"How far an athlete can push the limits when no one is watching - that's the essence of a champion."
- Coach Schlossnagle (TCU Baseball Head Coach)
Those words echoed through my mind as I sat in front of my computer at 12 years old watching TCU Baseball: Quiet Confidence - a video that would change my life. As I watched the team train in the morning frost I knew I wanted to experience that type of commitment. I wanted to be a part of that culture, where the guys next to you pushed you beyond your limits - beyond what you thought you could accomplish alone. I knew from the second that video ended that I wanted to play College baseball - at whatever cost. Having only ever played in a recreational league in the summer's where I played one game a week, College baseball seemed like an unlikely destination. But, I was determined, naive and arrogant enough to think that if I put my mind to it I would accomplish it. And so, I started my journey. I began scouring through YouTube to find videos that would make me a better player. I came across a series of Catching videos from Xan Barksdale entitled Catching 101. So, the 12-year-old me with no clue how much it would take to get where I wanted to be suited up in full Catchers gear - watched the videos on repeat - and began training.
The only problem was - I was terrible.
That fact would not stop me from pursuing every avenue and training method to make me better. With little guidance, I continued to search for the right information. I joined Twitter (and later Instagram) and even joined private Facebook groups for 15$/month to learn more.
Once in High School, I was training as much as I could, going to private instruction weekly and training at the facility by myself upwards to 4 times per week. Without a solid plan in place, I pieced one together by myself. I was honest about the areas of my game that needed to improve and I was open to trying shit even if I failed at it or it made me look stupid.
One of the best instances of this was when I found a video somewhere online about how to transfer as a Catcher. It was the first time I heard the term "deflection." The video demonstrated how to quickly deflect to ball from your glove to your throwing hand with just a flick of the wrist. So I practiced it, searched for more videos and Tweets about "deflection" and kept trying to find the best way to learn it.
This became my process for everything - stumble across a new drill or technique, try it, learn more about it, and then, either continue doing it because I saw positive results or leave it in the dust for something different.
During this time I became addicted to baseball training methods. I still am.
On the horizon of finally accomplishing my dream of College baseball, I began Coaching a 13u team. I fell in love with helping them become better players and putting all the knowledge I gained to use. It was fun to work with better athletes than myself. See, I was limited as a player in my abilities - regardless of what training method I adopted - I was never able to see the results I wanted. Subconsciously, I knew I was approaching my ceiling as a player at this time but I pushed onward, towards my dream.
I finally got to College - and in the Fall of my first season, I would realize that all my hard work did not entitle me to shit. I was designated as the Bullpen Catcher - and was lucky enough to travel with the team. It is safe to say I wanted more - but I knew I had finally reached my ceiling as a Catcher, I either had to accept the Bullpen Catcher role for the next 3 years or the only other rational thing my brain could come up with - convert to pitching.
For close to a calendar year I committed to becoming a Pitcher. I adopted Driveline Baseball's training program and followed it diligently. I was still Coaching and used my first-hand experience with Driveline to teach it to my players. I also started my Instagram account at this time (@Richardsbaseball) and used it to share my progress and push myself to stay accountable and learn more about pitching.
When the Fall of this year came around I transferred to a new University and despite some concerns that I was not ready, I joined the pitching staff.
I made it one Month before quitting.
What made me decide to quit after putting in all the work? Well, the simple answer is I learned that regardless of how hard I continued to push myself as a player I would always come up just short of what I wanted to be. In other words - I would always be mediocre.
But when I was Coaching those 13u kids (now 15u) - I was pretty dam good.
After spending the better part of my life learning about the game and how to make myself a better player I actually was teaching myself how to coach, instruct, and analyze.
Through all the trial and error with my own career: I learned how to seek out the right information in the industry, I learned to constantly question the methods I was currently using and, above all, I learned to commit 100% of my being to the development of myself as a coach and the development of players.
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