By: Jonathan Massey
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 to make the most of my summer.
My first week back out at the Ranch there were a total of 4 of us working out with Coach Wolforth… myself, Cody Springer, and 2 other pitchers whose names I do not recall. During the first couple of throwing sessions, the ball was jumping out of my hand. I was anxious to get on the radar gun. I can remember thinking that this was going to be the week that I break through the 90-mph barrier. Finally, on Wednesday of that week, Coach Wolforth let us radar. That day I was 86-88.4 mph on a turn-n-burn. By far the best day I had ever had! Even though I didn’t break 90-mph, 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 ever eclipse the 90-mph barrier. While most would be infuriated that the journey to 90-mph 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 life changing lessons that I wouldn’t have had I not gone on that journey.
We all get frustrated. It is an inevitable part of life. But how we deal with frustration will determine who we are as a person. I quickly learned that sulking over the fact that I wasn’t already a 90-mph guy wasn’t going to help me get there any quicker. I became completely obsessed with finding a solution. When I did that, I felt the frustration disappear.
I learned who was truly on my team. There’s a lot of people who you believe should be on your team or say they are on your team, but aren’t really on your team. I can’t tell you how many people told me I would never hit 90-mph, or that I was wasting my time training for two years on my own- often by people who I thought were on my team. Knowing who’s on your team is crucial because when it hits the fan, and it will, people on your team will drive you to keep going. People who aren’t will drive you to give up. I wouldn’t have ever hit 90-mph without my team behind me.
In life, we will often find ourselves not quite as far along 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.
**Looking to work with great people who will be on your team? Come to any of our events listed on our website! Go to www.texasbaseballranch.com/events/ for more information.
