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A Fun Bible Study
Each week I have the privilege of being part of a Zoom Bible study with dozens of high school, collegiate, and professional baseball coaches and scouts from across the country. It is my favorite 45 minutes of the week. This past Saturday, many were in town for a tournament at a local sports complex. The Bible study’s leader, pastor Mike Linch of NorthStar Church, invited those in town for dinner at his home. A picture of those who could attend is shown in Mike’s tweet above.
For the record, I’m the grey-headed person on the last row in the direct center.
Two Brilliant Coaches
One of my favorite conversations of the evening was with coach Marlin McPhail, former professional player and long-time scout of the New York Mets. Coach McPhail passionately loves Jesus and baseball. I learned a lot about leadership listening to this wonderful man.
Our group discussed several topics but I enjoyed an impromptu hitting lesson he gave. He is a coach after all! Coach McPhail said, “When a hitter leans backwards in the batter’s box, that’s a no-no.” He then went on to demonstrate that when you lean back, you have to shift your weight forward to gain proper balance, and then redirect your weight forward to hit the ball. You should simply begin in proper balance and so you can direct all your energy towards the forward motion of hitting the ball.
As I listened to Coach McPhail, I was reminded of a quote I read on page 5 of Pol Ballus and Lu Martin’s book Pep’s City: The Making Of A Superteam. This book is about Manchester City’s manager Pep Guardiola and the championship team he constructed.
They write, “Pep casts a beady eye over today’s weigh-in results. Every player has been given detailed instructions regarding diet and weight, carefully calibrated by the club dietician according to height and muscle mass. Pep’s a stickler in this regard and there’ll be no mercy for anyone who has failed to stick to the agreed parameters.”
The Difference Between Ordinary and Extraordinary
What we learn from Coaches McPhail and Guardiola is the primary difference between ordinary and extraordinary leaders, teams, and overall performance is daily attention to detail.
Little things make a big difference. Small things compounded over time add up to huge results. Sometimes it’s leaning back in batter’s box or a daily adherence to diet which separates ordinary and extraordinary athletes. The difference between ordinary and extraordinary really is just a little extra.
So don’t take shortcuts. Pay attention to the details. Do the little things well. Trust the compounding results which come from doing just a little extra day-after-day. If you do so, you will begin to see extraordinary results sooner rather than later.
A Personal Invite
If you are a baseball coach or scout and want to join our Monday morning bible study, reach out to Mike Linch at mike.linch@northstarchurch.org or on Twitter at @mikelinch. He will get you setup. We would love to have you join our community of people who love Christ and love baseball. Below is a picture of today’s study.
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