This is Not a Grind

“Feeling fresh” is a mindset. It’s your choice. It just isn’t an easy one.

This is Not a Grind

Here is what a typical day of a college baseball player looks like…

• 5:30am-Wake Up
• 6am-Team Lift
• 7:30am-Shower and get ready for class
• 8:30am-Class
• Noon-Lunch
• 1pm-Class
• 3pm-Early work before practice
• 4pm-Practice
• 7pm-Dinner
• 8:30pm-HW and studying
• 10:30pm-Bed

And that’s not a game day where you would be traveling hours both ways on a bus.

What am I getting at?

Your summer schedule is not a grind. College baseball is a grind. Pro ball is even more of a grind.

Summer travel baseball is not a grind.

What you prioritize, on a daily basis, is where your priorities lie. If you are too exhausted from a DH or traveling the day before to get better TODAY then this game really is NOT for you?

And I’m not saying this to call you out. I’m bringing this to light because it’s probably not something you’ve considered before. “Feeling fresh” is a mindset. It’s your choice. It just isn’t an easy one.

Do you really think Mike Trout wakes up and feels amazing every day? Heck no! He’s playing 162+ games a year, traveling literally all over the country, and being critiqued on a daily basis by millions. Does that sound like an environment that creates feeling fresh? No shot!!!

But he (and all these dudes on TV) make the hard choice, daily, to feel AMAZING despite all the reasons that they shouldn’t.

This isn’t a grind. This is a test. Is your answer, “I need a day off” or is it “bring it on”? Be obsessed.

PS-Recovery/Rest absolutely play a huge role in development and high level performance, but it is a very misunderstood concept and a topic for a different time.

Ken Spangenberg
Director of Baseball
Maplezone Sports Institute