The Critical Importance of Accurate Self-Reflection

By Jonathan Massey –

Over the past couple of weeks, two of my long-time one-on-one lesson clients reached out to discuss their off-season plans. I am pretty in tune with what they need to work on, as I’ve been working with them for a few years now. I could have simply said, “Here, go do this.” But I didn’t. 

Why? 

As the old proverb goes, “Teach a man to fish, and he’ll be fed for a lifetime”. I knew this was a great time to teach them to take ownership of their training, rather than just me handing them a plan. 

Trevor Bauer has many skills—no doubt about it. Arguably, his greatest skill is his ability to accurately reflect on what went well, what he was able to do, and—more importantly—what didn’t go well during the most recent season. 

For example, after the 2015 season, he knew that his current slider wasn’t good enough. He needed to reinvent the pitch if he was going to continue to have it in his arsenal. Just a few years later, Bauer’s slider is one of the best in the game. 

Expecting a teenager to have the same level of self-awareness as Bauer did at age 25 is not realistic, so it is a joint effort between coaches and athletes to analyze and plan together. To start, I asked my players what areas or categories of training they felt most impacted their performance during the season. They listed the major components—velocity and getting stronger—which, of course, they felt were sufficient. I then asked about other important components: mobility, arm health, and recovery. 

The looks on their faces were priceless—you could tell they hadn’t thought about any of that. It was part “please let this be over soon” and “better think deeper if I want to get out of here”. 

Eventually, we came up with 20 subcategories for them to grade themselves on, including velocity, dealing with failure, shape of their different pitches, and recovery—to name a few. While at times it felt like pulling teeth to get teenagers to think beyond the surface-level categories, I truly felt the payoff at the end of the day was worth it. 

Not only do these young men have more clarity on what they need to work on this off-season, but they are far more likely to stick with it because they assumed ownership of the process. That’s a much better outcome than if I had simply given them the plan to follow. 

As the month of August reaches its halfway point, summer travel ball is winding down. That means the off-season is upon us. Without clarity of purpose, you may find yourself stuck doing what you’ve always done—or following someone else’s plan that isn’t best for you. If that happens, you might get to where you want to go… or you might not. 

Don’t let that happen to you. 

Spend time over the next few weeks creating clarity through accurate self-reflection. That way, when you are ready to start your off-season, you’ll know exactly what you need and can hit the ground running!

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Important TBR Updates

• TBR’s Fall and Winter Classes are open! Classes are held Monday & Wednesday and will run from September through January.  Spots are limited. CLICK HERE to download the registration form or call to reserve your spot. If you have any questions email info@texasbaseballranch.comor call (936) 588-6762.

• Attention Youth Pitchers & Parents – Registration is open for our youth pitching camp! This once a year event, for players ages 8-12, will be October 4th & 5th.  Registration is open! CLICK HERE for more information and to register.

• Our Fall/Winter Elite Pitchers Bootcamp dates have been released!  These are great opportunities to take advantage of our world renowned training. Dates include:
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  Oct. 11-13 (Sat-Mon) Columbus Day Weekend
  Nov. 22-24 (Sat-Mon)
  Dec. 28-30 (Sun-Wed)
  Jan. 17-19 (Sat-Mon) Martin Luther King Day Weekend
  Feb. 14-16 (Sat-Mon) President’s Day Weekend
  To register or learn more CLICK HERE

Tagged as: Baseball, baseball pitching, baseball training, Jonathan Massey, perspective, Self Reflection, Texas Baseball Ranch, The Ranch