Put your hands here! Stay focused! Hit your cut-off!!! You can do better than that!
We’ve all experienced that coach……the micro-managing baseball coach!!
The one that feels the need to be in charge when he knows win or lose…………he’s not.
The truth is……you are. You’re the one that dictates the outcome of the game. The problem is sometimes that miro-managing coach can be a distraction! All you want to do is play the game the way you know you can.
The right way.
So what do you do when your coach is on your back…..and keeping you from playing at your best?
Understand it’s all an act
Your baseball coach is hardly ever as tough as he looks. This becomes obvious when he allows his emotions influence his style of coaching. Anyone can wear their emotions on their sleeve. It takes a certain level of poise and discipline to harness your feelings and focus on the task at hand.
Yup…..it serves as a challenge for baseball coaches as well.
The best thing to do when you’re a baseball player who is struggling to transcend the fears and frustrations of a baseball coach is to understand that it’s not always about you!
Truthfully. When you’re being reprimanded unnecessarily, it’s mostly because a micro-managing -coach is frustrated that a baseball player or game isn’t going according to how he has envisioned it.
Do your best to see through this facade and see him for what he is. A coach who has his own imperfections. The better you’re able to understand him, the better you’ll be able to deal with his coaching style and focus more on your game and less on what he thinks about you….because it’s not about you.
Play make believe
Another great way to deal with BAD baseball coaches is to use your imagination. Mental Baseball expert Tom Hanson puts it perfectly when he articulates that a baseball player could look at a difficult coach as a great teacher such as the Buddha who is intentionally providing a challenge for a player who wants to play freely.
It’s about recognizing what you can and cannot control. It comes down perception and skills. You can choose to feel lucky to have a difficult coach- because if you can deal with him you can deal with anything. So you can pretend that this coach is truly trying to help you bring out your best despite his disposition.
If you judge this experience as a bad thing….you’ll only make it worse.
Remember
You’re not playing this game for anyone other than yourself. Not for winning respect or favor. You’re playing to get better and to have fun.
The more you focus on dealing with a difficult baseball coach in a negative light, the larger that perception will become.
You’ll always have the freedom to choose how you deal with difficult baseball coaches. Learn to manage your own responses on the field and you’ll never have to worry about how a micro-managing baseball coaches manages his!