The day after he pitched in his fall league game was his first training session
We sat down and I showed him the videos of him pitching from the prior day, Stalker through an iphone, in game, 74-76 as a high school senior.
That moment right there becomes the crux of his career.
On one hand he could still hold onto his excuse of he “lacked exposure” and that’s why he wasn’t getting playing time or getting recruited.
On the other, he could drop the excuses, humble himself, and be willing to change
The choice *seems* obvious, because all the evidence is right there. His velocity as high school senior was what a typical 8th grader throws-surely its time to drop the excuses and get better!
But it’s amazing how many athletes still do not change, despite all the evidence.
Their ego is so big they still hold onto “coach doesn’t like me” “its so political” “coach plays favorites” – or in the case of this athlete, he “lacked exposure”
As we watched the videos of him pitching, it was clear though he was going to take the path of humility.
“Humility” is not the inaccurate definition our modern society has given it, of someone walking around pathetic with slumped shoulders and saying “woe is me”
What "Humble" actually is, is laying aside your ego and acknowledging I’m not a finished product, I’m willing to learn, to grow, and I can accept instruction.
And as the Bible says, humility comes before honor. As long as your carrying around a massive ego that prevents you from learning and growing, you’ll never become what you should be.
Whatever you want to call it: heart, perseverance; he had it. And his response was “what do I need to do. What needs to change. Show me”
And right then, I knew he was going to be an incredible success story. He just had to be shown a path.
-Fenske