“Adversity and the Mindset to Overcome”

Adversity, how do you overcome this?

DEFINITION:

Adversity - To experience serious hardships, misfortune, or difficult, unfavorable circumstances. 

As I sat down to write this week’s blog, one word kept coming to mind: adversity. At first, I questioned whether that word really belonged in a conversation about 10U baseball. After all, these are kids playing a game they love. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized adversity doesn’t always have to mean tragedy or hardship. Sometimes it simply means facing difficult moments, learning from mistakes, and finding a way to move forward together.

This past weekend reminded me of that.

As coaches, parents, and mentors, we all have moments where we unintentionally place pressure on young athletes. I had one of those moments recently. Looking back, I realized that my focus this week may have added unnecessary weight to the shoulders of kids who simply want to compete, have fun, and grow. It was a reminder to me that adversity isn’t always something placed on us by others or by circumstances, sometimes it’s something we unintentionally create ourselves.

What matters most is how we respond once we recognize it.

Adversity is a part of every sport and every stage of life. The important lesson isn’t avoiding it completely, because that’s impossible, but learning how to navigate it. Sometimes the answer comes quickly, and sometimes it takes time. Both are okay. Growth often happens in reflection, in conversations, and in being willing to admit when we could have handled something better.

That mindset is also why this month is especially important to us at the Silver Sky Foundation.

Throughout May, we are focusing on youth mental health and suicide awareness. These conversations can be uncomfortable, but they are necessary. Far too many young people are silently battling anxiety, depression, fear, and isolation while feeling like they have nowhere to turn. I know that feeling personally. As someone who deals with anxiety and depression, I understand how difficult it can be to speak openly about what you’re going through, especially in a world where social media often makes people feel judged before they feel heard.

One thing I continue to learn is that vulnerability is not weakness. Speaking up, asking for help, or simply sharing your feelings takes courage.

We live in a time where opinions are everywhere, and not everyone will agree with what we say or believe. That’s part of life. But disagreement should never become discouragement. We have to do a better job of lifting people up instead of tearing them down — especially our youth. Sometimes the smallest encouragement, the simplest conversation, or just letting someone know they matter can make a bigger impact than we realize.

That’s my challenge to everyone reading this:

Ask yourself whether your words are creating more adversity for someone, or helping them overcome it.

As coaches, parents, teammates, and friends, we all play a role in shaping the environment around us. None of us are perfect. I know I’m not. But if we continue learning, listening, and growing, we can create spaces where young people feel supported both on and off the field.

Thank you for taking the time to read this blog and to support what we’re building through the Silver Sky Foundation. I may not change the entire world, but if these conversations help even one person feel seen, heard, or understood, then they matter.

Game Update - May 2nd

GAME 1 - Rocky Mountain Reign 1 - Captains 14

Our first game was the first game of the day. A 9am start is not one most of us look forward to. Having to wake these players up hours before they like to on a Saturday already puts us behind. As players started showing up, you could see the lag they had before hitting the field. As we continued to start our pre-game routine, you could see the struggle in some. 

This first game was winnable, but we were going to have to be the team that wanted it more. From the score listed above, you already know which team had the control. What you don’t see is the stats behind this loss. With only five strikeouts through 5 innings, you would think we would have been able to score more than 1 run. Our players came out fighting with their bats, but their pitcher came prepared. Batter after batter, we continuously hit the ball. The only downfall was we were hitting it right to their players. I tell my players that when they’re up to bat, their only job is to get on base, aka win the battle. When we’re wanting to get on with hits, our only job is to put the ball into play. Once we’ve done that, we’ve now caused our opponent to have to do multiple jobs to out-win that situation. On defense, once the ball’s in play, we have to field, throw, and catch in most situations. That’s one job vs. three. 

The Captains were a battle we didn't win. Every hit was fielded, thrown, and caught. This team was able to commit ZERO errors and their pitcher threw a complete game on 64 pitches and 44 of those being strikes. This team came ready to play and overall, out performed us. So hats off to the Captains on a well deserved and well played game! 

GAME 2 - Stars 9 vs. Rocky Mountain Reign 16

Game two already had some adversity before the game even started. We had the 9am and 5pm games this Saturday. I don’t know about you, but having to wait 5 hours in between games can either cause more tiredness, or we could come more prepared. With the extra pressure already put on these players from earlier this week, my only thought was this was going to go one of two ways. We were going to have another game like our morning one, or we were coming ready to battle. Before going into the excitement of this game, I want to say “hats off” to the Stars. They came ready to play, but so did we. 

The game started out with our pitcher (Smalls) hitting the first batter after a 1-1 count to start. The batter was OK, but while he was working on walking to first, I took this opportunity to talk to Smalls. I told him that what happened was okay, and that this is the unfortunate part of this game. The batter was able to get up and continue running, but now we need to focus and not let this haunt us. After that we were able to shut down the next three batters with two strikeouts and a ground out. With our first two batters striking out, we were able to put two runs on the board before they ended the inning. RMR 2 - STARS 0

The Stars came ready to fight in the second and put up one run while shutting us down in the bottom. RMR 2 - STARS 1 

The third inning is when this game became a roller coaster, and we were all along for the ride! The Stars came out on fire with a single, single, double, single, home-run, and another single. They were able to go up 8-2 before we were able to secure the first two outs. With a walk and another single, the half inning ended when the Stars reached the run rule of 8 running the score up to 9-2. My in between innings speech needed to be a perfect one. Coach Colorado - “They won their part of this inning, but now it's our chance. I believe, now you need to believe too!” Our first batter reached on an error and then Scar crushed a double to center. With the next batter striking out, we were able to draw a walk and with some throwing errors, both Queso and Scar were able to score (9-4). With the next batter grounding out, we were able to tack on another run (9-5). With a couple walks and a solid double by Smalls, we were able to put a good amount of runs on the board before the end of the third. RMR 8 - STARS 9

During the top of the third, I made a pitching change. I switched Smalls out due to the number of pitches thrown, and gave the ball to The Babe to take over. When The Babe came out in the 4th, he came ready. The Stars put up a couple hits but they were able to shut it down before any more runs could score, still 9-8 with the Stars in the lead. As they made a pitching change as well, our players became disciplined at the plate. We only recorded a few hits, but we drew several walks and ran the bases like we needed to.

Our hits were able to drive in several runs in the bottom of the 4th and allowed us to have a small cushion going into the 5th and final inning. RMR 16 - STARS 9

Headed into the last inning, I decided to make another pitching change and put Kash Money on the mound. With the first batter drawing a walk, our defense needed to be ready to make the next play. The next batter hits a solid ground ball to short. Hulk fields the ball perfectly, and Juice was there to make the play at second. They were almost able to make a beautiful double play, but the batter's speed beat us to it. The next batter’s up and swings on the first pitch. This hit was a screaming line drive right back to the pitcher. Kash $ makes an amazing catch for out number two. The next batter was able to draw another walk. With two outs and runners on 1st & 2nd, I told everyone that we needed to just focus on the batter. Let’s give them the base if they want to steal as we don’t need throwing errors. Let’s stay focused and have fun! With the count now at 1-2, Kash throws a beautiful curve ball that the batter swings at. Strike three, game over. RMR 16 - STARS 9

As we talked about adversity above, these players all overcame it in this game. With the extra pressure put on them by me as well as the game, I couldn’t have been more proud of these players at that moment. Not only were they able to overcome a 9-2 deficit, they continued to battle in every moment that was brought onto them. The Stars were able to get the best of us in the third inning, but with our ability to control the game after the third both on offense and defense, they were able to overcome that pressure and perform beautifully. Hats off to the Stars for an amazing and exciting game!

Thank you again for taking the time to read this. I hope you find these helpful and exciting as I do writing them!

“The most successful people see adversity not as a stumbling block, but as a stepping stone to greatness.”

-Shawn Achor