“Thoughts” by KW

This is the full version of Kevin Wilson’s “Open Letter to Coaches” which aired on the KWB Radio podcast in 2015.

“I understand that you took this job not for the money and maybe or maybe not for the fame. But at the end of the day, this game is built on players. This game is built on the people that play between the white lines. It’s the player’s career, and not yours. And even though you’re probably at the holiday party tonight telling everybody that you’re the head coach of the 8u travel team that’s number one in the country, it’s still not about you. Coaches, we have an obligation to carry this game, carry the tradition of baseball to the next generation just like it was carried to us. And coaches, we have a huge responsibility to be able to make this game about the players and not us.

Little Johnny started to play this game because of the simple fact that he loved it. Hopefully Johnny will continue to play this game because he still has a love and a passion for playing this great game of baseball.  I pray that you do not ruin it for Little Johnny and a lot of others. Because I see it way too often that very talented players who started playing this game because they loved it end up quitting because of you the coach that is overbearing, screams, yells and just beats the living tar out of these kids on a daily basis – mentally, not physically. And at the same time, you do not know the damage that you are doing to these kids, so I challenge you.

Because now is the time that you have as a New Year’s resolution to be able to turn 2015 around and make this game about the players and not you. You need to put your arm around a player and tell him that he’s going to be just fine. When Johnny strikes out you go over to him and say that’s fine, do you understand what happened? Go get ‘em next time, I’m not mad.

I challenge you in the 3rd base coach’s box to not say a word other than encouragement. I challenge you not to talk hitting and stances and back elbows and squishing bugs at the 3rd base coach’s box. I challenge you to just write up the lineup card one game and sit silent the entire game.

I challenge you to make this game about the players and not you and if you can’t, I ask you kindly just to step away from this game. Not for your sake, but the player’s sake. Because there’s a lot of guys out there that can coach this game the right way and there’s a lot of kids out there that can play this game really, really well if you just stay out of the way.”

You can listen to the 5-minute episode in its entirety here:

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

We start playing the game of baseball because we enjoy it and have fun playing with our friends.

Then after a few years, the fun starts to fade and is replaced with the overly-competitive amateur baseball scene which promotes a rat-race mentality to attain a college scholarship and/or announce to the world via social media that we have verbally committed to college as an 8th grader (I’ll reserve my comments on verbal commitments).

Then a few years later, we focus our attention on wanting to get drafted out of high school.

Then when we get drafted, we want to get to the big leagues. When we get to the big leagues, we want to play every day. Then when we play every day, we want to sign a big contract. Then when we make more money, we want to be in the Hall of Fame. Then when we are in the Hall of Fame….

Where does it end?

What Do You Want?

It’s one of the most important questions we can ask ourselves. I’ll tell you what you want – you want your way, you want to do what you want to do, and you want what you want, now.

Every stage of your life requires a better version of yourself. You will answer the question of “what do I want?” differently when you’re 15, compared to when you’re 25, 35, 45, or 55. The younger you are the more what there is. The older you get there is less what – but there is always something that you want. Everybody wants something as they get older, but it becomes less of a thing (i.e. fancy car, bigger house, more money, etc) and more of a value (time with family, enjoying a long walk, having your health, giving back to your community, etc).

In every season of your life you will answer this question a little differently.

As long as you insist on having your way, you won’t get what you really want.

For example, if you started playing the game of baseball for the pleasure of playing the game with your friends, over time you realize that too much a good thing can lose its pleasure. Pleasure is addictive. It can control you. And you quickly discover that what started out as a pastime, was actually a pathway to something that controls you.

And then you wish that you never got the thing that you wanted – the college scholarship, the opportunity to play professional baseball, etc.

This is why “What do you want?” is such a tricky question.

The Value of Time

What we want now isn’t always what we want later.

We want the base hit now. We want to sign with a college now. We want to get the call-up to the big leagues now.

What we want today often ends up in the way of what we want tomorrow.

Think about it this way. What we bought on the credit card when we were younger, isn’t what we are wearing now. What we financed then, isn’t what we are driving now. The high school sweetheart we thought we were in love with, isn’t the person we married.

Regret is having what you want but realizing you’re in possession of something that is of no value in your life. Regret is the elimination of options. It’s the inability to go back to get what you really want because you got what you wanted.

Here is the problem though.

If we always get our way, we lose our way. If we always get our way, we get in our own way. In other words, you got your chance in the big leagues, but you burned a lot of bridges, sacrificed relationships and cut corners to get there. When you arrived, you realized that it’s not the experience you dreamed of because you changed as a person and instead of being happy about where you got to, you’re miserable and wishing that you could go back in time to when it was just a game – or quit altogether.

Why?

Because every step of your journey had lost all of the value it was meant to provide. You never get what you want until you discover what is most valuable.

And if we always do what we want to do, we end up in a place that we don’t necessarily want to be in. And if we always get what we want now, it may keep us from getting what we ultimately want later.

In other words, you had what you wanted but as a result, you don’t have what you want because you got what you wanted, which isn’t ultimately what you want.

How many people choose what’s desirable over something that has lasting impacts?

Make sure what you want today, reflects the value of what you still want tomorrow.

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

The Mentor Experience

Being a Major League or Minor League hitter is tougher than you think.

They grind out 500-700 at-bats per year. They try to make the most out of their career – one that presents the harsh reality that every day you get to play, is one day closer to the end.

They quickly realize they can’t do this alone. They need someone in their life to guide them and provide support.

They need a mentor.

And the role of a mentor is to stay behind-the-scenes, ready to help when the need arises.

Playing Alone

Being someone more than just a hitting coach was something I desperately needed and yearned for as a player. I needed someone who I could vent to, confide in, seek unbiased guidance from and lean on for support during some of my darkest moments. Sadly, there wasn’t anyone around at that time to facilitate my needs.

There were many times in my career where I would drive home in silence after going 0 for 3 wondering if I would ever make it. Other times, I would walk around with so much built-up anger and anxiety that whoever stood in my way would catch a side of me that still to this day, I’m not proud of – even ashamed of.

I don’t want anyone to have to go through what I went through.

WHY Mentors Matter

Have you ever tried to get through a tough moment in your life on your own? Have you ever felt like you were the only one going through a tough experience? I’m not just talking about trying to handle a 3-51 slump at the plate. More so, going through tough times off the field, that inevitably affect your performance on the field?

That’s where a mentor comes into the picture – me.

In the beginning, players call me seeking advice on their swing and approach. I am happy to sit down with them and listen intently as they share with me their goals, dreams, habits, routines, fears, doubts and anything else they want to share. After they finish enlightening me, I will return the favor by helping them map out a plan and routine for the off season and season, as well as for the remainder of their career.

But as we get to spend more time together, the player starts to realize that I’m not just their hitting coach – I have become a mentor, friend and confidant to them.

You can sit someone down in front of a video screen and playback slo-motion videos all day, dissecting the mechanics of the swing and the importance of launch angles and bat paths.  While it might help their swing, you’ve only started to scratch the surface when it comes to developing the complete hitter.

I prefer to look at the complete body of work.

I want to know where the player is at personally in their life. What does home look and sound like?

Do they compare themselves to others?

Do they know WHY they play the game in the first place?

Do they take the time to pour into themselves before they pour into their swing?

Do they have an ego (you need one to play your best)?

Are they intentional with their purpose? The list goes on and on.

I ask in order to find. I listen in order to understand. I never take for granted the opportunity to listen to a player share his thoughts and feelings on hitting and/or life.

Why am I intentional about taking so much time to grow meaningful relationships with players? Because at our core we are human beings with doubts, fears, anxieties and craving someone who we can trust to walk alongside us in our journey.

Mastery Is a Process, Not a Destination

True teaching requires development of the person first and the player second.

If I can help the player grow himself as a person, the hitter automatically shows up on the field. I’m not in this for flash-in-the-pan results. I’m committed to the long game – seeing personal, as well as offensive growth, over the course of time. I believe in the process – getting 1% Better every day.

Mentors have a passion for what they do.

They have an ability to communicate and relate to others, to express themselves clearly. They can come up with concepts and then find ways to make them a reality, especially under extreme pressure. They have a vision and know how to find ways to implement it.

Has your hitting coach ever taken walks with you to help you get back on track in the batters box? You can read about one of my walks with an All-Star here.

People ask me what #GoodBatting means:

It’s a mindset. It’s a feel. It’s simple. It’s based on your WHY. It’s filled with purpose and intent. It’s individual. It’s genuine. It’s a complete understanding of YOU. It’s confidence. It’s clarity. It’s controlled. It’s repeatable. It’s natural.

It’s not only a mindset, but it’s a way of life.

I’m grateful to work with high schools and colleges through our KWB Experience program. Why is it called an Experience? Because when you’re discovering how you like to swing the bat or become enlightened on WHY you are successful during the games, it’s an experience that you will never forget. My job is to lead you to the moment in your career where you begin to appreciate your strengths and find purpose in everything you do.

Are you looking for a hitting coach or a mentor? Perhaps now you understand the importance of having both in order to experience a meaningful life and career.

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: The 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

Playing the Long Game | In order to go fast, you gotta go slow.

We live in a society where people want everything at the touch of a finger. They want success without the hard work. They want result after the first try. They want pleasure without the pain.

We want things fast and we want them now. We don’t have much patience for playing the “long game.”

When is the last time you deliberately did something today that you know will impact your life a year or two down the road? When is the last time you did something deliberately at the beginning of the off season that you know would make impacts during late August of the upcoming season?

A Mentor’s Vision

First and foremost, coaches are mentors. And one of the many jobs of being a mentor is having the vision for the player. The job of the player is to focus on the task at hand and to stay in the present moment – or “be where their feet are.”

Have you ever taken a walk and asked yourself what you’re willing to sacrifice to get to where you want to go? Have you ever asked yourself how long you’re willing to wait to reach your goal? Has it ever occurred to you that if you embrace the timing of your life, you will embrace the actionable steps needed to accomplish your dreams? Before any work can be done, perspective needs to be found before analysis can follow. If you haven’t read the story of how we do this, check it out here.

When I first sit down with a player, I never know what chapter of their life I’m walking in on.

Some of them are in the darkest place of their life and career and it requires me to be sensitive to their story, which helps me create a development plan to get them back on track and focused on their PURPOSE and WHY.

How Long Are You Willing to Wait?

In life, we hardly get what we want, when we want it. We catch ourselves pushing forward in hopes of creating it all on our own. The more experiences we try and create on our own, sheds light on an understanding that we are not in control of as many things as we once thought.

But a big part of playing the long game is being aware of where you’re at in the current moment and focusing on the present, knowing if you take care of the little things, they will eventually lead you to bigger and better things.

This, however, takes time.

This is a common discussion I have with players. The moment you get drafted is NOT the moment you have arrived. It’s the opportunity someone handed you to begin your journey.

If you view each step of your career (and life) as individual stepping stones, you appreciate how many blocks it takes to build your foundation for success.

For example, I like to break the season down into seven days. Essentially 7-day “seasons.” I share with players that every Monday is Opening Day and every Sunday is the last day in the “season.” It’s a lot easier to manage seven days at a time than it is to manage 26 weeks during a Major League Baseball season.

When Monday starts, you have a plan in place. This plan includes goals for the week with things such as: I want to hit as many fastballs as I can this week, I want to hit pitches only in my “margin for success,” I want to be on time for as many fastballs as I can. The goals vary from individual to individual.

And after the game ends on Sunday, we take a look back on the week and see how well we did in executing our goal(s).

We are not worried about how many hits we got.

We are not worried about how good our launch angle was.

We are not worried about what our on-base percentage was.

We want to know if we executed our goals.

The information and feedback we receive on Sunday will help us formulate our plan and approach for the next seven days.

And we simply rinse and repeat every Sunday evening.

This approach to playing the long-game requires patience. If you focus on seven days at a time, you will be amazed at how quickly the season goes by. At the end of the season, you will look back and be able to see the progress and trace the steps of your success with clarity and understanding.

[ Our program has been developed over years of working with players and coaches at the big league level, and I love sharing it with coaches and players to give them a chance to maximize their talent.  Drop me a message and I’d love to give you more. ]

At the end of the year, players comment that they not only achieved or even exceeded their goals they had at the beginning of the year, but they marvel at how they achieved them – by having a purposeful plan and approach every single day. Not once were they chasing numbers. They were managing things they could control on a daily basis.

Are you putting the cart before the horse? Are you putting your goals before your purpose? What happens when you don’t get what you want, when you want it? Are you willing to practice delayed gratification?

Just because it doesn’t happen the first time doesn’t mean you quit. Comfort comes from repetition.

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 Sellers 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

“How many of those fans who watched you play tonight went home and played back all of your at-bats?,” I asked him as he stared out beyond my head. “And how many of them lost sleep over you going 0-3?,” I pressed a little further.

He picked at his food for a moment and then lifted his head revealing his signature smirk, “Probably nobody.”

“Exactly. Nobody,” I replied. “Even if someone did go home and lost sleep over your at-bats, I feel bad for them because they value your career more than they value theirs.”

I could see the tension release from his shoulders as he shook his head. He was finally “buying” what I was “selling.”  

You would think the best in the world wouldn’t care what others thought. But it happens more than most people think. Most forget that the top players in the game are human beings too. They have the same fears and doubts that everyone else does.

The moment our minds drift to concerning ourselves with what other people think, we have given them permission to live in our space, in our minds.

We start living out other people’s dreams instead of living out our own.

By the end of our night, he understood that people weren’t paying as much attention to his career as he originally thought.

He had wasted valuable time and energy worrying about what a blogger thought of his game. He spent countless at-bats trying to play well enough to justify the signing bonus he received a few years earlier as the team’s number one draft pick. Through all of this, it became abundantly clear that he wasn’t failing. Because how can you fail when your worst day is better than most people’s best?

He was hitting .290 in A-ball.

People aren’t paying as much attention as you think they are, so stop giving them more time than they deserve.

So, who is paying attention to your career?

All Eyes On You

When you’re at the top of your game, you feel like everyone is watching every move you make. And in the big leagues cameras follow players around the ballpark every day, making this feeling ever more present and real.

Too many players are concerned with trying to play to their “potential.” The word alone brings about feelings of doubt and anxiety. The definition of potential is having or showing the capacity to become or develop into something in the future. And potential typically originates from a scout’s evaluation or a fan’s opinion. Both of which are completely subjective.

There is nothing guaranteed when it comes to potential – or in life for that matter.

The future is widely unknown.  Working towards your potential takes your focus off being the best you can be today, and shifts it to what others think you can be in the future.

But Who’s Paying Attention?

Nobody.

If you think a minor league stadium full of 7,000 fans on a “Thirsty Thursday” are scrutinizing your every move, think again. Those people came for the entertainment, and on this particular Thursday night, perhaps for the $1 beer. They hopefully left the ballpark having enjoyed three hours with friends and family and I’m certain they even caught a few plays in between.

How about your friends back home who are busy living their lives as you’re staring out a bus window in the middle of the night? Do you think they were checking their MiLB app on their phone every 30 minutes to see if you got a base hit or not? Highly unlikely. They were too busy worrying about their own lives and focusing on what they are doing in the present moment.

So why do we assume that everyone else’s life revolves around ours?

Success and life are a singular game. Focus your efforts on what you need in order to live the life you’ve always wanted.

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