I can’t remember what age it was, but we were young. We’d only been playing baseball, in some form or another, for two or three years and this was the first year of “kid pitch”. We were trying to learn the very basics, and we were too young to worry about anything but throwing strikes.

In the world of little league baseball, kids start out hitting off a tee. From there, the league progresses to having the coach pitch to the kids. Around the third or fourth season, the kids begin pitching for the first time, and it goes as well as you’d imagine. There are a lot of walks and a lot of hit batsmen. It’s boring and it’s tedious, but it’s a required step in each kid’s development.

At this level, anyone who can throw a ball reasonably straight is used as a pitcher. No one is good, but some are better than others. As the season progresses, there’s typically a handful of kids who distance themselves from the pack. Inevitably within this group, kids try to get fancy. Some will throw change-ups or try to locate the ball. Some kids will tinker with a curve ball. It’s a normal manifestation of the kids’ interest with the game. But, that doesn’t make it a good idea. At that age, the kids’ focus needs to be limited. They don’t need to run before they’ve learned to walk. All they need to worry about is throwing strikes.

It’s boring advice. I remember. No one wants to be told to just throw the ball over the plate. They want to copy their friends. They want to emulate the pros. They want to try something fancy and they want to show off. The last thing they want to hear is to just throw strikes, even though it’s the best skill for them to learn.

Anyone familiar with baseball knows that a pitcher won’t always be “on”. Some days will be better than others. Sometimes the curve ball won’t break. Sometimes the slider won’t move. Not every outing will be great. Some days ‘decent’ will be the best a pitcher can do. Anyone will be able to win on the days they’re great. The trick is learning to win on the days you’re decent or even mediocre.

Life is a long game and you’re not going to feel great everyday. Work will be boring. Sometimes you won’t feel like working out. Most days will offer minimal excitement, and you’ll feel inspired less than you would like. Such is the pace of life.

On the days you’re “on”, giant leaps can be made. But, progressing only on your good days won’t get you very far. Like pitching, the trick is learning to win on those other days. It’s about showing up with the best you have each morning, even if that’s not always the best you’re capable of. You won’t always have your great stuff. Some days you’ll just need to throw strikes.