By Samantha Parrish
Cult
: a situation in which people admire and care about something very much or too much
: a small group of very devoted supporters or fans
I have heard the Ranch referred to as a cult numerous times recently, some in a negative connotation and some in a positive connotation. It took me a while to process my feelings on the word. As you know the Texas Baseball Ranch is a Family business so not only is it my job but it is very dear to my heart. After some time, I think I am becoming quite fond of the term and honestly I think (in part) it is pretty accurate. I posted 2 definitions above, leaving out religious definitions, now let me explain to you why I think those fit the Ranch.
Our goal at TBR is to give our players the tools to craft workouts that are right for them. These workouts will change many times in a year, much less their career. We want players to take control over their training and essentially be their own pitching coach- as I often say “God willing, you will play past your current coach” meaning- hopefully you have many levels of play left to go. That being said the only thing that is going to remain a constant in your career is you, so it is important for pitchers to be in tune with their needs.
At any Ranch program, each player will get an assessment to find out where they are right now and then they will be given corrective exercises to start to head in the direction of where they want to be. We let each pitcher be the guide of his training- if there is a drill that resonates with you or feels truly ‘connected’ then absolutely add that in! We believe a workout regime should be fluid, changing and evolving just like your needs.
I get that not everyone is looking for this type of training, some players are content with being told what to do- they want a program written out for them. But at the Ranch we have found that there are many players that reject this ‘one size fits all’ mentality- they want something that is specific to their needs and truthfully, who knows a pitchers needs better than himself. Every day at the Ranch is filled with innovations- the players are analyzing their needs. On any one day there will be a group of guys analyzing video, working on drill work, coming up with new drills and bouncing ideas off of each other for improvement. This is where the term ‘Cult’ comes in. Once our pitchers find something that works for them- they want to stick to it- they’ve worked hard to find it. It makes perfect sense- at the Ranch we encourage them to take ownership of their training so you can imagine why they would not want to let that go so easily.
If you look at the definitions above I believe I can explain where a misconception comes in. Our Ranch pitchers are not necessarily devoted to the Ranch per say- they are devoted to themselves/ their improvement and the Ranch is a place that allows them to do that 100%. Really the thing that the players care about, the thing they are devoted to is improving their training and the belief that they know best how to do that. So now when I hear the word ‘cult’ referring to the Ranch I smile a little because to me that means there are players out there that are have found a plan that they believes works for them and they want to stick to it.
If you think that this type of training would benefit you (or your son) I would highly encourage you to look into our Summer Program. It is a one of a kind training experience that players really seem to enjoy. It produces our strongest cult followers:) you can find more information on that program by clicking here.
