Going through the offseason can be dreadful at times; some things can feel repetitive, and you can find yourself feeling discouraged due to not seeing the results you were anticipating or having “outside noise” telling you to go one way when you want to go another. These are all factors that are hard to control when alone, and can often lead you down rabbit holes of trying to be perfect and looking for the next best thing that is going to be able to give you a spark.

From my own personal experience and from seeing it firsthand in others’ training, one of the biggest separators that benefit an athlete is finding someone that wants it just as bad as you do and who is on board to push one another and hold each other accountable. When we’re alone, it is often easy to skip the things that do not feel necessary or to go down the easy road instead of taking the extra mile when in all reality, every little bit matters.

Oftentimes, we find ourselves not finding ways to compete throughout our off-season training. And although we might be doing our training and everything is going well, we are still lacking the aspect of what baseball brings – competition and having that feeling of battling as a pitcher versus a batter. This goes back to the accountability partner… while you guys are there to be able to support each other, you are also able to compete in every aspect of your training by setting up challenges throughout all different areas.

As it is still early for many of you in your offseason, now is a great time to get ahold of someone and begin that push you are looking to have. Be the separator for them that you have always wanted to have and accept the same challenge back from them. Compete often while being their biggest supporter and look to becoming uncomfortable. I promise you that with both of you being there and holding each other accountable, you will see much better results out of yourself and your partner than going out and trying to tackle the offseason as a lone wolf.