 22-3 that year through the season. Pretty good since the team was 11-12 from the year before.
Ryan embraced his role and the team succeeded. I guess if he had balked harder on the idea and we had to make other defensive changes we wouldn't have been as good of a team. So if you can bring value to your team by learning and getting better at multiple positions you become an true asset for your team. Yeah sure you are primarily not an outfielder but if you can do it you make the team better. That should be your goal...get on the field and perform. Be a team player not a me player. My best advice for young players is to ask to play different positions as much as you can because you don't know when your team or coach will need you there.
My story isn't much different. I thought I was a short stop. That is all I played through Little League and Babe Ruth. That fateful day Freshman year when I kicked two balls and threw one away at shortstop, led me to start in left field for the next 3 years. OUTFIELD...yuck. Well, I loved to hit and if I was going to play on this team I knew real quick that I had better embrace this change or die...figuratively speaking. So I did. My high school coach told me one day before summer ball after my freshman year to drill down and become the best outfielder I can be. He said "Don't be a Jack of all trades, be a master of one". Of course he was taking about becoming a better outfielder. So I did. Worked on it all summer with my summer league team. Learned how to track fly balls, making throws to the right base and never missing my cut off man an so on. Once I did all that I got pretty good at it. I am proud to say that I was an outfielder. Outfield got me to college. So my final point for the day is what you are playing today might not be where you are playing tomorrow. Deal with it and get good at it.
Coach Bale
