Dugout Culture

Dugout energy is contagious. It builds trust, generates positive feelings and can be the difference between a win and a loss.

When the second nine practice with the energy it requires to be first nine All-Stars, teams accelerate.

To be so committed to a baseball game that you hang on every pitch, athletes must value the competition and feel the fear of what might happen if they don’t give every ounce of focus and attention to detail.

Certainly, this type of intensity can be lost over the course of 162 games. Major leaguers are encouraged to jog, take it easy and generally try not to get hurt or burn out too soon.

It may be cliché for a college coach to revel in players buying in to hustle and attention to detail but over the course of a 60 game season, with only five games each week, intensity should be second nature.

We get paid to develop young men. Period. When they develop, games will be won with energy, toughness and intensity. It’s against the rail, with squinted eyes, hearts pounding and blood rushing through the veins that we learn the most about who we are.

You must practice with intent to play with intensity.