By Jonathan Massey –
As I sat down to write this week’s blog, it occurred to me that for the vast majority of high school baseball players out there (at least here in Texas), their high school season has just ended or will be ending in the coming weeks. The same can be said for the college season as it winds down over the next month. This means there is going to be a handful of high school seniors who have a burning passion to play at the next level without any prospective schools, and a handful of college seniors just praying that their name gets called in the Draft so they can put the jersey on at least one more time. So, while I originally wrote this piece a few years ago, it seems even more fitting today.
It was May 2011; I had just gotten home from my sophomore year in college, and I was excited to get back to work at the Ranch.
My first week back, there were a total of 4 of us working out with Coach Wolforth: Cody Springer, 2 other pitchers whose names I cannot recall, and myself. During the first couple of throwing sessions, the ball was jumping out of my hand. I was so anxious to get on the radar gun. I can remember thinking that this was going to be the week. This was going to be the week that I finally break through the 90mph barrier. Finally, on Wednesday of that week, Coach Wolforth let us radar. That same day, I was 86-88.4mph on a turn-n-burn. By far the BEST day I had ever had! Even though I didn’t break 90mph, I left that day thinking that it was just a matter of time before I did.
It would be another 34 months, March 2014, before I would finally eclipse the 90mph barrier. Most would be infuriated that the journey to 90mph took so long, but when I look back on it, I thank God that I had to travel that journey.
God’s Delays Are Not Always God’s Denials
Over those 34 months, I learned many lifechanging lessons that I otherwise would not have.
We all get frustrated; it is an inevitable part of life. But how we deal with the frustration will determine who we are as a person. I quickly learned that sulking in the fact that I wasn’t already a “90mph Guy” wasn’t going to help me get there any quicker. I became completely obsessed with finding a solution. When I focused on the solution rather than the problem, I felt the frustration disappear.
I learned who was truly on my team. There are a lot of people who you believe should be on your team or who say they are, but really, they aren’t. I can’t tell you how many people told me I would never hit 90mph, or that I was wasting my time training for 2 years on my own. Often times, I was told these things by people who I thought were on my side. Knowing who supports you is crucial because when it hits the fan (and it will), people on your team will drive you to keep going, and people who aren’t, will drive you to give up. I would have never hit 90mph without my team behind me.
In life, we will often find ourselves not quite as far along on our journey as we would like to be, but we are always exactly where God needs us to be. Those 34 months helped shape me into the man I am today, and for that, I’ll be forever grateful.
So, for those of you who are unsure of what baseball has in store for you next, I’ll leave you with a piece of advice my Dad gave to me… “Everything will work itself out in the end. If it hasn’t, it’s because it isn’t the end yet.”
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Important TBR Updates
- One of the things we do exceptionally well with our Extended Stay Summer Program at The Texas Baseball Ranch is to help young men map out a plan for progress and help them to stay on track. If you or someone you know would like to join us at The Ranch this summer, please check out the program at www.TexasBaseballRanch.com/events.
- Dates for our Elite Pitchers Bootcamps for the summer are available. Watch your email or check our website https://www.texasbaseballranch.com/events/
- Athletes continue to be excited our “Ranch Remote” training. It’s a program for people that would still like to get access to, and ongoing instruction from, the TBR staff but prefer to avoid travel due to the virus or other limitations. Click here to get more information on this NEW, hyper-personalized training option. Space is limited in this program and we only have a few spots open currently so if you’re interested, don’t delay.
for more details or to sign up for any of these options.
