Defining Success for a Young Ballplayer
“I just want my player to have fun and play sports.” That statement fades fast once a kid enters the vortex. Here's the scoreboard that actually holds up.
Baseball is tricky and involves a lot of failure. There are many highs and lows, and so many opportunities to build character.
These guiding principles should be touched on early, during a young ballplayer's beginning foundations in the game.
01
The scoreboard parents default to
- Hits more homers than anyone on the team
- Never strikes out
- Leads the team in innings pitched and strikeouts
- Doesn't sit the bench
02
The scoreboard that actually matters
- 1Always picks up their teammates, and makes it a point to stand up and be at the fence waiting when they enter the dugout.
- 2Understands that the bench is one of the positions on the field. They don't love it, but they know they have a job to do when they're on it.
- 3Maintains their calm when they strike out, even on a bad call by the umpire, and talks to teammates calmly instead of sulking.
- 4Always runs hard to their position.
- 5Plays hard every game.
- 6Hustles to their position every inning.
- 7Owns their mistakes and doesn't make them multiple times, over and over.
- 8Is self-motivated.
03True north
Isaac Hess founded CageList after seven years of professional baseball and a coaching career of his own. These are the principles we share with every coach on the platform. They come from his academy, MADE Baseball, CageList's sister company. More of the story at isaachess.com.
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Where this shows up in practice
These same guiding principles are what the mantras and accountability program are built to reinforce.