Spring Training

It’s that time of year again, as pitchers and catchers report early for spring training and position players trickle into camp in preparation for the upcoming season. Professional baseball players say that spring training is the best time of year for them because it signals a fresh start, gets their competitive juices flowing, and offers the promise that once again everybody is starting over. This season, as every season, everybody has a chance. Everybody has a shot at the championship. For me, as a coach of youth baseball, it’s a chance for a valuable life lesson.

Eric Gagne was tendered a minor league contract by the Los Angeles Dodgers. Gagne has experienced the highest highs in his profession, having set franchise records for the Dodgers and records within Major League Baseball. He won the Cy Young award in 2003 as the best pitcher in the National League, and is a three-time All Star. Gagne has also struggled mightily in his profession, having been linked to steroid use and fallen to the ranks of the possibly washed up veterans. Gagne probably knows that he will either make the roster for the Dodgers in 2010 or be forced into retirement as a minor league player that nobody wants.

Sports can be painfully, brutally truthful. Every player, regardless of how gifted he may be, will be left behind by his sport at some point. Players who are truly passionate about their sport do everything they can to play as long as possible. And every time a player works out, he tests his body. Every time a player studies film, he pressures himself to get an edge. Every time a player takes the field, he wills himself to perform.

And every day a player stays in his sport, he is challenged by the other athletes around him. What a great life lesson.

The Dodgers will break training camp this season, and Eric Gagne will either be a member of the 25-man roster or he won’t. The opportunities for him to prove his worth to the team will have been taken. The judgment of his abilities will have been made. His future in Major League Baseball will have been identified. Gagne will be in the same position he had once been in as a young player when he tried out for his youth teams, his high school teams, and his minor league teams. He will once again be in the same position he had once been in when he tried out for the Dodgers in 1995.

We are all tested. Life continues to test us as we work to maintain our standard of living or improve our situations. We are challenged with raising families, maintaining relationships, and improving our communities. Life is full of tests.

So, as a coach, I will talk with my teams about spring training. I’ll talk about Eric Gagne and his work to make the cut. I’ll talk to them about facing the challenges of making their high school baseball teams. And I’ll talk with them about the work needed to get As or Bs on their math tests. Or the attention to detail they will need as they prepare for their SATs.

And I will certainly talk about the fulfillment Eric Gagne will feel if his hard work and determination land him a spot with the 2010 Los Angeles Dodgers.