Joey Smeltzer

Are you? The player that watches your teammates clean the dugout after games? The player that watches your teammates pick balls in the cage? The player that doesn't want to shag balls during batting practice? The player that hides when it's time to chase a foul ball? The player that steps over trash at the field, in the cages, in locker room, at facility? The player that hides when it's time to pack or carry team gear? The player that needs constant reminders unless it directly benefits you? The player that cares more about your individual statistics than the team winning? The player that talks negatively about your teammates behind their backs? The player that makes excuses when things don't go your way? All signs of entitlement. You're probably the player your teammates don't like playing with.

-Before School -Before Practice -After Practice -The "so called" Off Season -Late Nights -Early Mornings -Addicted to the Weight Room, Conditioning, Nutrition, Enough Sleep -Playing Hard -Playing with Energy -Playing like you LOVE the game Want to be a GREAT player? There it is!

Free Advice I talk to players/parents everyday from all over the country at all different levels. I find myself saying the same things over and over and over again...because so many just don't know. They don't know what it really takes to be GREAT at baseball and how many different levels are extraordinarily imperative. I want to take a few minutes and share some things with you that you may want to share with your son. -The most important thing to athletes are their bodies. Strength and athleticism is the prerequisite to success at a high level. Coaches are NOT recruiting WEAK and/or OUT of SHAPE kids. If your kid is genuinely chasing athletic greatness he should be on a "YEAR ROUND" strength and conditioning program. Doing it for a few months at a time and then stopping because of a season is a waste of time. Strength and speed diminish very quickly when a kid stops working out.  @strengthdebates on twitter is a great follow for strength and conditioning advice. WEAK and/or OUT OF SHAPE is AVERAGE or BELOW AVERAGE regardless of skill set. 1. It's not supposed to be easy Competitive athletics are designed to be hard, uncomfortable at times and rewarding to the highest achievers. Comfort and ease is awarded to players that are PHYSICAL, STRONG, ATHLETIC and HIGHLY SKILLED because of their intense work ethic over long periods of time (not months, YEARS). 2. When you think you're good enough, you're really not Being one of the best in your town, city or your HS-Travel Team isn't enough. It's a big world and a lot of players are genuinely hungry for greatness. The minute you think you're good enough, you're BEAT. Players should always be striving to get STRONGER, MORE PHYSICAL (faster, more athletic), MORE SKILLED and better at playing the actual game. 3. When you think you're working hard enough, somebody is outworking you Some players (worldwide) are "ALL IN" on being the best and they're your competition if you want to play at the highest level. Every player with high aspirations should be keeping a time spent log/diary. If players aren't spending a couple hours a day getting better, for approximately 300 of the 365 days per year, they aren't genuinely chasing athletic (baseball) greatness. There is no easy way to get/be GREAT...it takes an incredible amount of time, effort, energy, sacrifice and desire. It's the lifestyle of the best of the best  and they embrace and love it. 4. How long and far are you willing to go The daily workouts, long tossing, cage sessions, defensive work, speed work, etc must be very important to the player. They have to sacrifice a tremendous amount and be driven to the point of being considered weird or an outcast to others at times. 5. What are you doing that separates you from the competition Players must continually evaluate themselves and their performances. The majority of players nationwide are incredibly average or grossly below average because they're doing NOTHING to SEPARATE themselves from the competition. What are YOU doing to separate yourself? Are you getting stronger daily, in better shape daily, arm strength improving daily with long toss, hitting velocity and taking swings daily, defensive work daily? When evaluating performances, it all comes back to what you're doing leading up to the competition. Some players get exactly what they've worked for...pitiful performances. Others get what they've worked for...GREAT PERFORMANCES. 6. How much does it really mean to you It's OK to simply want to be an average or good HS player. It's OK to simply want to be part of a college team. Being a good HS player takes very little work. Playing low level college baseball can also be done at times with subpar work ethic, desire, sacrifice. But if you're legitimately chasing greatness, you must understand exactly how much it means to you. It has to mean so much to you that you're once again considered weird or an outcast at times. PLAYERS THAT ARE CHASING GREATNESS ARE DIFFERENT -They consistently do the following 1. Get Stronger Players should be on a year round strength and conditioning program-You don't need a personal trainer...you need the willingness to workout everyday on your own. 2. Get Faster/More Physical You get faster by getting stronger, in better shape and sprinting on a regular basis 3. Skill Work Cage Work-Great hitters miraculously take hundreds of thousands more swings than their competition in their careers. You don't need lessons, you need more cage and machine reps (velocity-breaking balls) than your competition and remember your competition is worldwide. Defensive Work-ground balls/fly balls/angles/etc Long Tossing-Year Round Long Tossing-Throwing Program-Buy the Jaeger Sports Year Round Throwing manual and follow it exactly. 4. Undersized No More-If you need to gain weight-DO IT and STOP MAKING EXCUSES. Players that need to gain weight are NOT working out hard enough and/or NOT eating enough calories. 6000 calories per day is how you gain weight. Thinking a young athlete is going to gain weight eating 2500-3000 calories per day is fooling yourself. Simply stated, if the game means enough to you, you will get your body where it needs to be very quickly (year). Understanding the journey of professional athletes is something that is in my arena. I've signed and coached MLB players and spent decades educating myself on what it "really takes". The one thing I've realized is it takes a lot more than what the overwhelming majority of people want to believe it takes. Searching for shortcuts or the easy way ALWAYS leads to short careers and disappointment. Simply stated...the kids that played at an incredibly high level...were different, they thought differently, they acted differently, they were willing to sacrifice more and they loved the PROCESS. They bought into the hard work part of the equation and had an incredible willingness to do the hard things that required effort and sacrifice. They knew they wanted it and refused to listen to bad advice...they looked at shortcuts as the enemy. Parents...if you embrace your son chasing athletic greatness, I highly recommend you take some time and read a few books. 1. Outliers 2. Talent Code 3. Tipping Point If you read all 3 you may look at his journey through a new lense.