By BK, Athletic Hitting Development
Complete Hitters Are Built… Not Given. Earned!
Key takeaways
- Sports teach discipline, how to handle success and failure, and friendships that last a lifetime. Those stay with you forever.
- The rarest gift is pure competition: a game or an at-bat where nothing else in the world matters. Either you win or they do.
- That gift ends when you stop playing. You never get that feeling, or that process, again.
- So compete as long as you possibly can, and don’t take a single game for granted.
Everybody talks about what sports teach kids. Discipline. Learning to deal with success and failure. The lifelong friends you make. All the positive traits we connect with amateur sports.
Discipline, lessons in failure and lifelong friends all last, but the greatest gift is pure competition: an at-bat where nothing else matters and either you win or they do. That feeling ends when you stop playing, so compete as long as you can and don’t take a single game for granted.
Train it: Mental Approach Masterclass →All of that is true. And all of it matters.
But after 52 years of playing, coaching and scouting this game, I don’t think any of those is the greatest gift sport can give.
1. Either you win or they do
The most valuable gift is lining up for a game, or stepping into the box for an at-bat, in that pure, nothing-else-in-the-world-matters competition.
Either you win or they do. Either your team wins or it loses.
No gray area. No participation trophy. Just you, the other side, and the scoreboard.
That kind of competition satisfies something deep inside us, the caveman, win-or-lose, competitive nature we all carry. There aren’t many places left in life where you get to feel it that clearly.
THE GREATEST GIFT IN SPORTS
EITHER YOUWIN.
- Or they do.
- No gray area.
- Just you, them and the scoreboard.
NOTHING ELSE IN THE WORLD MATTERS.
2. The whole process is the gift
It isn’t just the game. It’s the all-encompassing process you go through to get there:
- Organized practice. Yes, even the practices you cursed.
- A plan to get better off the field.
- The build-up to game day.
- The emotions, as an individual and as a team.
Both the good emotions and the gut-wrenchingly bad ones. Strangely, they’re both beautiful. The walk-off win and the strikeout to end the season come from the same place. You cared enough to compete.
That process gives you purpose. It makes you feel whole in a way nothing else quite does.
THE WHOLE PROCESS IS THE GIFT
LOVE THEGRIND.
- Organized practice.
- A plan to get better.
- The build-up to game day.
- The emotions, good and bad.
YOU CARED ENOUGH TO COMPETE.
3. When it ends, it’s gone
Here’s the part nobody tells young athletes.
The discipline stays with you for life. So do the lessons about failure, and the friendships. You carry all of that into your job, your marriage and how you raise your kids.
But the opportunity to compete in an organized game or season? That ends when you stop playing.
When you’re done, you never get that feeling, or that process, again.
I know. I couldn’t play anymore, and I’ve spent the rest of my life coaching and studying hitting partly because I never stopped missing it. Every former player you know has felt the same thing.
4. Compete as long as you can
That’s why being a competitive athlete for as long as possible is the ultimate gift sport can give.
So to every hitter reading this:
- Don’t rush to the end. Keep playing as long as somebody will let you compete.
- Love the grind. The practices you complain about are part of the gift.
- Feel all of it. The wins and the losses. Both mean you’re still in the arena.
- Get better every day. The better you are, the longer you get to play.
And to parents: let the competition belong to your athlete. Support the work, keep perspective, and remind them this season is something they only get for a limited time.
THELESSON.
- Don't rush to the end.
- Love the grind.
- Feel all of it.
- Get better every day.
- Compete as long as you can.
Complete Hitters Are Built…Earned.
Quick answers
What is the greatest benefit of competitive sports?
The lessons last a lifetime: discipline, handling success and failure, and friendships. But the rarest gift is competition itself, lining up for a game or an at-bat where nothing else matters and either you win or they do. That feeling ends when you stop playing.
Why should young athletes keep playing as long as they can?
Because organized competition has an end date. Practices, a plan to get better, the build-up to game day and the highs and lows with a team give an athlete purpose. Once the playing days are over, that process can't be recreated.
How do athletes handle life after sports?
Many former players miss the competition more than anything else. Coaching, staying involved in the game and helping younger athletes are common ways to stay connected. Knowing it ends is also the best reason to enjoy every game while you have it.
How can parents help kids get the most out of sports?
Let the competition belong to the athlete. Support the work, keep perspective after wins and losses, and remind them that this season is a gift they only get for a limited time.
How do I stay motivated through boring practices?
Remember that the practices you complain about are part of the gift. Organized practice, a plan to get better and the build-up to game day give an athlete purpose, and once your playing days are over you never get that process back.
Don’t collect drills. Build a complete hitter.
Want to keep competing longer? Find your #1 priority with the free SwingChecker™, see how the AHD Complete Hitter Masterclass builds all four pillars of a complete hitter, or train with Coach through online remote baseball and softball training or hitting lessons in Scottsdale.
Complete Hitters Are Built… Not Given. Earned!
