I present you with two contradictory statements:
- Baseball is a game our players play for fun with little more significance.
- Baseball is a game that changes the lives of our young men.
Both statements are true and I want to explain how Eagles Baseball reconciles them.
Our players have a passion for a pastime that in my own experience growing up, is the most fun I’ve ever had – what’s better than putting the barrel of the bat on a fast ball down the middle of the plate, hitting the low outside corner of the plate with a fastball, turning a smooth double play or throwing out a runner at the plate with a perfect one-hopper from the outfield?
And when a young athlete loves to play a game he naturally wants to get better at it. The focus of our Eagles coaches is to help them improve to be the best they can at the various skills required to play the game at a high level of competition. But the game of baseball is a game and within that context is not serious. The game of baseball in of itself does not give rise to life altering issues and consequences. What impact does this have on the Eagles program?
It means that Eagles Baseball strives to have a perspective on the game. We may not always succeed in this but we try. A player making a mistake is not humiliated or punished. Baseball is a game. You don’t play a game in fear, certainly not well. It means that skill development is not sacrificed to winning. Baseball is a game. You try to win every game but it doesn’t really matter if you lose. You get over your losses quickly and life carries on. Eagles’ baseball is not a business, it is not pro ball. Eagles’ baseball is simply a game and we play it as well as we can but we still play for fun. This perspective is a good thing as it imposes a healthy limit on what our coaches and what we as an organization are prepared to do and sacrifice to win a game or a trophy. Eagles Baseball must above all be fun for our young men.
So I’ve just told you that baseball is merely a lot of fun and nothing else. How does it become a life changer? The answer is the game is not played in isolation from the life and the development of the young men who play it with the intensity and passion that we see every day in our Eagles players. Our young men live in difficult times in which the values of great importance to their future can be hard to find. Playing the game of baseball during their formative years provides an opportunity for them to experience truths and values they will carry with them forever – the value of perseverance through adversity (you guys have learned that one well!), hard work pays off, grace in losing, grace in winning, respect for the written and unwritten rules of the game, for fair play, for your teammates, your coaches, your opponents, for the umpire, the fans, for your parents and ultimately, for yourself. The importance of supporting one another, of winning and losing as a team and not pointing a finger of blame or monopolizing the ownership of success. Our players gain these critical insights not through words, not through reading but through experience – they experience the playing of the game under the guidance of their coaches and within an Eagles environment that supports and encourages the clarity of these underlying values. This is how the game of baseball changes the lives of our young men and this is why our coaches and how we run our program matter so much.
Don’t get me wrong - I’m feeling pretty good about the wins our players have enjoyed this season. The Premier Eagles victory yesterday in the PBL Championship was immensely thrilling and gratifying. But remember, baseball is just a game - wins and losses come and go. However, the values our players have experienced and learned on the diamond over the last four years will last their lifetimes and benefit everyone in their lives and in their communities. The promise of Eagles Baseball to you is this – our program and our coaches will strive to put the formation of the good character of our young men above all else.
-- Martin Winstanley
President Victoria Eagles Baseball
Mike Matheny Letter To Parents
Click here to read an open letter written by current St. Louis Cardinals Manager, Mike Matheny. Matheny covers many key talking points that will aid in the maturity, growth, and development of young people.
As a program, we feel this is a "must read". Mike Matheny's approach to teaching the game fits well with the Eagles approach.
