Finding - and keeping - your motivation

by Wayne Mazzoni/
“Nothing is particularly hard if you divide it into small jobs.”
— Henry Ford

Just about everyone would like to be more motivated in the way they prepare for the upcoming season. This is never more important than in
the winter months when the weather turns for the worse
and the days on the field can seem distant.
However, this is the time when you can make the most improvement both in your strength and in your skill. During the season, generally you are what you are and it becomes time to compete with what you have. The sport shifts to more about mental improvement than picking up speed on your fastball, or improving your home-to-first time. Yet we all can face challenges staying motivated during this time.
Here are a few thoughts that can help you stay on track throughout the winter.
“There is nothing noble in being superior to some other man. The true nobility is in being superior to your previous self.”
— Hindustani proverb

Measurement

Let’s face it, baseball is a numbers game. Batting averages, fielding percentages, ERAs, 60 times, radar readings, etc. So you should make your training the same way; it should have something you can measure. This can be strength related, velocity related or even some creative way. For example, if you have access to a medicine ball and a gym, you can measure how far you can throw the ball from a side toss, overhead, etc. As you gain in strength and technique, you will be motivated as you see the improved results. The same can be said of your body weight/fat. The results are trackable and measurable to let you know if you are doing the right things.
“We cannot do everything at once, but we can do something at once.”
— President Calvin Coolidge

Accountability

It helps to have a coach or a friend or friends to help keep you on track. So if you can find a strength trainer or nutritionist, hitting or pitching coach, this can help hold you accountable to your improvement. Further, having a hitting group, throwing group, sprinting group, any group, can help make you feel more responsible for showing up and giving your best when you are there. If you don’t believe me, see how much weight you push around in the weight room alone, then with a friend, then when you are with a group of friends.
There is energy with people, so use it to your advantage. You can take that further by creating some prizes and a competition among friends.
Could be a speed outcome goal, strength, batting average, strikeouts, etc. You name it. One thing our strength coach at Sacred Heart University does is have players pick weight and body fat goals and then post those goals along with a shirtless picture as their Facebook profile picture. Talk about accountability.
“The rung of a ladder was never meant to rest upon, but only to hold a man’s foot long enough to enable him to put the other somewhat higher.”
— Thomas Henry Huxley

Habits equal change

The fact is the habits we create lead to who we are. Smoking, a bad habit, often leads to physical illness. Whereas the habit of doing yoga three times a week leads to wellness. Getting rid of bad habits or creating ones is often a step-by-step process. For example, if you get a bagel smothered with butter as your daily breakfast, it may not work to go to egg whites, fruit and water just because you know you should eat better. Try making small changes each week. So first week, make the bagel whole wheat. Second week, turn the butter to low fat. Third week, butter half of it. Fourth week, eat half the bagel and fruit. And so forth until you are eating the breakfast you want.
“If the power to do hard work is not a skill, it’s the best possible substitute for it.”
— President James A. Garfield

This article originally appeared in the January-February 2012 issue of New England Baseball Journal.
Wayne Mazzoni, the pitching coach at Sacred Heart University, is the author of two motivational books: “You vs. You: Sports Psychology for Life” and “Athletes Instruction Book: 500 Tips on Sports and Life.” For more information, visitWayneMazzoni.com. He can be reached at feedback@baseballjournal.com

Stack Article on College Recruiting Intro Letters

Click here for the Stack article.

Giving Back

It is fairly typical of athletes at any level to be self-centered.  After all sports has a winner and loser, stats, playing time, etc.  It can create an environment where all you think about is yourself, your role on the team, your performance, your next game, your workouts, etc. 

It is nice to step outside this tiny world to take the focus off yourself and put it on others.  Recently our team at Sacred Heart did this through an elementary school read a loud and a youth baseball camp.  I'm no dummy.  Given the choice, I am sure they would all rather do something for themselves, sleep being high on the list.  But if you ask every play involved if they enjoyed the experience, grew because of it, and felt good about themselves for doing so, you'd get a yes across the board. 

So when you can, try to set up something for yourself or for your team where you are in a situation where the focus is off you and on others.

Coach Mazz
www.WayneMazzoni.com
www.GetRecruited.Net

Can You Build Mental Toughness?

The answer is a resounding yes.  The fact is, it's simple.  Simple, not easy.  Let me give a personal story and then relate it to your situation.
One day a week a do a distance run on the beach.  I like it because I can be outside, take my dog, and it's the beach!  However, without really being aware of it, I have built in expectations that certain things will happen.  Here are some of them...

• My laces will stay tied
• I won't get a blister
• My ipod will stay charged and the headphones will work.
• The tide won't come up and soak my feet.
• My dog will not run off and chase other dogs or horses (yes, horses).
• The weather will be nice, especially a lack of wind.
• But most of all, I hope it's low tide.  At low tide, the sand is firm and I can run sort of like I do on teh street.  At high tide, it's not quite quick sand, but close.  

I found that I always expected things to go my way and I would get frustrated and defeated if things didn't.
What I did was make a few changes in my attitude.
First, I stopped expecting everything to go perfectly.  I still want things to be ideal, but I don't need or expect them to.  I prefer them to, but again, don't need them to.
Secondly, when things don't go as planned, I simply chalk it up to a challenge that I can overcome.  I want low tide, but if it's high tide, rather then be bummed, I say "oh yeah, you think you can slow me down- - doubt it!"
Next time you find yourself frustrated with a coach, teammate, equipment, umpire, referee, instead of being defeated by it, add it to your challenge pile.  Then after you handle them, look back and congratulate yourself with your behavior.  Additionally, it can also help to visualize or plan for these things ahead of time.  Sure you want to envision success and everything going right, but to also plan for facing challenges is a great way to be prepared for trouble when it will inevitably come your way.
All athletes, all people, all humans, have challenges and when we deal with them in a reasonable manner we increase our mental toughness.
Good luck.
Coach Mazzoni
Coach Mazzoni has recently launched www.getrecruited.net which is a program for high school athletes and their parents that need guidance on the athletic recruiting process.

Get Recruited Website

Lesson Learned From Theo Epstein and Brian Cashman

I had the good fortune of getting to meet Theo Epstein and Brian Cashman last night at a Sacred Heart event.  Prior to their appearance on stage I had some time to talk about some things as it related to their careers which was further stated once they took the stage.

What I took away was how patience and long term thinking are often rewarded.  First off, both men started as bottom of the barrel interns and advance to GM's.  That alone shows their patience, intelligence, and perserverance. 

Further, both view their roles and their organizations in the same way.  They have long term values that they will not trade for the short term.  A good lesson for us all.

Some Thoughts for the Week

I hope all is well and that this blog finds your new year off to the start you want.

Three messages for the week.

1)    The first is my take on the best way to be in the classroom during high school and college.  There are really three types of people in class.  Those that feel that they are in prison.  They would rather be anywhere else in the world.  They truly feel chained to the chair. They are a prisoner of the room.  The second type of person is the vacationer.  Basically there to goof off, pass notes, just sort of hang out and let the time and world go by.  The third is the explorer.  That is the person, who even though they may not be engaged with the subject, figures there might be something to learn, some way to better themselves, some nugget to get from the class.  I think we all know the best route to be taken.

2)    The second is another motivational video I found on which I think is just awesome.  Check it out here. 
3)    Lastly, is some social media that I have set up for Coach Wayne Mazzoni Recruiting .  Check them out when you have some time and I'd love to hear your feedback.

Three Amazing Stories/Websites

Having had some nice downtime over the holiday’s, I spent some time looking for motivational information online.  I found three amazing websites/stories.

1)      What I found was an amazing website called Ted (www.Ted.com) that has talks from all around the world from all sorts of people.  Here is a quick link to one of the talks (all have to be 18 minutes are less, this one is only 5 plus).  http://www.ted.com/talks/ric_elias.html

2)      This is a story from 60 minutes about Alex Honnold who climbs huge rocks walls without a rope.  http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7393496n&tag=contentBody;storyMediaBox

3)      Last one, and stay with me on this, is a death meter.  Meaning, you answer the questions and this site predicts when you will die and then counts down to it.  To me, this is a terrific reminder of what you need to make of each day.  http://www.findyourfate.com/deathmeter/deathmtr.html 

Happy New Year and I hope these sites affect you the way they have me.

Coach Mazz
wayne@waynemazzoni.com