New Blog Location

Effective Jan. 1, 2012, the Insider's Advantage Blog relocated to the Extra Innings Foundation website. Click the Insider's Advantage Blog link above to take you there, and be sure to bookmark the new location.

When you go to the Extra Innings Foundation website, you can also sign up to receive our free monthly Top Performer's Newsletter.  To be included on the mailing list for the newsletter, click here.

You don't want to miss out on the information you need to know to keep you one step ahead of the competition, and one step closer to reaching your goal of becoming a professional baseball player!

Shifting to High Gear

With the Holiday season coming to a close, a new season is set to begin. I know it's only December, but for a professional baseball player the start of the new year means that spring training is right around the corner. I like to devote this last week of the year to family and friends knowing that in a very short time I will be fully entrenched in a new baseball season. That being said, I find it important to use the new year as my indicator that the offseason is officially OVER....Baseball activities such as: throwing, baserunning, hitting, and fielding become more prevalent within my daily training routine. The 2012 baseball season starts now....Great players become great with the things they do before the season ever starts when nobody is watching! Play Hard & Work Harder!!!

Hint, Hint...Your Manager and Coaches Want You to Know the History of Baseball

The winter months are a great time to begin to better familiarize yourself with the history of the game you so dearly love.  Impress your coaches and surprise your manager with the facts and figures you share with them and your teammates.

For example, did you know Americans began playing baseball on informal teams, using local rules, in the early 1800s. By the 1860s, the sport, unrivaled in popularity, was being described as America's "national pastime."  Do you think it still is America's national pastime?  Why or why not?  If you answered 'no', consider what you and your teammates can do to restore baseball to once again be our "national pastime." 

Now back to some history:

Alexander Cartwright

Alexander Cartwright (1820-1892) of New York invented the modern baseball field in 1845. Alexander Cartwright and the members of his New York Knickerbocker Base Ball Club, devised the first rules and regulations that were accepted for the modern game of baseball.  Click on this link to learn more about the history of baseball, and don't forget to share your knowledge with others on your team. Help them learn and grow, too! 

Top Performers’ Newsletter - Dec 2011

Developing mindsets and habits that fuel high performance

Convierte te en el ‘Chico de Pegamento’ de la Proxima Temporada

Jugadores que toman un papel activamente  como un líder de equipo son el corazón y el alma de una organización próspera.  Se convierten en la fuerza que impulsa a sus equipos avanzar hacia el éxito.  En los deportes, estos chicos suelen ser llamados Chicos de Pegamento.  En el entorno de altas conpetencias de deportes profesionales, los equipos pueden desintegrarse rápidamente bajo las presiones diarias del juego.  ¡Los Chicos Pegamento  mantienen a sus compañeros juntos cuando las situaciones se ponen muy duras y ayudan a sus equipos a prosperar!

Una buena forma de ser el Chico Pegamento del equipo es utilizar lo que es llamado un estilo explicativo optimista en lugar de un estilo explicativo pesimista cuando su equipo se encuentra con esos golpes imprevistos e inesperados en la carretera.  Primero analicemos  un estilo explicativo optimista y despues cómo uno pesimista difiere de un optimista.

Estilo explicativo - un estilo explicativo es un atributo psicológico que indica cómo personas explican a ellos mismos y a otros por qué experimentan un evento concreto.  Estilos explicativos pueden ser optimista o pesimista.  Tres componentes conforman el estilo explicativo.  Vamos a echar un vistazo más cercano a cada uno de ellos y ver cómo puede utilizar un estilo explicativo optimista para convertirse en pegamento Guy su equipo.

Personal - Se trata de cómo una persona explica donde surge la causa de un evento.  Por ejemplo, un jugador con un estilo explicativo pesimista ve a sí mismo como la única causa de un evento.  Podrias  oírle decir, "Siempre tengo problemas para golpear esa tirada. Un jugador con un estilo explicativo optimista diría, "A veces tengo problemas para golpear esas tiradas, y el viento lo hizo aún más difícil este día".

Permanente - Se trata de cómo uno explica el alcance de la causa.  Un jugador con un estilo explicativo pesimista expicaria la situación como inalterable y comentaria al equipo, "Nunca ganamos partidos en este estadio".  Por otro lado, un jugador con un estilo explicativo optimista diría, "Hemos perdido más juegos que ganados aquí en el pasado, pero vamos a cambiar  hoy y ganemos una victoria!"

Generalizada - Se trata de cómo se explica el alcance de los efectos.  Por ejemplo, si uno de los lanzadores  es puesto en la lista de lesionados, el jugador con el estilo explicativo pesimista  comentaria, "Se aruino el resto de la temporada para nosotros."  El jugador utilizando un estilo explicativo optimista respondería a ese comentario diciendo "El esta en la lista de lesionados perjudicará a nuestro equipo, pero podemos ayudar en muchas otras maneras".

De hecho, investigación ha vinculado un estilo explicativo pesimista a depresión, enfermedad física y a lesiones, que no ayudan al jugador o al  equipo.  Estudios de atletas colegiales nadadores  a jugadores de béisbol profesional muestran que el estilo explicativo predice el rendimiento deportivo.  Utilizando un estilo explicativo optimista te ayudará a combertirte en el Chico Pegamento del equipo y apoyar el éxito de tu equipo.

İHas este  objetivo una resolusion de Año Nuevo y    convierte te  en el  Chico Pegamento de  TU equipo!

Fuente:  La Aventura de la Felicidad por  Shawn Achor

Cuidate,

Jerry Hairston, Jr.                       Lynn R. Miller, Ed.D.

Board Chair & Co-Fundador             Presidenta & Co-Fundadora

Top Performers’ Newsletter                                                      December 2011 Vol. 1, No. 12

Developing mindsets and habits that fuel high performance.

Become Next Season’s ‘Glue Guy’

Players who actively take on the role as a team leader are the heart and soul of a thriving organization.  They become the force that drives their teams forward toward success.  In sports, these guys are often called Glue Guys.  In the high-stakes environment of professional sports, teams can quickly disintegrate under the daily pressures of the game.  Glue Guys keep their teammates together when things get tough and help their teams thrive!

A great way to become your team’s Glue Guy is to utilize what’s called an optimistic explanatory style as opposed to a pessimistic explanatory style when your team encounters those unforeseen and unexpected bumps in the road.  Let’s first look at what an explanatory style is, and then how a pessimistic one differs from an optimistic one.

Explanatory Style - An explanatory style is a psychological attribute that indicates how people explain to themselves and others why they experience a particular event.  Explanatory styles can be either optimistic or pessimistic.  Three components—personal, permanent, & pervasive—make up one’s explanatory style.  Let’s take a closer look at each of them and see how you can use an optimistic explanatory style to become your team’s Glue Guy.

Personal - This involves how a person explains where the cause of an event arises.  For example, a player using a pessimistic explanatory style sees himself as the sole cause of an event.  You might hear him say, "I always have trouble hitting that pitch.” In contrast, a player with an optimistic explanatory style would say, "I sometimes have trouble hitting that pitch, and the wind made it even more difficult today.”

Permanent - This involves how one explains the extent of the cause.  A player with a pessimistic explanatory style would see the situation as unchangeable and comment to the team, “We never win games at this stadium.”  On the other hand, a player with an optimistic explanatory style would say, “We may have lost more games than we won here in the past, but let’s turn that around today and get a win!”

Pervasive - This involves how one explains the extent of the effects.  For example, if one of your starting pitchers is put on the disabled list, the player with the pessimistic explanatory style would comment, “That blows the rest of the season for us.”  The player using an optimistic explanatory style would respond to that comment by saying, “Well, having him on the disabled list will hurt our team, but we can pick up the slack in lots of other ways.”

In fact, research has linked a pessimistic explanatory style to depression, physical illness and injury, which doesn’t help the player or the team.  Studies of athletes from collegiate swimmers to professional baseball players show that explanatory style predicts athletic performance.  Using an optimistic explanatory style will help you become your team’s Glue Guy and support your team’s success.

Make it Your New Year’s Goal to become Next Season’s Glue Guy!

Source:  The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor

Take Care,

Jerry Hairston, Jr.                              Lynn R. Miller, Ed.D.

Board Chair & Co-Founder                     President & Co-Founder
Extra Innings Foundation                         Extra Innings Foundation

What does Cal Ripken Jr. have to say about mentoring?

Cal Ripken, Jr. is baseball's all-time Iron Man. He retired from baseball in 2001 after 21 seasons with the Baltimore Orioles. His name appears in the record books repeatedly, most notably as one of only seven players in history to amass 400 home runs and 3,000 hits. In 1995, Ripken broke Lou Gehrig's record for consecutive games played (2,130) and ended his streak in 1998 after playing 2,632 consecutive games.

CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW to hear what Cal has to say about the importance of mentoring:

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/chc/wmy/Celebrities/cal_ripken.html

Building an Effective Network to Support High Performance

Top Performers’ Newsletter                                                      November 2011 Vol. 1, No. 11

Developing mindsets and habits that fuel high performance.

 Building an Effective Network to Support High Performance

Networking is critical to increasing your success as a professional athlete. What is networking?  Networking is you consciously building and maintaining various teams of individuals who both support and challenge you. An effective network consists of high-quality relationships with people who come from several different spheres (professional and personal), as well as from up and down the organizational hierarchy.

As a general guideline, an effective core network typically ranges in size from 12 to 18 people. The people in your networking circles should model positive behaviors.  This is important because if those around you are energetic, positive, authentic, and generous, you will more likely be the same. There’s an old saying that “like” attracts “like”, so you want to attract only the best!
Let’s begin by exploring how to build, maintain, and grow a network in six super easy steps. 

1.        Identify your network cluster. First determine where you want to focus your networking efforts. For example, are you interested in creating a network to improve a specific skill level, or a network to help you learn more about the business side of the game? You can have more than one network. Then create a list of contacts to assist you in that particular area.

2.       Ask for ideas and advice. Contact each person you identified in Step 1 and say something like, “I’m hoping to get your ideas and advice on _____, and I would appreciate 15 minutes of your time.” This conversation is about telling them about your background and skills, and then asking them for their ideas and advice. As your conversation with them wraps up, ask for the names of a couple of people they recommend you talk with regarding this same topic. Continue that pattern with each conversation so you end the conversation with at least two more people to contact.

3.       Be sure to follow-up shortly thereafter with a thank you. Doing so tells the person you just spoke with that you’re grateful for their time, and also helps you to build a long-term relationship with that person to keep them in your network.

4.       Another thing you need to make sure to do is to follow up with regular emails or texts updating that person on your progress. A sample email may read as follows, “I thought I’d keep in contact with you and let you know that I met with ______ that you recommended. He was very helpful and provided me with even more information on ______. If you have any other ideas or potential contacts, please let me know. Thanks!”

5.       Be sure to keep your network alive and growing. Be on the constant lookout for individuals that you may wish to add to your network.

6.       And finally, make sure that you also support others grow their own networks by either becoming a part of their network, and/or sharing your networking contacts with them. The more you give, the more you get. You will find that people’s generosity is limitless if you treat them with respect and show them generosity and appreciation, too!

Overwhelmingly, research continues to show that top performers have strong ties via networks to people who offer them information or expertise, provide mentoring and developmental feedback, add a sense of purpose or worth, validate their work, show them that their work has a broader meaning, or promote their work/life balance by holding them accountable for activities that support all aspects of their life such as family, leisure, recreation, and/or spiritual well-being. A network built with these components will grow exponentially, and continue to support you in all areas of your life.
Take Care,
Jerry Hairston, Jr.                        Lynn R. Miller, Ed.D.
Board Chair & Co-Founder                       President & Co-Founder

Source: Five  Steps to Building Your Network by Douglas R. Conant, HBR Blog, April 21, 2011.