(I wrote the article below a couple years ago and recently came across it again. The message is universal and one that doesn’t go out of style. I know there are many new people in the Ranch Family so I wanted to share it again. Please feel free to pass it on. – Jill)
By Jill E Wolforth-
Recently I’ve been bombarded with occurrences that made me think of the following:
“What you do speaks so loud,
That I cannot hear what you say”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson
It’s actually quite disconcerting to me.
Here’s the incident that finally put me over the edge. I was watching a team play in a very competitive tournament; they were more than deserving to be participating with several college-bound players. In their first game, they were tied going into the final inning. This was a big deal because they were facing the best pitcher in the tournament. Unfortunately the wheels came off in the 7th inning and they ended up losing the game. That happens. As we say, “That’s baseball”.
To set the stage for my point, if you asked the players the following questions, I promise you their responses would be a unanimous “Yes”:
– Do you want to compete against the best teams?
– Are you driven to succeed?
– Do you want to win a championship?
– Do you support your teammates?
– Will you do all you can to help this team win?
As a matter of fact, I believe the players from ALL the teams would answer “yes”.
Here’s what happened…
In their next game, they actually play a better team; one that is better defensively and offensively. This time they go into the seventh inning with the lead. What I witnessed next was troubling. With two outs and the game about to be won, (and I remind you after an UGLY loss) 6 of the 7 guys on the bench were SITTING! They were nice and relaxed, chit chatting away. I thought to myself “Are you kidding me!?”
These are the same guys that would have answered my questions above with a unanimous “yes”.
My comment, “What you do speaks so loud, that I cannot hear what you say.”
Don’t tell me you support your teammates. Don’t tell me you want to win. Don’t tell me you’re driven. And certainly don’t tell me you’ll do all you can to help the team. You sitting, at that moment, speaks volumes.
Let’s take a look at some other examples:
– The player who talks about everyone needing to “step it up” and then routinely shows up late.
– The coach who says warm-ups are important then drinks a coke in the dugout not paying any attention while the team is warming up.
– The player that says he’s a really hard worker then skips open hitting or morning weights.
– The player that talks about people not pulling their weight and then fails a class.
– The coach who stresses mental preparation and then doesn’t let a pitcher know he’s starting until he arrives at the game.
– The team that talks about discipline then leaves their dugout, bus or locker room a mess.
I think you get my point.
So the question for you, what might you be doing that speaks so loud it prevents people from hearing what you say? We are all guilty of this at times. At the Texas Baseball Ranch® we attempt to help players catch it happening and then eliminate or at least minimize it.
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We are very proud of the training environment and culture we have created at The Texas Baseball Ranch® and we invite you to come experience it for yourself.