The importance of pre-game

The other day I mentioned in a post that I am coaching my son and daughter’s coach-pitch team with a guy who is an area scout for the Seattle Mariners.  His son plays on the team as well.  While at our practice the other day, I asked what game he was scouting this weekend.  He mentioned a college game in the area that had an outfielder and two infielders he needed to see.  He also said that he needed to get there early in order to see their pre-game infield/outfield practice.

 

I’ve mentioned this in the past but it’s worth mentioning again.  If you are a player who wants to play beyond the level where you are now, paying attention to how you perform in your team’s pre-game warm-ups is extremely important.  The scout’s comment is the reason why.

In this case, the team the prospects play for is not from the scout’s area.  Therefore, the scout will most likely not see them again this season.  In effect, the players have only one day to show this particular scout what they can do.  The problem if you are a player is that you can’t control most of what happens during the game.  You can’t control how many ground balls or fly balls you get or where they are hit.  You can’t control what pitches, if any, you’ll get to swing at during your at-bats.  Pre-game warm-ups, however, involve things you have total control over.  Batting practice allows scouts to see your swing multiple times.  They see you bunt.  They probably see you do things like hit-and-run and move runners over too.  They watch how you run the bases during batting practice and more importantly, how serious you take that part of the game.  They see you field ground balls and fly balls to all parts of the field and can see multiple throws. 

I’ve seen many players take the approach of “I want to save my energy for the game.”  The danger in that is … what if no balls are hit your way during the game and the pitchers pitch around you?  You gave the scouts nothing to see.

There is a lot a player cannot control in the game of baseball.  That’s why the game is so hard to play.  Therefore, players must focus a lot of attention on the things they do have control over.  Pre-game involves a lot of those things. 

When you have a chance to control parts of your game (pre-game performance, attitude, and enthusiasm), be sure to show them what you’ve got.