Vol.1 No.3 | 3rd & 4th Quarter 2005

Baseball101 extends its best wishes for a Merry Christmas and happy holiday season. This has been a great year for Baseball101.com. Our membership is growing and our knowledge base has grown exponentially. I am confident you have received good value from your subscription.

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Jeff Blackwell
President
Baseball101.com

In life and in sports it is very important to set goals.  They provide direction so that you can achieve the things that will bring you happiness and success. When setting goals the succession of events goes like this: set a goal, have a detailed plan, commit to that plan, and then take action. Sound easy? It can be if you take goal setting seriously and approach it systematically.

First you need a long-term goal. A long-term goal is an objective statement about a specific achievement that can be measured. What is it the team (or player) ultimately wants to accomplish? An example of this would be "to finish .500 or above at the end of season," or "to have a fielding percentage of at least .945 at the end of the season." When most players are asked what their goal is they typically reply, "I want to win," "Play in the pros," or "Be the best." These statements tell you little on how to achieve this and they don't direct your actions and behavior.

It is important for the team, coaches and individual players to have long-term goals in mind. Approach your long-term goal incrementally - one game at a time, one practice at a time, one short-term goal at a time - otherwise it may seem too overwhelming and out of reach. Place all your efforts and energy into achieving this goal. Keeping in mind, "What is it I need to do to attain my long-term goal?" If you are not sure of numbers, a suggestion is to look at the numbers from last year, as well as the numbers of the team that won the league/conference and make a realistic assessment that way.  Coaches should help their athletes set team goals, as well as encourage them to set individual goals that coincide with the team’s goals.

Then, you’ll need to set short-term and daily goals that lead up to the long-term goal.  These become the stepping stones along the way.  As you achieve each short-term goal your confidence will grow and you will be that much closer to achieving your next goal.  Goal setting plays an integral role in achieving success, so it's important to take the time to set goals!

(Adapted from Karlene Sugarman's book, Winning the Mental Way, a book on team building and mental training. You can obtain your copy by contacting Step Up Publishing at 650-347-0826.)

The Move

Master the nuances of the left handed pick off move from Coach Maack. Coach Maack is regarded as the leading specialist in the left-handed pickoff move in the country. He has published a book and has been a featured presenter at the ABCA conference on numerous occasions. A lefty with a good move is a powerful weapon.

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