Category Archives: Little White Ball (Baseball)
Can Pujols and Wilson save Orange County youth baseball?
Frankly, I wasn’t too excited when the Angels signed Albert Pujols. Ten years, $250 million for a player in his thirties? Perhaps he can do for the Angels in the teens what Reggie Jackson did in the eighties, if he doesn’t get hurt. CJ Wilson was a better catch, a player in his prime who …
“For Good”
They say there’s no crying in baseball, but this is the sport of Lou Gehrig’s farewell speech and Field of Dreams. We don’t like cheesy sentiment or flowery expressions of emotion, yet we dance around the field and hug each other in victory, or weep in the dugout and slam locker room doors in defeat. …
Bounce – A must-read for coaches?
Are superior athletes born that way? Or can people become superior athletes through hard work? Bounce: Mozart, Federer, Picasso, Beckham, and the Science of Success by Matthew Syed, champion table tennis player and commentator for the BBC, argues the latter. He says that athletes are made, not born. Through purposeful practice, athletes can master skills to …
The bad call
Bad calls and unlucky breaks don’t just happen in baseball. They once happened to me in Toastmasters. Whether they happen in baseball or Toastmasters, they offer a lesson, if you’re willing to accept it.
John Wooden’s lessons for today’s coaches and players
When I was a UCLA student, I looked up to John Wooden. When I became an adult and a parent, I came to appreciate him even more. I liked his approach to coaching and mentoring, and I admired how he used sports to build character. As he said, “What you are as a person is …
