Month: July 2017

Have you ever sat across from a car salesman and knew that you were about to engage in one of the most grueling negotiations of your life? Perhaps you’re a parent and have found yourself negotiating with your 8-year old on the ratio of vegetables to chicken nuggets on their plate.

Whether we know it or not, we are constantly negotiating. Life is a complicated, slow dance with “portions” so as to not only receive our fair share of the “deal” but also accomplish some kind of middle ground.  The only way that teams, companies, organizations, etc. can be highly successful is if both parties “buy in.” This is why it’s so important to sell exactly what they need.

Coaching is no different.

If we are truly coaching, we are teaching the person first and the player second. We are in charge of leading young men and women who have their own thoughts and feelings on how it should be done. Their own unique experiences have molded and shaped them into what they are today. We need to embrace those experiences, not judge the person based on the chapter of their lives we walked in on. It’s what makes them unique and what has helped them get to where they are.

People often ask me what my philosophy is on hitting. It’s simple – my philosophy is to find a plan the hitter wholeheartedly believes in. I’m fully aware that everyone is an individual, so I adjust my verbiage and philosophy to match the ability of the hitter. It doesn’t mean that I abandon my principles, however. There are things I believe in when it comes to hitting, but I won’t let those principles stand in the way of making the hitter feel invincible at the plate.

For example, when I was the hitting coach for the gold medal winning USA Baseball 18U National Team in 2013, I spoke to the boys about the benefits of being aggressive in the IBAF World Cup. I wanted them to understand that the best chance for us to drive baseballs and score runs was early in the count. However, our leadoff hitter was not so sure this would work for him.

He approached me and said, “K-dub, I hear what you’re saying, but I’ve never been good swinging at the first pitch, even if it’s in my zone. I like to see at least one pitch first and then work my at-bat from there. I just feel more confident that way. It’s what makes me who I am. And I’m not afraid to hit with two strikes.”

This was a player that needed to listen to himself more than he needed to listen to me. As coaches we need to embrace players with this type of drive. We need to be on board with his tenacity, and ultimately be able to understand him. To empower a player is to understand him, and who knows, with the right mix of fire and direction, he might just go out and win a gold medal for USA.

And that’s exactly what happened.

Listen In Order To Understand

A big part of coaching is listening to what the player has to say in order to understand their beliefs and to see their vision. Many coaches listen to reply, thus creating an environment of debate rather than listening to understand which creates an environment of working towards a middle ground.

It’s not about who’s right and who’s wrong. It’s about listening, suggesting and having conversations that lead to a happy medium where the player feels he is in complete control of the situation.

This requires a coach to be skilled in negotiating.

Plain and simple, coaches are selling. They’re selling a system, a philosophy, a culture, a drill, a mindset, an approach. They are selling a feeling, a vision, a purpose, WHY and intent. They may even be selling a lifestyle. The ultimate goal is to sell players on how unique they are in order to get them to “buy in” to themselves.

Daily Leadership

So what does this type of leadership look like on a daily basis? Each day provides an empty canvas to paint a picture of what you want your players to do. Each day provides new obstacles and opportunities so be prepared to be flexible in your decisions. Leadership requires, among other things, patience, humility, compassion, tough love, honesty, and the negotiating skills to create lifelong impacts on your players.

There is a lot that goes on behind the scenes getting a player to “buy in” to themselves. The finished product on the field doesn’t just come about because they took a few swings in the cage and grabbed their favorite bat on their way out to the field.

Coaches help players arrive at their final destination when they understand the art of negotiating.

What are you selling today?

Love,

KW

For more than a decade, Kevin Wilson has been one of the most respected hitting coaches in the game. He works behind the scenes as a private hitting consultant to some of the best hitters in Major League Baseball. In 2013, Kevin was the hitting coach for the USA Baseball 18U National Team. Team USA beat Japan for the Gold medal at the IBAF World Cup in Taichung, Taiwan.

He is the author of the Amazon #1 Best Seller The #GoodBatting Book and Finding Clarity: A Mindful Look Into the Art of Hitting and co-hosts a popular podcast, KWB Radio, that showcases unique conversations with the pros. If you want Kevin to speak at your next event or if you want take advantage of his popular 2-day KWB Experience for players and coaches, contact Kevin today!

Follow Kevin on twitter @KWBaseball and visit his website KWBaseball.com

Have you ever had a great idea? Have you spent hours, days, weeks and maybe months putting together a solid plan for a business, blog, podcast or book only to come to the most important part of the project (the start) and find out that you can’t pull the trigger?

It’s not just you. It happens to everyone.

Recently, I wrote a post about how we need to stop listening to ourselves and start talking to ourselves. Throughout our days we will have great ideas. But how many times will we take actionable steps to implement those great ideas and bring them to reality?

Don Shula once said, “The start is what stops most people.”

Let’s stop and think about that for a moment. Have you ever told yourself you’re going to do something big with your life?

How about telling yourself you’ll go back to the gym to get that “summer body” you used to have?

Or better yet, have you come up with an idea that you deem a “can’t miss” or “a no brainer” that can change the lives of others?

Now, how many times have you taken actionable steps to implement those ideas into your daily life to make a difference?

One of my favorite videos on this very topic is a talk by Art Williams called “Just Do It.”  It was sent to me a few years ago by my good friend Joe Ferraro, who is the creator and host of the 1% Better Podcast. It was right around the time I had made a trip to Pittsburgh to meet with executives about the expansion of Kevin Wilson Baseball, LLC. I spent 5 hours in a conference room being mentored on how to take KWB to the next level.

I had a clear vision of where I wanted to go, but I didn’t exactly know how to get there.

At this point in the company’s history, I had taken the company as far as I could on my own. It was going to be vital to be very purpose driven in everything I was about to do so that I could impact as many people as I possibly could.

It was exactly what I needed at that time. I found the answer I was looking for.

I had to start.

Every day we are alive, our time for discovery, implementation of ideas and opportunities for influence, grow smaller. We are chasing our own “sunset,” and if we are in tune with our PURPOSE in our lives, we understand that every moment we waste not executing our ideas, we squander opportunities to influence people for generations to come.

What stops us from starting? What holds us back from taking action and making ideas become realities? Every one of us is different and unique. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer that I can give you, but I’m going to walk you down the path and see if you can come up with your own reasons why.

Perceptions Aren’t Realities

Some of us are paralyzed by what others think of us. As a society, we tend to conform rather than be unique and genuine. These perceptions can keep us from pressing the “send button.” We say to ourselves, “If I go through with this project, what are people going to think of me? Will I lose my friends because of this? What happens if it doesn’t work?” We come up with way more excuses to NOT put something into play than we do to START making our ideas reality.

So why are we so worried about what others think? Aren’t we in control of our lives? Aren’t we the ones who determine what we want to do and when we want to do them? When push comes to shove, we are the ones responsible for our thoughts and actions. We are the ones who hold ourselves accountable.

“So what if it doesn’t work?”

This is one of the most common responses from people I mentor when helping them to “take the leap” or “press send.” Some of us are looking too far ahead and worry about the outcomes before we even start the process. It’s like a hitter worried about if they are going to get a hit or not before they even step in the batters box. If you think about it, it’s ridiculous to worry about an outcome that hasn’t even begun to happen.

And yet, we sometimes put the cart before the horse, thus slamming on the proverbial brake pad because we have already decided it’s not worth the risk.

How is this any way to live? From experience, I can tell you it’s not a great way to live. For me, it brought about a lot of stress and sickness. At the time I didn’t think I had permission to go off and do my own thing. I felt I was second fiddle to some of those around me and the fear of branching off and doing my own thing scared me a little.

OK, a lot.

What’s The Worst Thing That Can Happen?

We tell ourselves stories about what we could be one day. How much we can accomplish if we just put our head down and did it. But those stories always have the “worst case scenario” ending attached to it, that is there to delay or derail our actions in making it a reality.

I tell hitters constantly, “What’s the worst thing that could happen?” If you’re looking for a fastball on the first pitch of your at-bat and he throws you a curveball for a strike, what’s the worst thing that’s going to happen? It’s going to be strike one. Who cares what the coach says. Who cares what the well-intoxicated fan behind home plate says, you can’t hit what you aren’t looking for. But you would be surprised how many young hitters are afraid to look to hit one pitch before two strikes.

They are afraid that just because it’s a strike they have to swing at it.

They know they’re wrong, but it’s tough for them to give themselves permission to sit on one pitch. Until they realize that the worst thing that can happen is the pitch is a called strike and they are “down” in the count. That’s it.

Going back to that conference room, one of the executives asked me, “So if you don’t go forward with this expansion, what are the consequences?”

I sat there for a minute and then said, “Nothing.

The worst thing that could happen would to NOT start doing it.” He smiled at me as he strolled down to the end of the conference room table and gave me a high five.

I finally understood it! With that answer, I’ve been able to spread the word of #GoodBatting and impact the lives of thousands across the world. It’s allowed me to take KWB to the next level and position ourselves in different areas of leadership, mentoring and mastermind environments that create more opportunities to live my WHY.

Have you been sitting on a big idea that can help others? Are you working a job just to pay the bills and know there is much more out there for you to accomplish in life? Do you want to be the player you always wanted to be but haven’t pushed yourself hard or far enough to make that jump to the next level?

You know what you need to do. It’s no longer a fantasy or a dream. You have permission to “press send” and change not only your life but the lives of those around you.

Love,

KW

For more than a decade, Kevin Wilson has been one of the most respected hitting coaches in the game. He works behind the scenes as a private hitting consultant to some of the best hitters in Major League Baseball. In 2013, Kevin was the hitting coach for the USA Baseball 18U National Team. Team USA beat Japan for the Gold medal at the IBAF World Cup in Taichung, Taiwan.

He is the author of the Amazon #1 Best Seller The #GoodBatting Book and co-hosts a popular podcast, KWB Radio, that showcases unique conversations with the pros. If you want Kevin to speak at your next event or if you want take advantage of his popular 2-day KWB Experience for players and coaches, contact Kevin today!

Follow Kevin on twitter @KWBaseball and visit his website KWBaseball.com

 Every morning when my feet touch the ground, I reflect and meditate on two things:

1. Thank you, Lord, for another day on this Earth.
2. How can I help someone today?

 This morning ritual started a few years ago after my family and I had experienced something I hope no family has to go through. It was a period in my life where I started to become less selfish and more grateful. During my transformation, I remember reading a quote from Neale Donald Walsch that said, “The struggle ends when the gratitude begins.”

I started to look at my life’s work through an entirely different lens.

As somebody who the pros look to for guidance both on and off the field, I understand that I am in a position of influence. My WHY is to help people and it’s my duty to be ready and willing to help others who are in search of guidance through their latest situation.

How Do We Define Success?

 So many coaches today are in it for the wins and losses. They worry more about winning the 9U travel ball trophy than winning the hearts, minds and souls of our young people. Coaching is teaching. It’s lifting people up. It’s providing a path for success, not just base hits, and helping a player find his purpose and his WHY. It’s caring about the person first, and the player second. A true leader pours into others and always eats last.

 So when I took on the job of helping professional hitters with their swings and approaches, I knew I was going to help them with much more than that. 10% of what I do relates to hitting a baseball. The other 90% is where “the magic happens.” At the highest level, if you truly want to succeed, your swing will only get you so far. There are so many other variables in play that need your care and attention. Such as, understanding and mastering your strengths, learning and implementing the mental game – approach, plan, purpose, intent, WHY. Knowing your role on the team and working daily to become the best version of yourself. And learning how to live two separate lives, one at the ballpark and one at home, so as not to intoxicate your family when you’re going through the ups and downs of your season.

Helping Others Find Their Success

 When you are in charge of guiding, influencing and inspiring the best athletes in the world, communication is of the utmost importance. It’s not so much what you say, as it’s how you say it and the timing of your communication. I take my job very seriously. The words that come out of my mouth can potentially make an impact on a millionaire. But let’s make one thing clear, the players are millionaires because of their ability to hit. Not because I took any swings for them. They deserve all of the credit. However, they put me in charge of keeping them “in their lane,” being another set of eyes for them. motivating them, calming them and holding them accountable. Therefore, my words carry a tremendous amount of weight and I cannot just carelessly throw out terminology or phrases without any purpose behind them.

Part of being a leader is understanding the opportunities you have to maximize your influence. Pouring into the person first and the player second shows your players you understand the bigger picture. You’re playing the long game. The time you have with your players, is valuable and it requires you to be aware of the “teachable moment.”

All It Takes is Five Minutes

 When I give keynote speeches I understand the impacts I can have with the platform that has been given to me. The most important message I try and convey to coaches and leaders is the idea that all it takes is five minutes to change someone’s life.

Think about the all of the “5 minutes” you have in the course of your day. Think about all of the 5-minute windows you have to make a difference in someone’s life. Now think about the times where you had an opportunity to take advantage of those 5 minutes, but you didn’t…

 Life is full of choices. Much of life’s experiences are shaped by the choices that we make. As a leader, our legacy is created over time by the choices we make to influence others around us.

When you see someone who looks to be having a bad day, and you notice that no one else has taken the time to show that person you care about them, take advantage of those 5 minutes to say, “How are you feeling today?” When you watch one of your players make three errors in the game and proceed to have his head down the entire game, take five minutes after the game to pull him away from the team, lift him up and make sure he leaves the ballpark with a more positive outlook on his situation.

 Sometimes we don’t think five minutes is enough time to make an impact on another human being. But the way I look at it is five minutes spent with another person will have lasting effects, just as much as not taking advantage of those 5 minutes.

Your days are filled with choices. What choice are you going to make today to maximize your influence?

Love,

 KW

For more than a decade, Kevin Wilson has been one of the most respected hitting coaches in the game. He works behind the scenes as a private hitting consultant to some of the best hitters in Major League Baseball. In 2013, Kevin was the hitting coach for the USA Baseball 18U National Team. Team USA beat Japan for the Gold medal at the IBAF World Cup in Taichung, Taiwan.

He is the author of the Amazon #1 Best Seller The #GoodBatting Book and co-hosts a popular podcast, KWB Radio, that showcases unique conversations with the pros. If you want Kevin to speak at your next event or if you want take advantage of his popular 2-day KWB Experience for players and coaches, contact Kevin today!

Follow Kevin on twitter @KWBaseball and visit his website KWBaseball.com

Recently, I witnessed a “discussion” on social media. It happened to be on the topic of hitting, so naturally, I was drawn to it. But after seeing the first initial comments along with its content, I knew the comments would be lively and had the potential to turn into one of those nasty, knock-down-drag-out debates – a verbal WWIII if you will.

Hitting a baseball is by far the most debated topic in sports. I don’t know why, but it seems that everyone has an opinion on how a player should swing. It doesn’t matter if you were a hitter or a pitcher when you played, or never even played past little league, everyone seems to have an opinion on what they think is the best way to do it or what the best practices are in order to become the best at hitting a baseball.

As I scrolled down the long list of comments, I started to shake my head. I wasn’t shaking my head so much over the information in those comments (even though some of the information was not good information) but more importantly and more alarming, was the presence of so much hate.

Many people try so hard to be right. They want to push their own philosophy and terminology so they can show they have their foot in the door. It leads to coaches judging one another and throwing their opinions around to prove they are right and the other person is wrong.

Now let’s pause for a moment and remind ourselves that as coaches, it is our responsibility to take care of those around us. That means taking a sincere interest in the person first, before investing in the player second. It means pouring into your coaching staff, empowering them to lead the way, even if they aren’t doing it entirely right the first time through. It’s about serving others, before yourself. In its simplest form, it’s being a servant.

But when my eyes fall back on my iPad, I don’t see any servants. I see judges.  

As I continue to scroll through the comments, I feel the tensions and the raw emotions oozing from the screen. Opinions are being thrown around with reckless abandonment. People are judging others left and right, all because someone else’s opinion doesn’t line up with theirs. It’s not a collaboration. It’s “I’m right. You’re wrong.”

Who Are We To Judge?

Opinions are just that – opinions. We are all entitled to our own opinions. If you live in the United States, you are very fortunate to have freedom of speech. But sadly in today’s society, freedom of speech has somehow been stretched to the extremes by people who think they can say whatever they want to, without taking into consideration the harm it can cause the person who absorbs their criticism and proverbial daggers.

Let’s remind ourselves that we are all on this Earth to positively impact the lives of others. We are supposed to be servants. We are here to be of service to others. To provide support, guidance, tough love, etc. to both friends and strangers. We are not built to go through life alone. We are supposed to join others in our journey and lean on the support of those around us.

When we judge others, it speaks volumes about our character. It provides evidence that we are not in sync with our purpose in life. We are telling ourselves that we would rather put down others to benefit our situation, instead of lifting up someone else for their benefit.

Our image trumps our purpose.

So who are we to judge? We are not perfect. None of us are. So why make others feel like they are less than perfect, when in reality, we are cut from the same cloth as everyone else?

Your Faith Is Not Perfect

After I had finished reading the comment thread, I tried to process all of the hate and closed-minded opinions I had seen.

My thoughts then traveled to the players – the people who are playing for coaches who are carrying around this hatred and who are not afraid to judge others. I thought about the players who only have one chance at playing the game they love to the best of their ability. One chance at finding out how they like to do it. One chance at finding faith in themselves.

Even well-intentioned coaches have opinions about how a player should swing a bat. But at the end of the day, the player needs to believe in what he is doing. You can listen to someone’s opinion on what they think you need to do, but ultimately it’s up to you to have faith in yourself, faith in your abilities and faith in what got you there in the first place. You were blessed with unique abilities and talents.  Now it’s your job to understand your shape.

Your faith in yourself is not based on the idea that you will be perfect. Rather, it will allow you to do everything within your control to be the best version of yourself.

So the next time you are in a situation where you or someone else wants to be the first to throw a stone, just remember this:

More faith. Less opinion.

Love,

KW

For more than a decade, Kevin Wilson has been one of the most respected hitting coaches in the game. He works behind the scenes as a private hitting consultant to some of the best hitters in Major League Baseball. In 2013, Kevin was the hitting coach for the USA Baseball 18U National Team. Team USA beat Japan for the Gold medal at the IBAF World Cup in Taichung, Taiwan.

He is the author of the Amazon #1 Best Seller The #GoodBatting Book and co-hosts a popular podcast, KWB Radio, that showcases unique conversations with the pros. If you want Kevin to speak at your next event or if you want take advantage of his popular 2-day KWB Experience for players and coaches, contact Kevin today!

Follow Kevin on twitter @KWBaseball and visit his website KWBaseball.com