Business as usual.....again!!

Our run to the first of our 2011 team goals, winning the MIAA Championship, is beginning to become a little  more clear.  We are now 15-1 in conference games and 20-6 overall.  It doesn't come easy, and the next three weekends will be anything but routine as we continue to try to improve every day.  We still have twelve games left, including four games each against Hope College, Albion College, and Kalamazoo College.

On Saturday we finished a four game sweep of Alma College, a team which has had some good pitching performances this season and took a couple Division I teams into extra innings a few weeks ago.  They are also coached by legendary former Ferris State and Central Michigan University coach Judd Folske.  We weren't going to out coach them, but as coaches you don't concern yourself with that.  We just want our players to out play the other team's players.

How do players out play another team?  First of all they (pitchers and hitters) need to execute each pitch and stay focused on the immediate task at hand.  That amounts to two teams having a new goal to accomplish approximately 200-250 times per game.  A team can out play another team by executing as efficiently and effectively as possible 200-250 times per game.

In addition, athletes can be most effective when they are aware of the task at hand throughout the game.  Their awareness helps them to understand what they need to do to accomplish the immediate task.  Players also out play their opponents when they have genuine belief that they are going to be able to execute their tasks successfully, as well as the faith in their teammates' abilities to help them execute each pitch and every play.

Of course, all the execution, focus, belief, and faith doesn't guarantee anything.  Having the physical ability to perform and compete and having prepared themselves physically as well as mentally is important in executing a game plan.

So what our players did in the four game series against Alma was execute tremendously for 28 innings, winning all four games by scoring 33 runs and allowing only 3 runs in the series.  The hitters got big hits in crucial situations in Thursday's two close games, then on Saturday they drove the ball impressively all over the park while the defense and pitching executed nearly flawlessly, especially with baserunners on the bases.

There are still twelve big games to play, and when a team is playing well it is important to remember that in baseball any team can beat any other team at any time.  We still need to work on the right things at practice, practice with a purpose each day, play with passion and aggressiveness, believe in each other, and check our own thoughts persistently through each day, practice, and game.

Last weekend's series doesn't matter anymore, other than the things we can learn from it or the positive things we can carry into our next series.  Our next games are now the focus, and the next practice takes place so that we can leave the field better than when we arrived there.