Staying Motivated

This has been a long season. Not in the amount of games that we have played but just the length of time. I got here on March 22 and have only pitched in 9 games since then. That is a lot of off time in almost five months. Which has been good and bad. I have been able to grow my relation with God and spend time with him. I have also watched plenty of movies. So if you need any recommendation just ask. So it has been different not playing that many games this season. Only 9 starts isn't much at all for 5 months of baseball. In college I would have 23 appearances in three months. Baseball has always been called a grind. I think there are different kinds of grinds. Here this is so much off time. You might lose focus of what keeps you motivated and keeps you moving forward. I have a few factors that keep me motivated. My biggest motivation is bringing God glory through baseball. He has blessed me with these abilities and opportunities. If it wasn't for him I wouldn't be here. He gives me my confidence every time I  toe the rubber. Another thing that motivates me is proving every person wrong that has ever doubted me. I will never forget this coach I had for a all-star team. His name was Tony Black and he didn't play me at all. I remember just sitting in the dugout wondering why I wasn't playing. On the way I remember crying about it and my Dad telling me don't let this upset you. You have to channel this to make yourself a better player and that's what I did. You will always have people that doubt you. You just have to surround yourself with positive people that will always be there for you. Setting goals is a must. That is one thing my Mom has taught me and always made me do. If you don't have goals in your life, you will just be going through the motions. God didn't put us on earth to just go through the motions. We were all made in his imagine and made to bring glory to him through different things. He may have blessed you with the ability to paint or play an instrument. Whatever God has blessed you with don't waste it. You never know how much longer you have here on earth so live your life to the fullest and play ever game like its your last. There will come a day when you won't be lacing up your cleats anymore and you'll have to look back over your past. You'll have to ask yourself did you give it everything you had, could you have done more? One of my favorite quotes is "Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard". I firmly believe a athlete and pass another athlete by out working them. I have seen players quit playing because they got passed by other players and weren't willing to put in the effort to stay at the top. That when you can see who really wants it and who is just going through the motions. I challenge everyone to push yourself a little more today. From doing one more rep or making a few extra phone calls. No whatever what you do, do it to the best of your ability.