BLOG POST
Eddy Rodriguez
11.27.23
WINTER BREAK | WHAT DO I DO NOW
As Fall/Winter break approaches for high school and college athletes, I cannot help but reminisce about those days. Fall ball just finished. The pressure of scout day is behind you. Midterm exams are looming over you.
Well, what if I told you that the Fall/Winter break is arguably the most important time for you to develop? It is a 6-8 week period after a small amount of Fall games, weight lifting, conditioning, and individualized training. This period is where you can gain on the competition. The holidays make it simple for athletes to give excuses as to why they are not getting after it.
Simply put, there should be 5-6 days a week of lifting, running, practicing, and training. Do not forget about eating right and getting your needed rest/sleep. This is a great time to find that one other person that wants to get after it and you can rely on to train with. Ride bikes to the gym/field if necessary, but there are zero excuses to not outwork everyone.
The 2004-05 Fall/Winter Break changed the course of my life. It was my sophomore year at the University of Miami (Go Canes!) and our coaches had just brought in a highly highly regarded catching prospect. We were in direct competition. The “Kid” was a monster. He had it all! He RAKED, he had a CANNON for an arm, and he was BUILT like a mountain. Simply put– he was good at baseball. I saw the competition I faced and decided that I would “get after it” that Fall. Day in and day out I was on a mission. I worked my butt off. At the end of the Fall, my hard work was rewarded by being honored with the Fall MVP Award. However, I knew that the award was not going to mean anything when we got back onto campus on January 10th for 2-a-days to begin our quest for a championship. After the Fall I had a choice…. I can be content that I was the MVP and had won the starting catcher job or use that momentum to crush the 6-8 week break to create an even bigger margin in between the competition. I chose to get after it. Lift, run, hit, work on defense, etc. 6-7 days a week. Fortunately I lived in South Florida and had access to just about any baseball amenity available. The weather was great and everything needed to get better was at our fingertips. But that does not mean if you are in a cold weather state that you are capable of building on all of your progress. Instead, you have to simply be creative and keep on building on your great habits created when the weather was more agreeable.
For you players up in cold weather areas, don’t let those excuses creep in. Find what you need and train. Get your edge. This is where you make your money. Most people give reasons why they just “went home and hung out with their friends”. There is time for that, but work it around your training. And you players in the warm weather, do not be complacent and go through the motions. Take advantage of your environment and keep working because your competition definitely is!
Remember “to achieve what you haven’t achieved before, you are going to have to do things that you haven’t done before.”
Happy Fall/Winter Break, and we cannot wait to see you out there in the Spring Competing. In the meantime, be sure to train, film it, and send it to us so we can keep on growing in this crucial period of time.
Keep Winning Pitches!
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