It’s amazing how advanced player development has evolved over the past 5 years, or so. With the advancements in tech, and the emergence of experts and guru’s on every corner, it’s easy to see why.

Because I’m no idiot, I decided a couple of years ago to adapt these lessons into my daily teachings as a Father. Proudly, I’m finally starting to see the muscle memory kick in and nowadays, my kids can repeat these rules in their sleep.

Here’s an inside look at my parenting playbook.

Each morning before dropping my two kids off at elementary school, we recite the 8 Rules much like you would the Pledge of Allegiance. As they placed their little hands over their heart, we sound off in unison as if we were a singing quartet…

Lesson #1: Much like coaches teach pitchers to copy mechanics… Do your best to write your name the same exact way as the kid beside you.

Lesson #2: Don’t try to learn it on your own, ask the teacher for the answers.  That’s their job, not yours.

Lesson #3: Don’t ask why, ask how!  Besides, asking why may get you a defensive answer.

Lesson #4: Be sure to ask for more math drills than anyone else today.  It’s not the number of correct answers you get right that counts, it’s the number of drills you do which matter most. Quantity always trumps quality!

Lesson #5:   With each lesson today, be sure to look back to the teacher and ask… “How’d that answer look?’

Lesson #6:  In math today, make sure you sit beside the smart kid and do your best to copy his answers.  You don’t need to know how he arrived at the number, or why… you just need to know What.  What the answer is, is all that matters.

Remember, today’s world is driven by data.  You don’t need to learn what’s causing the data to the be the data, you just need to regurgitate a technical answer with elementary understanding.

Lesson #7:  When starting or learning something new, always ask the teacher… “How long before I start to see results?”

And before I could even utter a single word of Lesson #8, Rex finishes my sentence.

“Hopefully we get a substitute teacher today who speaks way over our head and confuses the Hell out of us… they’re the smartest ones!”

“Rex! Tone down your language son and save the negative body language for the umpires this weekend. You’re going to need it!”

I love you guys! 

Seriously, can you imagine how quickly Child Protective Services would break down our doors and take away our kids if we followed the methodology and teachings adopted from today’s world of baseball instruction?

I can’t help but wonder how we got to this point?

I’ve also pondered this question several times.  My 4-year old daughter wears me out with asking why, why, why?  Not once has she ever asked me how.

So, the question becomes…

At what point do kids stop asking why and begin asking how?  The only answer I can come up with is…Maybe, after their first baseball lesson?

Seriously, people WTF is wrong with us?  When are we going to wake up and see where we’re headed unless something changes. We both know the best lessons in Life are self-taught and Life’s most memorable moments are FELT.  However, we throw that out the window when we drop our kids off at the nearest baseball field, or facility.

So, I’m challenging you to think differently and begin to question what’s really going on.

As parents, we would never teach any of these lessons to our kids…. But when it comes to baseball instruction, we not only abide by these rules.

We literally pay for someone to teach our kids these lessons!

Trust what you FEEL!

 

 

 

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