How To Avoid The Dangerous Trap That Belief and Hard Work Guarantee Success
How To Avoid The Dangerous Trap That Belief and Hard Work Guarantee Success
“If you work hard and believe in yourself, you can accomplish anything.”
You’ve perhaps seen this on a bumper sticker, read it in a book, or heard a video proclaiming this grand truth. If you’re a parent, you’ve likely repeated this to your kids on more than one occasion. And if you’re an athlete, you’ve tried to convince yourself of this every time you’re staring at a lofty goal you want to achieve.
Except that it’s not true. Make no mistake. We desperately want it to be true. We want it to be that simple. We want confidence that the playing field is level, that my kid has just as much chance as any other, and that we can simply overcome every obstacle if we just believe.
It makes excellent movies, bumper stickers, books, and even great T-shirts. But it’s not reality.
Of course, hard work and believing in...
Popping the ball up? It may not be your back shoulder dropping
Correct Your Back Shoulder Drop And Discover A More Powerful, Consistent Swing
“You’re dropping your back shoulder! Get your back shoulder up!” It’s a phrase echoed in ballparks across the country. But is it the right advice? Honestly, it’s not. But while it may be bad advice, it’s not lousy coaching. But your barrel usually drops with you when you drop your back shoulder. As a result, it is impossible to be short to contact and long through the zone of contact. This lowers the point of contact and makes it much more challenging to hit the ball properly. When the back shoulder drops, the angle of contact changes, and the ball is more likely to go foul or weakly hit.
So, instead of a base hit or a home run, you earn an instant fly-out or foul ball over the backstop—or worse, a swing and a miss.
While it may sound like decent advice, it is missing the point. Whether you are a parent, athlete, or coach,...
Choking Up On The Bat Doesnโt Make You A Better Hitter
Choking Up On The Bat Doesn’t Make You A Better Hitter. Here’s Why.
Spend a few minutes watching a little league baseball game, and you will undoubtedly hear the coaches instructing some of the smaller players to choke up on the bat. There is this intuitive idea that when the bat is just a bit too long for the size of the young player, choking up reduces the length of the bat, thereby reducing the amount of time and effort it takes to rotate the bat over the plate.
That same conventional wisdom has extended through the more advanced ranks of the baseball world. Coach tells you to "Choke up when you get two strikes." This is about changing your grip by moving your hands up the bat's handle toward the barrel. To be clear, I am not talking about choking up and staying there throughout your at-bat—Barry Bonds was famous for doing this—or when we face ultra-hard throwers or a game on the line. On these occasions, some hitters will choke just...
Athletes and Artists are more similar than they are different
Hey Athletes, You Have More In Common With Artists Than You Thought
Athletes and artists are not the same—in fact, they can’t be the same. Two separate groups in schools. Different friend groups, different likes and dislikes, and even different external behaviors. Artists are not generally athletic, and athletes don’t have a knack for creativity. Right?
Not entirely.
There was often a clear line of separation between various groups in school, creating boundaries not crossed without causing social ostracism. The creative kids loved theater and often lost themselves in their books, writings, or drawings. They were more interested in discussing color palettes and character arcs. Athletes, on the other hand, didn’t have time for any of that nonsense. We had practice to worry about the next game, getting stronger, faster, and more prepared than our opponent.
But the truth is, that is nothing more than the typical stereotype.
...
