major league « Alberto Cei

From USA TODAY

They’re not introduced in the opening-day pageantry. They don’t wear uniforms. They don’t have lockers in the clubhouse. Some even have weird titles, just to protect their anonymity. Yet, behind the scenes, there are proving as invaluable as any staff member in a Major League Baseball organization.

Mental skills coaches, employed by a record 27 baseball clubs to open the 2018 season, are valued more than ever.

“If you said mental skills before,’’ Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon says, “that was an absolute sign that you were weak among the old-school guys. Deep down, there were a lot of guys who wanted to talk to them, but they knew that if they were seen talking to them, it would be seen sign as a sign of weakness. And the manager might think less of him.

“That was an absolute fact, and even today, I don’t think that stigma has been totally erased. To think that psychology is an indicator of weakness, truly is an ignorant statement. When people are fighting it, it’s only because they don’t understand it.

“It’s no different than your hitting coach, your pitching coach, your infield coach. A mental skills coach is going to help you think better, think more clearly in the moment, and control your emotions.’’

In the words of the late Yogi Berra: “Baseball is 90 percent mental. The other half is physical.’’

Ti piace? Twittalo

I saw the movie “One million arm” which tells about the story of a US visionary manager willing to discover talent for baseball in young people who practice other sports. He believes that India is the country still less exploited for this search and convinces a rich Chinese to fund this research. Who will throw a baseball ball 80 miles will attend a training camp and then the two best athletes will win a prize and will move for a year in the United States to train. At the end of the year the two Indian athletes fail to pass the audition organized with the best baseball scouts and the story seems failed. The manager, however, obtains financing for another year, after which instead the two boys convince the experts with their launches. Conclusion, they have been the first two Indians to play in the Major League.

This is a true story that tells how the search for talent is still anchored in too rigid scientific stereotypes that prevent that stories like this are much more frequent. The British have understood for a long time and over the last 8 years have enriched their national teams of about 100 athletes using a system like the one described in the movie.

In Italy, I’m trying to introduce this concept but sports organizations are rigid, the biomechanicals and coaches believe that we should always start from the children and basically everyone wants to protect is knowledge rather than to try new paths. Patience!