Gary McDonald-D1 Mentality

Separating from the masses is critical in order to be elite in anything. There are over a million high school baseball players in this country and most say that they want to be elite and play college baseball and most would like to get drafted.

For most players that actually reach that goal they have to do things differently than everyone else. Yes, there are many freakish players that throw 90 in 9th grade and pound 400 ft home runs. If you are reading this then that is probably not your son.

In order for your son to become elite they need to be willing to take ownership and willing to do things differently, to achieve an outcome to be elite academically and athletically. If reaching their potential in their passions (school and baseball) they need to go all in. They need to want to go all in and they are itching to learn and start becoming elite. This is very important, most people are afraid to go all in because of fear of failure. Someone can always find reasons to settle in their comfort zone. But, if someone is not going to go all in for their passion, then what will they go all in for? That is why most people settle and never become elite in anything. Mindset is critical.

Once, the decision is made to go all in and be different that is when things change immediately. They start separating from the masses, the important numbers improve, they feel energized and build real self-confidence. In other words, they become excited about getting better. When people have a path to success they also become happier.

Kids that become stressed, have anxiety in games and tests and tend to procrastinate happens for a reason. They are smart, they realize that they are not going to reach their goal. They know they are in the masses of very good players and students and they don't see a path to be coming elite. They look around and they know that very few people from their environment ever get to their dream. That changes when they go all in and have a plan and are willing to follow it and do things differently than the masses.

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Most players and parents put recruiting before getting good enough to actually be recruited. That is a giant trap.

One question that I always ask parents and players is what is the biggest obstacle that you have to overcome in order to actually be recruited. Not even 1% get the answer correct. Most times they say getting seen. That is not even close.

In order to answer it correctly, I need to know more about the player but my point is if the parent and the player are incorrect as to what the biggest obstacle is in order to get recruited, how are they going to fix it? They aren't. Something to think about.

How good is your student athlete at following and executing directions?

I am asking because, if following directions is not a strength then that is a major problem. I know kids are kids, and teenagers don't listen well. BUT, following directions does not take talent, it takes mental effort.

Address the problem because every kid can follow the directions they want. They CHOSE not to follow the directions that they do not want to do. I get that, but if not following certain directions will cause them not to reach their goals academically and athletically, we can't let that happen.

If it continues,they will tend to just get by and not reach their real potential. No parent wants that. There is a process that I feel is important. Listen, Learn and Apply. This is nothing more than following directions and being able to apply what you heard when it is applicable at a later time. Being able to listen, learn and apply what you were told is a skill that applies daily for the rest of their lives.

As we move to the start of the high school season time management is very important. During this time most kids lose track of what is important to them playing at the next level.

It is important to keep focusing on the real important numbers, GPA, test scores, 60 time, velocity, pop time for catchers and proper fundamentals. If you are not working out in the gym and on the track much the next 3 months in reality over your 4 years of high school you are losing 1 year of training. You are killing your chances of maximizing your potential.

You have to make it happen and that is why time management is so important along with continued focus on what is really important.

High school student athletes miss out on playing in college because of two reasons:

1. This is most kids, they do not have the real numbers that coaches are looking for.

2. They are not taking ownership of their recruiting and are not aggressively making it happen for themselves.

In both cases you have a choice to make it happen or wait for the opportunity to pass you by.

When it comes to academics, the job of colleges is to accept QUALIFIED students and TEACH them in order to graduate and have a better life.

Here is the blunt reality that I HATE to say is the 100% truth. There are MANY colleges graduating only 25% of their students or less. What does that mean to you?

If a college has a low graduation rate and I mean less than 70% here is the reality of that school:

Many of their teachers can't teach.

They are admitting many kids that they know do not have the aptitude to succeed. They are a money grab.

Here is the sad part, colleges keep raising the cost and their performance keeps dropping with zero accountability.

Pick where you want to play your sport wisely, but in order to play you must focus on having the correct requirements in the classroom, standardized testing and in your real recruiting numbers.

The difference between a good high school student athlete and one that plays in college is having the ability to want to make that happen.

There are 6 things that all kids must commit to in order to reach that extra 10% in their numbers in the classroom and on the field.

A willingness to always ask questions so they eliminate confusion.

A willingness to ask for help. There are always struggles and every person is different with different obstacles.

A willingness to follow directions. That is critical to be successful in anything in life.

A willingness to raise the bar. When my son touched 96mph for the first time, I was proud and immediately we raised the bar to 97 mph.

A willingness to think outside the box. You want a result that most high school students will not get unless you do things differently. This leads to:

A willingness to be different. A person never receives a special result an anything if they follow the masses. A very small percentage of student athletes are born so physically gifted they can get away with it. That is very rare. I wish it was my son, but he had to do things differently.

If a student athlete has passion and talent, if they are willing to commit to these 6 things (notice all of these are mindset), then they can add that extra 10% and change their life.

As parents we all want our kids to reach their potential academically and in whatever passion interest them. In order to reach your potential academically and athletically you MUST follow these simple beliefs:

1. Leave your comfort zone, and reach for the stars.

2. When you reach for the stars, you are going to fail sometimes and that is a good thing.

3. Pay attention to details, the little things are everything.

4. You are only as good as your video and test scores say that you are.

5. Don't buy into excuses, this will lower the bar. For example, I hear this one all the time. "I am not a good test taker". Everyone is a good test taker when they know the answers and a bad test taker when they do not.

6. Every day is important, every exercise is important, every class is important, every homework problem is important. Develop that mentality.

7. Ask for help. Fear of asking for help is the same fear that will hold you back academically and athletically.

8. Be different, you must be different to be excellent. Normal is average and excellent is different.

The biggest obstacle that most people have to overcome in life is themselves. Each person has a choice to either take the easy route for themselves or commit to their dream.

Once a person is willing to commit to their dream, then it takes work and knowledge to reach the numbers to be successful.

The knowledge is available, the work can be done so if a person does not reach their goal, the obstacle holding them back is them.
Eventually, when they do not reach their goal it will hurt and then most people will blame others. In reality, it was themselves that were afraid to either put the work in or to get the knowledge.

Something to think about...

One of the biggest obstacles to overcome as a parent of a teenage student athlete is wondering whether your child is as committed as you think they are. That fear of you finding out the truth is holding many kids back from reaching their potential. A parent may realize that something is wrong because their child is not getting the recognition that other kids are. Then each parent has a choice to make. You can keep doing what you are doing and hope for the best, That is the easy choice, or you can find out exactly what is wrong and then put a plan in place to get the results you want. Many parents would rather hope and dream because they may believe that their kid is not willing to put in the extra work.

I believe, many kids are losing opportunities because their parents are afraid to face reality. If you have a student athlete that is talented, not getting recruited, find out why. I can almost guarantee that it is not what you think. It almost always is that the player is not at the numbers necessary. Then find out what they need to do in order to reach their numbers. If they are willing to do it, great. If not, then you know. There is nothing lost, and now your family can relax and enjoy the games without stressing over playing at the next level.

The hardest part is realizing too late and there is nothing that you can do, and you let your fears cost your child an opportunity that lasts a lifetime. It is 100% up to your child to put the work in, but if you do not know what to do, and your child is not sure, you have no shot.

The next step is getting over the stigma of asking for help. Being unsure of what to do is the kiss of death. Parents spend every weekend traveling, sitting at fields all day etc and will not invest 30-45 minutes to get help and get a clear plan on what to do. There is no shame in asking for help in order for your child to benefit. There is so much misinformation and focus on the team, now is the time to focus just on your child reaching their dreams.

If you would like help, please schedule a free breakthrough call that we can discuss your individual situation and put a plan in place for your child to reach their potential and learn how to go after opportunities. please click on the link below to schedule the call with me.

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Having a successful daily routine is very important in order to reach ones potential. Most students tend to go through the motions academically and athletically and rely on their natural ability.

Natural ability in the classroom and on the field gets most people only so far, and in most cases will not reach their dreams.

Combining natural ability with a successful daily routines academically and athletically will provide a better chance at reaching ones true potential.

Without routines people tend to procrastinate more and before you know it months have gone by and they become stagnant or fall behind.

If you could ask most people that never completed college the deep down reason for most people is that they did not have a successful daily routine, and fell into one of the many traps that are out there.

Combining a simple academic and athletic routine where the student and the parents are all on the same page, is the best way to insure that a student athlete reaches their potential in the classroom and on the field.

As a parent, all we want is for our kids to reach their potential.

Self confidence is so important for a student athlete and so many times that confidence can disappear overnight.

The way to insure that self confidence keeps rising is to have short term academic and athletic goals. The key is to have effort based data driven goals, not tie the goals to something that is out of their control.

For example, as a hitter, you can go 0-4 and hit 4 line drives right at people. That is a great game but was unlucky. But, if your goal was to improve your 60 time by .2 seconds and you bust your tail and knock off .3 seconds, that is building confidence.

Confidence also tanks when parents and players start comparing kids. Don't get caught up in that, it is easy to do.

You should only worry about your family. If your kid wants to be a college athlete, then focus only on having the velocity, 60 time, the eye test, academic grades, test scores and having fundamentals that project to the next level.

We get caught up into worrying about playing time, politics in athletics, batting order etc.

Ask yourself this simple question, if your kid has the grades and test scores needed to go to the college of their dreams and has the velocity, 60 time, the eye test, the proper fundamentals that college coaches are recruiting, do you really think your kid will be worrying about playing time, politics, and being compared to other kids on their team.

No, they will at most schools be the best kid in the program.
That is all I ever focused on with my kids and it will change their lives.