What being an Athlete,Coach or Manager in sports teaches You--Whether Pro or Amateur

By Mark Grove

I'm currently reading a sports book about the great baseball player
and manager--Larry Bowa who played for the Philadelphia Phillies
and the Chicago Cubs.

One thing I found was he has great insight into what players
are better in.Such as hitting,pitching,fielding etc.As well
as what players are better in certain deals,trades, and player
swaps to benefit a team.

Although Larry didn't hit many home runs,15 to be exact,he was
a technician as a batter and studied the game more than most
players.He hit singles and doubles like crazy.Bowa was a player
from 1970 to 1985 if I'm correct.

But in my reading of many books about pro sports managers and
coaches,gives you an education in success and failure and being
able to mentally handle it and move forward.

This applies to minor pro athletes and managers.Not just the pros.

Think about it,most batters in pro ball fail more than they succeed.
The top batters hit .350 or 35% of the time they are successful.

That gives you an indication of success versus failure.You better be
able to handle it.If you were a pitcher and you lost 5 games in a row,
could you handle it,and maybe spend some time back in the minors?

Think about it.30 to 40 thousand people watch you screw up live and
in person and thousands if not a million or more watch on TV.

Can you handle failure as a pro athlete?

There is no secret to all of this.Natural talent only plays a small part and hard,hard work is important.Be willing to fail more than you succeed as a pro athlete.

What Happens If You Don't Make The Pros?



Lets say you tried to become a pro ball player and were in a number of pro ball training camps,played as a utility player for a few games here and there but couldn't make it.You end up playing in the minors for 10 years as an average player but helped many other players either pitch,hit,field and run.And along with that helped a number of players make the pros.

You may love the game still and are thinking,why not be a minor pro ball manager or coach.Making millions a year would be nice, but that's not in the cards for you.You know that failure is a part of the game and you can teach players to handle it and become the better for it.

You could be a minor pro ball manager or coach in AAA,AA,A or an independent league.Start from the indie level and move up from there.I think most managers and coaches would enjoy pro ball in the minors more than the pros.

You could also be a scout.I don't personally think you should be a General Manager.That's a horrible job.Just my two cents.

Mark G