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The Baseball Observer - May/ June 2018
Here are guidelines for how a baseball player can conduct such a self-assessment:
1. Identify the aspects of your current game, which you believe that you do well
and that you would like to maintain.
2. In assessing these current strong points, consider the following areas:
• The fundamental baseball skills that you believe that you are good at.
• Your physical strength and condition.
• The mental side of your game--- motivation, confidence, focus, composure.
3. Make sure that you are honest and that you know the reasons why these
currently are strong points for you.
4. Now, also in relation to your personal vision statement, look at the things that
you need to work on, in order to get better and to realize what is described in
that statement.
5. Here too consider the following:
• Baseball fundamental skills that you need to further develop
• Physical status
• Mental skills
6. List these strong points and then your development needs—what you want to
get better at--- next to your personal vision statement.
7. Review this information with your coach and discuss your opinions with that
individual and listen to what they have to say.
TAKE CHARGE OF THE PROCESS
Since a baseball season is long, consisting of many ups and downs, as well as numerous factors that are outside the control of the player, it is helpful in coping with these realities to have a framework for dealing with the things that are within the control and influence of the player.
A framework that I recommend here as part of these guidelines about
perspective is considering baseball as a process, within which the player takes charge of, day to day, week to week, month to month.
In this regard, the process of playing the game and taking charge of the process is based on the following three principles (Maher, 2011);
Process