Don't be a bad trainee.
I see it every season and every offseason. Players blaming coaches for their lack of improvement, and refusing to take accountability for their own actions.
No matter where you are and how high you go, there will always be someone who thinks
“if i just had a different coach, i'd be where i want to be”
It's almost never that simple. In fact, most of the time it is pretty much your fault.
Now, obviously at the lowest levels of the sport there are tons of coaches who are volunteers and don’t know what they're doing.
But even then, are you going to pack it in because the dad coach you drew in the league draft sucks? You can't get a lesson from the local pitching coach and then take everything you learned there and apply it on your own a few days a week for a month, then go back to the pitching coach and see how the progress is?
The younger you are, the more valid the excuse you have as the limitations of parents schedule, income and other “life” stuff gets in the way.
Even at the best training facilities in the world you see people blaming coaches, they bounce from coach to coach (paying thousands of dollars) and not seeing results because they don’t realize the problem is them.
After a certain level/quality point in regards to coaching: most coaches are gonna tell you pretty much damn near the same thing. If you are bouncing between programs every 2-3 months, it says everything about you and nothing about the coaches.
Development takes time, you can't blame a coach for not improving in two months. It takes about 6 months to really determine if you're getting anyone better or not.
When I was 7 years old my dad lied to a local pitching coach who saw me throwing and thought I had some talent that I was older than I was so he would allow me to take lessons with him.
I went every Tuesday at 4:45 for over a decade, trained with him almost exclusively for my entire childhood.
The common mindset among trainees that want to shift away from their current coach in favor of another is the idea that training is controlled and done by the coach rather than the player.
This idea could not be further removed from the truth, almost every successful player that i have played alongside adopted the mindset of “my career is my career, no one is going to care more or do more to make positive changes in my career than myself.”
It is true, your coaches, parents and friends can all want you to succeed; and maybe your parents push you harder than you push yourself, but that will never get you where you want to go.
The difference maker in your career will be your own ability to pay attention to detail and do everything necessary to make yourself the best player you can possibly be. Understanding everything in your training and giving attention to why stuff matters better allows you to crush your own training and put yourself in the best position to succeed.
It is something I learned over the years, and something that likely won't click after you read this.
But it is far and away the most critical mindset change you can take in your life, it applies to everything: jobs, relationships or your mental/physical health.
Improvement comes from getting yourself in a good spot to soak in good training information, and then hammering your program every day for months and months/ years and years.
Improvement happens over the long haul, don't bounce back and forth from jobs looking to get promoted, be where your feet are and commit to the process of long term development.
If you do this, it will happen faster than you think.
Don’t know how to navigate the baseball world we are in?
I am here to help, here are some options.
Monthly remote training: 1 on 1 training directly with me, with 24/7 contact to get you on the right path. Prices are extremely discounted compared to the market rate for a weekly lesson. Price works out to as low as **$38 per week** a 60% discount from weekly lessons for infinitely more value. LINK HERE
A singular mechanical analysis with a 6 month training plan accompanied with it, including every facet of professional training: throwing, lifting, nutritional and mental game advice. Priced under $20 per week, and once again way more value than your standard weekly lesson. LINK HERE
Team Mentorship/Training Package: Remote Training Package designed for groups to work and grow together, practice plans, designs and goals. All of this to help you as a coach or parent propel your team to the next level. Prices vary based on # of athletes. Can be as low as $10 per week per athlete. This comes with multiple video calls to discuss and troubleshoot on boarding and application processes. LINK HERE
Slots are going to be limited for the monthly remote training packages for both individuals and teams, our highest priority is to maintain the highest quality of training.
And of course, we send out complimentary programs written by trainers of professional athletes every month to our paid subscribers, this is currently $14.99 a month and will soon skyrocket once we pass our subscriber threshold.
We are going above and beyond to help athletes who want it. Slots are limited so we can ensure quality control with limited coaches.
Till Next Time,
John
The Right Spot