Attitude

Over the past weekend, I noticed Coach Eric teaching the players about playing the right way and having the right ATTITUDE. I also had the pleasure to watch the Regional and Super Regional games over the past two weekends at Carolina. I noted ATTITUDE is a key to the Diamond Heels success. They have an ATTITUDE of:

• Do things the right way
• Do the little things great
• Enjoy the moment

Even with the adversity of two deaths in the Carolina Baseball family, Coach Fox's mother and Coach Forbes' father in law, the Diamond Heels were able to be successful. As Coach Forbes stated in regards to Coach Fox, "He teaches us to play a certain way and conduct ourselves off the field, whether it’s assistant coaches or players."  Greg Holt, a pitcher, OF and DH, remarked on Coach Fox's absence, “He expects nothing less than for us to go out and play the Carolina way, and play the way that he has instilled in us to play."

As parents we sometimes get wrapped up in playing time, positions, errors, hitting, etc. adding pressure to our player. I watched the Diamond Heels' parents sweating when their "boy" was at the plate or the ball was hit to them. We sometimes forget in baseball when it seems very individual it is a TEAM sport and if you are having a bad day hitting you can still contribute on the field with your defense and in the dugout supporting your teammates. 

As parents it is our job to teach our player valuable lessons in baseball and life. Most importantly, the game of baseball is not perfect and neither are you! Every player will make outs or errors. When a player throws a temper tantrum and shows emotions on the field he is putting the emphasis on a negative attitude and giving the opponent a lot of satisfaction. Your actions can cause your team to get down. You can make a choice in that moment of what you want your ATTITUDE to be, choose a positive one. 

As we prepare for our first weekend of play it is important to remember a POSITIVE ATTITUDE is what makes a good team great!