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You can't hit what you can't see,

except by accident!

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This post is being developed; feel free to comment if you have any questions or would like to contribute to it's development.

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2. SCHEDULING - HOURS & LOCATIONS

Hitting Lessons are offered year-around

Fall,Winter,Spring and Summer:

...................................Private

..............................Semi-Private

....................................Group

.....................................Team

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  Every effort is made to arrange lessons around the availability and convenience of the students.

Fall and Winter Hours

Monday thru Friday - 5:00am to 10:00pm

Saturday and Sunday - 7:00am to 8:00pm

Lessons are held at the club and at local parks depending on weather conditions

Sessions can also be arranged at a park near your location

To schedule sessions contact:

Tony Scoglio

Direct: (708) 990-9000

Email: tscoglio@gmail.com

Website: http://tonyscoglio.blogspot.com/

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4. New - Ted Williams Swing (Aerial View)

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*NEW ----- Aerial view of the "Ted Williams" Swing

From Ted's book "The Science of Hitting"

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(Click on picture to maximize and view)

* Notice hip action (indicated by the red line and shoulders with a blue line) and the direction the bat head is pointing throughout the swing. This technique will maximize power and increase bat speed, while expanding the the contact zone. .It's easy once you master the subtleties that create the proper sequence of movement. - T. Scoglio

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5. "Yelling on field advice only makes you a Homer"

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....................Published as a feature article in the "STAR" Newspapers.

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I thought this article would be of interest to those who have never seen it. ..It created quite a controversy not so long, long ago or "far, far away", in a park district that will remain nameless . . . (My students come from a number of park districts) . . . The feeling was the article was controversial. ..Apparently it was considered too acerbic and politically incorrect (or too true) and they didn't want to offend any of the local Homers. ..But the "Newspapers" loved it!!

....................The article has become a classic, but unfortunately it still happens.

...................................................Click on article to maximize and read..

6. Students

Coach Scoglio's Baseball and Softball students come from a wide range of suburban areas, as well as Chicago, Indiana and Wisconsin.

The list includes:
Illinois: Chicago, Homewood, Flossmoor, Glenwood, Country Club Hills, Chicago Heights, Harvey, Markham, Midlothian, Crestwood, Hazel Crest, Calumet City, Thornton, South Holland, Lansing, Lynwood, Park Forest, Matteson, Richton Park, University Park, Olympia Fields, SaukVillage, Steger, Crete, Frankfort, New Lenox, Mokena, Monee, Tinley Park, Oak Forest, Worth, Palos Heights, Orland Park, Hickory Hills.

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Indiana: Munster, Hammond, Schererville, Valparaiso, Whiting.
Wisconsin: Waukesha. 

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For Instuction Contact: Tony Scoglio, Direct line:(708) 990-9000, Email: tscoglio@gmail.com

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7. Save On Lessons

.............................................SAVE ON LESSONS
If you have an active lesson package: Send a friend (a new student) to my site. You will receive a free Lesson ($45.00 value) if they purchase a lesson package. It's important to remind your friends to refer your name when they schedule their sessions.
..................................For more information contact:
................Tony Scoglio, (708) 990-9000 or email: tscoglio@gmail.com
................................Website: http://tonyscoglio.blogspot.com/ ____________________________________________________________________

8. How To Get More FREE Lessons

.....Incentive and Referral System

• FREE lesson awards during scheduled sessions as incentives to make critical changes in technical skills.
• FREE lessons awarded at instructional tournaments.
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  FREE lessons awarded for referrals.

Student ReferralsStudents with active lesson packages receive (1) one FREE lesson for each new student referral who purchases a package of (5) five sessions or more.

Team ReferralsStudents with active lesson packages, who refer a team for lessons, will receive (1) one FREE private lesson. (One for each new team instructed).

Referral SpecialEvery player registered at the team session will qualify for a first time Special Lesson Rate: (1) one FREE private lesson with every five lessons purchased. (Special Private Lesson Package Rate with first package purchase only). Special rate expires (2) weeks from date of teams instructional session.

Club court fees for free private lessons not included. $6.00 court fee required (subject to current club pricing)..........................................................For more Infomation contact:
.....................................................Tony Scoglio, (708) 990-9000
....................................................or Email: tscoglio@gmail.com
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9. "Parent" Baseball / Softball Instructional Program

NEW!!!

Parent Instructional Hitting Program

Children six years old and younger don't need private lessons, but their parents might.

This program is designed to teach parents how to play with their children; to motivate and have fun at the same time. Notice I said, "Play" not instruct. Yes you can pay me to do it...which I will be more than happy to do. But at such a tender age the goals are different and you as a parent should be the first and best resource.

I will instruct you (the parent) how to teach, to motivate and have fun learning a new skill with your child.

This program will be available during the months of November thru February. So take advantage of it "NOW" and learn a skill that you'll find personally rewarding while giving your child (player) the confidence he/she will need to excel not just in baseball or softball but in life.

Tony Scoglio
Professional Instructor and Program Coordinator
Direct line: (708) 990-9000
Direct email: tscoglio@gmail.com
Website: http://tonyscoglio.blogspot.com/

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10. Commitment To Students

Commitment Are you aware that every baseball/softball student has a follow up to their lessons at a game? Coach Scoglio goes to a minimum of one game (sometimes more) for each student and films him/her in action, under real game conditions. This is a commitment to film 1-3 at bats for analysis and future recommendations, and at no additional cost to the student.

This kind of unparalleled commitment is unprecedented because it is time consuming and cost prohibitive. The fee for a quality instructor, for his time alone, to film a single player in a complete game can cost in excess of $200.00, not to mention travel time. This is available to every student with a current lesson package free of charge.

Other facts and programs you may not be aware of:

• Discounts for individual lessons for students with current lesson package.
• Incentives during lessons for students to win additional instruction time.
• Student referral and incentive program that awards students with free lessons.
• Instructional hitting tournaments to test skills under pressure and awarded with free lessons.Baseball/Softball conditioning programs (year round) team and individual.
• Adult instructional hitting program for high school coaches, parent-coaches, and instructors.
• Custom designed programs for individuals, groups and team specifics.Individual, group, and team lessons at any local designated field.
• Team filming and analysis of practices and/or games.Students with current lesson packages receive a free lesson on their birthday.

For information contact:

Tony Scoglio, Professional Baseball/Softball Instructor and program coordinator,

Direct line: (708) 990-9000, Email: tscoglio@gmail.com,

Website: http://tonyscoglio.blogspot.com/

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11. Team Hitting Lessons - Baseball / Softball

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Baseball / SoftballTEAM
HITTING LESSONS

Program is designed to make positive improvements in technical skills, knowledge and mental acuity. (Ideal for season and pre-tournament play).

• Team lessons are 60 minutes (one hour).
• Video taping of individual swings.
• Visits by instructor to selected games to film each player’s performance for comprehensive analysis.

Team Referrals: Students with active lesson packages, who refer a team for lessons, will receive one (1) FREE private lesson. (One for each new team instructed).

Every player registered at the team session will receive one (1) FREE private lesson with every five lessons purchased. (Day of initial package purchase)

*Court fees for free private lessons not included: $6.00 Club court fee required. (Subject to current club pricing).

Ask Tony, about how to qualify your players for Special Private Lesson Package Rates.

For more information contact program coordinator and instructor:
Tony Scoglio, Direct line: (708) 990-9000
Email: tscoglio@gmail.com
Website: http://tonyscoglio.blogspot.com/

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12. ARTICLES....... Reaching Hitting Potential

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Reaching Hitting Potential

By Tony Scoglio

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"Everybody knows how to hit, but very few really do" - Ted Williams

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There is a preconception that professional instructors and coaches share a common hitting philosophy / methodology. In truth, many coaches and instructors only echo the conventional notions of teaching: parroting the same old information, misconceptions and methods that have been taught incorrectly for decades. That's what separates and distinguishes quality instruction.

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That may sound a little harsh until you grasp one of Plato's philosophical principles. ... Yes, I said Plato ... He wrote, "We know it to be true of any seed or growing thing, whether plant or animal, that if it fails to find its proper nourishment or climate or soil, then more vigorous it is, the more it will lack the qualities it should possess." (He was a little long-winded!) If Plato had taught baseball or softball, this would have been his way of saying that talented players are more affected by prosaic or mediocre instruction than the least gifted. That's because their innate abilities can make poor technique work to a degree. They achieve a certain level of success and effectiveness, but because of their natural gifts, the inadequacy of their skills is not detected until it's too late. .

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The same principle is true of the mind. "Scientific evidence shows that the brain and nervous system operate harmoniously in a purposeful manner, much like the components of a complex machine."(Maltz, 89) If a player's early training is deficient, the genuinely talented are most affected because they will confuse their early success as the proper course, not realizing that their true potential and development is being obscured. To quote baseball legend Satchel Paige, "It's not what we know that hurts us, it's what we think that just ain't so."

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Given the proper instruction, talent will grow toward an optimal level of excellence and continue to evolve. Unfortunately it is the well-intentioned coach/instructor, armed with generations of misinformation, who is the greatest contributor to the perpetuation of mediocrity. He will develop every contrary defect in ability, unless the player is saved by some miracle.

According to former MLB player and baseball feature writer Rob Ellis, (whose opinions are supported by Ted Williams' book The Science of Hitting), inadequate instruction even extends into the major league system, as evinced by Ellis' article: "13 Reasons Why Pro Baseball Can't Teach Hitting." This is a dilemma which threatens the potential of the most gifted players and their highest pursuits.

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Keeping this in mind, twenty years of research have gone into the development of my programs which are designed to convey the complexities of hitting with simple clarity. No matter what the age (youth or adult) - If you want to understand and enjoy hitting - with a few subtle instructional tools you can learn to hit better than you've ever hit before.

For Professional Instruction Contact:

Tony Scoglio
Instructor and Program Coordinator
Direct line: (708) 990-9000, Email: tscoglio@gmail.com

Website: http://tonyscoglio.blogspot.com/

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13. ..... Practicing in the Mind (Baseball and Softball)

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Practicing in the Mind

.....................(Baseball and Softball)
..........................By Tony Scoglio

Practicing baseball or softball using visualization or imagery prepares the mind and body for optimum performance every serious competitor needs to develop.

Curiously the central nervous system and the brain do not differentiate on whether we are actually performing a skill or visualizing it in our minds. Visualization/imagery is a mental tool that sharpens all your senses, improving mind and muscle memory to accomplish any desired goal. It is of no small benefit when you lie in bed in the dark, consciously focusing your mind on a desired process and outcome; going over again in the imagination the generalities and intricacies of what you are trying to master. The best part is you can practice anywhere you can relax; in bed, sitting in a chair, while meditating at the dentist's office (good luck with that!) or even during a trip, as long as your not doing the driving.

To support this premise:
“Dr. Charles Garfield, former NASA researcher and president of The Performance Science Institute in Berkeley CA wrote the book, Peak Performance: Mental Training Techniques of the World's Greatest Athletes. As a result, Dr Garfield was selected by the United States Olympic Committee as a keynote speaker for the esteemed Elite Coaches Symposium, addressing the head coaches of our Olympic sports. Of relevance, here is a study to which Dr Garfield referred. That study examined the effect of mental training, including visualization/imagery, on four groups of world-class athletes just prior to the 1980 Lake Placid, New York Olympics. The four groups of elite athletes were divided as follows:

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  Group 1 did 100% physical training to prepare for the Olympic Games.
  Group 2 did 75% physical training, 25% mental training.
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  Group 3 did 50% physical training, 50% mental training.
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  Group 4 did 25% physical training, 75% mental training.

What the researchers found was that group 4, the group with the most mental training had shown significantly greater improvement than ANY OF THE OTHER GROUPS, followed by groups 3, 2, and 1, in that order. The results were that athletes training mentally [using visualization / imagery techniques] were able to advance further than their counterparts who were training primarily with the main focus on physical preparation.

Garfield, who has spent hundreds of hours interviewing athletes and sports researchers around the world, says that many elite athletes have incorporated sophisticated imagery techniques into their athletic programs and believe mental images act as precursors in the process of generating neuromuscular impulses. Garfield believes imagery works because movement is recorded holographically in the brain. In his book Peak Performance: Mental Training Techniques of the World’s Greatest Athletes, he states, “The images are holographic and function primarily at the subliminal level. The holographic imaging mechanism enables you to quickly solve spatial problems such as assembling a complex machine, choreographing a dance routine, running visual images of plays through through your mind” [or hitting a baseball or softball].

“Australian psychologist Alan Richardson has obtained similar results with basket ball players. He took three groups of basketball players and tested their ability to make free throws.” In one study, an experiment was performed using three control groups where basketball players attempted to improve their free throw shooting skills. One group practiced free-throw shots for a half-hour every day. Another group was told not to practice. A third control group practiced thirty minutes a day but only in their imaginations. "In their mind's eye, they would see themselves standing at the free-throw line holding the ball." They would see the basket and feel the body movements of making a perfect shot. At the end of a week, the players were retested. The players who were told not to practice showed no improvement as expected. But surprisingly those who had practiced only in their imaginations had improved significantly more than the players who had practiced with a real ball every day.

This isn't to suggest that thinking about it is better than actually performing. You still have to physically condition the body and train the mind with muscle groups to perform the proper sequence of movement. That can only be accomplished through actual experience, under a coach's observation, instruction and encouragement. But as a tool, visualization/imagery is a great supplement to physical training and for reaching beyond the limitations we put on ourselves.

We can all use our imaginations to maximize performance, be it hitting a ball or delivering a speech. To make your imagination work for you, you must actually see yourself in your mind performing with perfect execution what you're trying to master. It's a disciplined mental rehearsal seeing only what you want, not what you don't want. To maximize the benefit imagine yourself performing in the role you're trying to master for twenty to thirty minutes each day. Start out with five minutes and progressively extend the periods. Keep in mind that using this technique will also cement poor mechanics as well, so get a good instructor.

How can these short mental exercises help? "This isn't like your physical training and/or practice, that can go on for hours. The short answer is you are using techniques to train the mind. Longer is not better, it's the precision of the process not the length of time that's most important."
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For more information on baseball and softball powers of visualization click on the following sites: Mind Training.Net and About.com: Sports Medicine
Sources:
"How to think like Leonardo da Vinci", by Michael J. Gelb
"Mysteries of the mind", by Henry Reed, Ph.D
"Peak Performance", by Charles Garfield, Ph.D
"Psycho-cybernetics", by Maxwell Maltz, M.D.
“The Holographic Universe”, by Michael Talbot

............................For information about professional instruction contact:
...............................Tony Scoglio, Instructor and Program coordinator
.........................Direct line: (708) 990-9000. . . Email: tscoglio@gmail.com

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14. ..... Why Johnny can't hit!

Why Johnny Can't Hit!

By Tony Scoglio

Hitters Practice 3 1/2 Hours Per Year?

According to a major baseball/softball equipment manufacturers marketing and promotions statement, “The average baseball/softball player practices hitting only 3½ hours per year.”

You may be asking yourself, "How did they they come to this conclusion?" Well here goes, stay with me. "Baseball/Softball last 16 weeks at the high school level. If you practice 5 days a week, 2½ hours per practice, this is a total of 80 days, or 200 hours per season. Half of this time (100 hours) is spent playing scheduled games. Of the remaining time (100 hours), 50 hours is spent practicing defense, and 50 hours is spent practicing offense.”

“Generally, 15 players divide the 50 offensive hours, giving each player 3½ hours or 200 minutes of hitting practice per season. If the player is not training during the off-season, or taking private instruction, the player actually practices hitting about 33 seconds per day, per year.”

This is for an ability that is considered by the majority of sports experts to be the most difficult skill in sports.

• Comparatively, a musician practices no less than 3 1/2 hours per week or 182 hours per year.
• Basketball players practice shooting 40 times as much as baseball/softball players practice hitting.
• Competitive tennis players play year round, taking lessons 1 to 2 times per week, in addition to practicing 3 to 4 times per week, hitting 500 to 1000 balls per session.
• Most Olympic athletes practice four to six hours per day, 300 days per year, or 1200-1800 hours per year.

Even if a baseball/softball player extends playing time with summer and fall leagues, you’re still only looking at 10½ hours of actual hitting practice, per player, per year. That's only if they are still practicing 5 days a week. Most fall-ball teams don't practice at all.

It’s no wonder, that so many players and coaches lack a basic understanding of the fundamentals of hitting, at every level of experience. Ted Willaims, last of the .400 hitters said, "Everybody knows how to hit -- but very few really do."
Marv Bittinger said it best, in a book he co-authored with former Chicago Cubs manager Dusty Baker, “Hitting is probably the most over coached yet under taught skill in all of sports. Many coaches believe that they know how to hit merely because they are older and have played the game at some level. We do not mean, of course, to be critical of anyone who volunteers his or her time --- baseball needs all the caring, dedicated coaches it can find. But hitters need a foundation, a philosophy --- yes, even a plan of attack --- with which to go to the plate. Once a young person understands that there are certain actions in the process of hitting that absolutely must go right, successful hitting becomes achievable.”

Parents and players need to understand that lessons are not to take the place of practice, but to make practice worthwhile. Frankly, there just isn't enough time during the season to expect a coach to focus on each players hitting. And without enough time, proper instruction and training "Practice doesn't make perfect", it makes imperfections permanent.

For information contact: Tony Scoglio direct at (708) 990-9000, Email: tscoglio@gmail.com, website: http://tonyscoglio.blogspot.com/

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15. ..... Baseball vs. Softball Hitting Debate

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........Baseball vs. Fastpitch Softball (hitting)
.............................By Tony Scoglio

Misinformation proliferates when coaches or instructors depend on experience and observation alone as their only method or source of teaching without the use of science and theory.

The fact is the universal laws of physics, applied to hitting mechanics, do not change because the balls are a little bigger or smaller. In truth, the trajectory of a fast-pitch softball is comparatively the same as that of a baseball. A softball is thrown from a shorter distance which makes the short, compact, inside-out swing particularly important, because of the shorter sighting distance of the ball.

The reaction time facing a sixty or seventy mph softball pitch is like facing a baseball thrown in the high 90’s to over 100 mph from 60 feet 6 inches. That’s faster than most Major League baseball pitchers throw. Remember, a softball is pitched from 35 to 43 feet depending on the league. Plus a braking softball will have upward movement and rise because of the pitcher’s underhand delivery.

There is a difference in the preparation and loading mechanism before the actual swing because of a softball pitcher’s ostensively explosive motion, unlike the comparatively unhurried, demonstrative windup of the baseball pitcher. (The pitcher’s motion dictates the hitter’s rhythm) This is easily transferred to a softball hitters timing mechanism, but there is no discernible difference in the swing itself.

For information about instruction contact:
Tony Scoglio
Professional Instructor and program coordinator
Direct: (708) 990-9000, Email: tscoglio@gmail.com
Website: http://tonyscoglio.blogspot.com/

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16. ..... Batting Cages (Pros and Cons)

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Batting cage pros and cons
...................... By Tony Scoglio

There are a variety of different types of batting cages and apparatus: Master pitching machines, Atec machines, Jug machines, machines with arms, machines with wheels, automatic ball fed machines, manually fed machines, the list goes on and on.

There are advantages and disadvantages to all these machines, but the most important factor is knowing how to use them.

There is a misconception, that if you go to the batting cages often you will become a good hitter. To some extent that is true, but without the proper focus you will improve as cage hitter only.

For the most part the skills acquired at the cages won’t transfer to the field in real game situations, under pressure. Unless you have had adequate instruction in both hitting and in the use of the type of batting machine you are using, it can be a detriment.

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  First, all batting machines affect timing if you don't use them properly and some should be avoided all together.
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  Second, machines throw balls uniformly, making each pitch predictable. Pitchers are taught to throw around a hitters strengths.
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  Third, if you have bad habits or weak technique you will enhance the very imperfections you are trying to eliminate, ultimately hindering your development and potential.

A batting cage is a tool. It can not teach you to hit. It’s a tool for grooving a fundamentally sound swing into a perfected swing. Relying on a batting cage to take the place of professional instruction will only ingrain peculiarities in the signature of a hitters swing. Good luck trying to fix it then!

Batting cages are fun for everyone and should be part of a practice regiment. But if you are serious about playing competitively, it’s recommended that you build a good instructional hitting foundation long before using a batting cage.

For more information about professional instruction contact:
Tony Scoglio, Professional Baseball/Softball Instructor and Program Coordinator
Direct: (708) 990-9000
Email: tscoglio@gmail.com
Website: http://tonyscoglio.blogspot.com/
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17. ..... The Sportsmanship Ideal

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The Sportsmanship Ideal

By Tony Scoglio

A number of students have asked my opinion of the recent baseball drug scandals. Let me answer that this way; Henry Reed in his book On Mysteries of the Mind, said of Sportsmanship:

"It is an ideal that has a long and honorable tradition. It is expressed in the attitude "It doesn't matter whether you win or lose, but how you play the game." In recent years, professional sports, and to some extent school athletics, have made a mockery of this ideal. The slogan has become "the bottom line is that winning is everything."

The attitude expressing good sportsmanship contains an apparent contradiction that is sometimes too hard for the pressures of modern life to endure. Good sportsmanship can put you between a rock and a hard place. It's hard to be a good sport when so much is riding on winning. Not everyone can bear the strain.

Nailing yourself to the cross of contradictions, to playing your very best while not being concerned with the game's outcome, initiates you to the transcendent value of sportsmanship. You discover an extra dimension of genius in true creative play. Focusing on the process of the game rather than the outcome, you are free to focus only on the immediate moment rather than cluttering your mind with the anticipated consequences of winning or losing."

I agree with everything Henry said, but lets face it, when we are talking about professional sports and the millions of dollars these guys get paid, to play a game, we are no longer talking about sportsmanship, we're talking gamesmanship. "Gamesmanship is defined as the dubious (although not technically legal) methods to win a game. As opposed to sportsmanship, it may be inferred that the term derives from playing for the game (to win at any cost) as opposed to playing for sport."(Wikipedia) Other more appropriate terms would be; "upmanship, one-upmanship" or how about, it's-not-really-cheating-as-long-as-I-don't-get-caughtmanship. It's a little like the philosophical riddle, "If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?" It's a sad commentary, but apparently not as long as no one finds out.

For information about instruction contact:

Tony Scoglio

Professional Instructor & Program coordinator

Direct line: (708) 990-9000, Email: tscoglio@gmail.com

Website: http://tonyscoglio.blogspot.com/

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...................Just Stuff...........................................

18. Facts and Trivia to Learn By

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  The muscle of what organ of the body continually contracts, causing it to
  quiver 30 to 60 times per second? ... [The eye]

  
  
  
  

  
  
  
  

  Name the simple machine composed of a rigid beam that pivots at a fixed
  point (fulcrum). ... [A lever]

  
  
  
  

  
  
  
  

  As a pendulum's end weight gets lighter, how does the period (the time it
  takes to swing from one side to the other) change? ... [It doesn't change]

  
  
  
  

  
  
  
  

  The sites at which nerve cells communicate with each other are called what?
  ... [Synapses]

  
  
  
  

  
  
  
  

  The transformation an insect makes from a less developed larval form to its
  adult form? ... [Metamorphosis]

  
  
  
  

  
  
  
  

  What type of vision is achived when both eyes focus on an object at the same
  time, each eye seeing the object from a slightly different angle? ... [Binocular
  vision]

  
  
  
  

  
  
  
  

  About a fourth of your bones are located in what part of the body? ... [Your
  foot]

  
  
  
  

  
  
  
  

  Name the object that, on average, weighs about three pounds, uses twenty
  watts of power in an hour, and stores one hundred trillion bits of information?
  ... [The human brain]

  
  
  
  

  
  
  
  

  How many total bones are in the human body? ... [206]

  
  
  
  

19. Past Quotes and Anecdotes: (88)

Challange:
Embrace the challange of competing against the very best...Win or lose it's the only mark of a true champion...As the epic poem Beowulf personifies, "It's the courage to strive - not sucess - which ultimately reveals and ennobles the true hero." - T. Scoglio
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Wisdom:
"Arrogance diminishes wisdom" - Proverb
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..." a man can do all things if he will" - Leon Battista Alberti, polymath and renaissance man

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“There are none so blind as those, that will not see” - Proverb

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Preparation:

"I will prepare and some day my chance will come." - Abraham Lincoln, statesman.

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Perception:

"The eyes may be visual organs, but it is the brain that sees." - Michael Talbot, author

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Prepare:

"Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe." - Abraham Lincoln, statesman

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Understanding:

"Two hands clap and there is a sound; what is the sound of one hand?" - "To escape the bonds of conceptual limitations, is to hear the sound of one hand clapping." - Zen Koan

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Forces:

"Don't fight forces. Use them." - Buckminster Fuller, American architect, author, designer, futurist, inventor and visionary.

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Preparation:

"If you're not practicing, somebody else is, somewhere, and he'll be ready [to beat you or] take your job." - Brooks Robinson, MLB-Hall of Fame, 1983.

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“I could field as long as I can remember, but hitting has been a struggle all my life.” - Brooks Robinson, MLB-Hall of Fame, 1983

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Winning :

"Don't be afraid to fail, encourage your talent, and use your heart. And never be unprepared." - Joe Torre, MLB manager

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Memories:

"We do not remember days, we remember moments." - Cesare Pavese, Author

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Hope:

"An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last." - Winston Churchill, A noted stateman, orator, soldier, historian, Nobel Prize-winning writer, and an artist..

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Necessity:

"It is no use saying, 'We are doing our best.' You have got to succeed in doing what is necessary." - Winston Churchill, Statesman, soldier . . .

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Bragging:

"It ain't braggin' if you can do it." - Jerome Hanna "Dizzy" Dean (January 16, 1910 – July 17, 1974) was an American pitcher in Major League Baseball, elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame . . . As a radio prodcaster "Dizzy" received a letter; An English teacher wrote to him, complaining that he shouldn't use the word "ain't" on the air, as it was a bad example to children. On the air, Dean said, "A lot of folks who ain't sayin' 'ain't,' ain't eatin'. So, Teach, you learn 'em English, and I'll learn 'em baseball." On December 5, 2007, Dean was nominated for the Ford C. Frick Award, which enshrines legendary announcers of the sport into the broadcasters wing of the Baseball Hall of Fame.

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Question: The season's over; "when should my son/daughter start taking lessons?

Answer: What do think "Noah" would have said if he started building the arck after it started raining? . . . -T. Scoglio

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Learning:

"Everything within a discipline can be deduced from a few basic principles."- Euclid, Greek mathematician, considered the "Father of Geometry"(300 BC).

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Criticism:

"The trouble with most of us is that we would rather be ruined by praise than saved by criticism." - Norman Vincent Peale, author.

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Indomitable:

"A man who never quits is never defeated." - Fred Thompson, former U.S. Senator, actor, and candidate for President.

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Preparation:

"The preparation for tomorrow is builded on today. . . . It is our will which, after all, is paramount in our progress." - Edger Cayce, called "The modern day prophet" (1877 - 1945).

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Challenge:

"Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass; It's about learning to dance in the rain." -(anonymous).

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"Skillful pilots gain their reputation from storms and tempests." - Epicurus, ancient Greek philosopher (341 BC -270 BC).

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Life:

"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away." - George Carlin, American stand-up comedian, actor and author

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Possibilities:

"It's kind of fun to do the impossible." - Walt Disney (1901-1966), American film producer

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Potential:

"Your past is not your potential. In any hour you can choose to liberate the future." - Marilyn Ferguson, author and public speaker

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Persistence:

"Failure is the path of least persistence." ---Unknown

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Malapropos:

Casey Stengel, legandary "Hall of Fame" manager - "There comes a time in every man's life, and I've had plenty of them."

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Yogi Berra - "Half the lies they tell about me aren't true."

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Performance:

"Past performance is no guarentee of future results." - Author Unknown

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Tragety:

"Just think of the tragedy of teaching children not to doubt." - Clarence Darrow, American lawyer

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Learning:

"A little learning is a dangerous thing; Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring." - Alexander Pope, English poet of the eighteenth century

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Fear:

He has not learned the first lesson of life who does not every day surmount a fear. - John Dryden, 17th century English poet, literary critic, translator and playwright

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Perceptions:

Phyllis Diller, comedienne - "If it weren't for baseball, many kids wouldn't know what a millionaire looked like."

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Concentration:

"Concentration is never a matter of force or coercion." - Jack Kornfield, pasifist and trained as a Buddhist monk

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Results:

"Don't slug at full speed; learn to meet them firmly, and you will be surprised at the results."- Ty Cobb, whose lifetime batting average of .366 is the greatest in Major League history

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Focus:

"If you focus on results, you will never change. If you focus on change, you will get results." -Jack Dixon

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Discipline:

"It's not the work that's hard, it's the discipline." -Anonymous

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Knowledge:

"An archer cannot hit the bullseye if he doesn’t know where the target is." -Anonymous

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Excellence:

"With regard to excellence, it is not enough to know, but we must try to have and use it." - Aristotle, (384 BC – 322 BC) was a Greek philosopher, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great.

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Power:

Power is not revealed by striking hard or often, but by striking true. -Honore de Balzac, nineteenth-century French novelist and playwright.

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Jealousy:

"Everybody pities the weak; jealousy you have to earn." - Arnold Schwarzenegger, 38th Gov. of Calif, actor and businessman.

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Improvement:

"He who stops being better stops being good." - Oliver Cromwell, English military and political leader (1599 - 1658 AD)

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Potential:

"Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power." ..-Tao Te Ching - Laozi, Taoist sage (6th century BC )

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"Continuous effort - not strength or intelligence - is the key to unlocking our potential."

.............................................- Winston Churchill, British Statesman

Fear:

"Knowledge is the antidote to fear." - Ralph Waldo Emerson, essayist, philosopher, poet and leader of the Transcendentalist movement.

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Training:

"(You have a choice as to whether) you are either part of the steam roller or part of the road." -Author unknown.

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"The more you sweat in practice, the less you bleed in battle." ~Author Unknown

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Future:

"If we don't change the direction we're going, we're likely to end up where we're headed." - Ancient Chinese Proverb

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Knowledge:

"If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough." -Albert Einstein, German born American physicist

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Courage:

"Do your utmost. . . . It is the courage to strive – not success – which ultimately reveals and ennobles the true hero.”

-Beowulf, Heroic epic poem (written ca. 8th - 11th century a.d.) author unknown

Greatness:

"Great hitters aren't born, they are made."

-Rogers Hornsby, Baseball Hall of Fame and Major League Baseball All-Century Team.

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"Hornsby was the greatest hitter for average and power in the history of baseball."

- Ted Williams, Hall of Fame.

Confidence:

"Watch me paste this pathetic palooka with a powerful paralyzing 'poifect', 'pachydermus', percussion pitch."

Bugs pitching against the Gas-House Gorillas baseball team.

-Bugs Bunny, Oscar winning rabbit, born 1939 Brooklyn ,New York

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"Show me a guy who's afraid to look bad, and I'll show you a guy you can beat every time." -Lou Brock, Hall of Fame.

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Experience:

"Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterwards."

-Vernon Law, Pitcher, Pittsburgh Pirates

Glory:

"Everybody wants to be a star on Saturday night in October. The question is whether they are willing to pay the price to get there." - I don't know where I heard this. - TS

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Wisdom:
"It's not what we know that hurts us, it's what we think that just ain't so."

-Satchel Paige, Baseball pitching legend

Preparation:

"A dream without a plan is just a wish"

-credited to Willey B. White, Olympian (1st American woman long jump medalist)

Success:

It"s a little like wrestling with a gorilla. You don't quit when your tired, you quit when the gorilla's tired."

........................................................-Robert Strauss, American ambassador on dealing with the Russians

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"The successful warrior is the average man, with laser-like focus."

-Bruce Lee, Martial artist and actor

Dedication:

An admiring fan approached Joe DiMaggio and said, "Joe you are the greatest player of all time. I would give my life to be as good at anything as you are at baseball." Joe replied, "Madam I did." -I don't know where I heard this anecdote.-TS

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Thinking:

"When you find yourself on the side of the majority it's time to pause and reflect"

Samual Clemens, Author and satirist

Luck:

"I'm a great believer in luck. The harder I work, the more of it I seem to have."

-Thomas Jefferson, US President

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...an envious observer said, "You were just in the right place at the right time." I replied, "It's interesting you should make that observation - my experience has taught me that the right person is usually in the right place at the right time." - T.S

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"Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity."

Seneca, Roman philosopher (c. 4 BC - AD 65)

Communication:

"Talk is cheap because supply exceeds demand." -Unknown author

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"A bore is a fellow who opens his mouth and puts his feats in it." -Henry Ford, Industrialist

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Work:

"Our real problem is not our strength today; it is the vital necessity of action today to ensure our strength tomorrow." -Dwight D. Eisenhower, US President

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Self-reliance:

"What is more mortifying than to feel that you have mist the plum for want of courage to shake a tree?" -Logan Pearsall Smith, American essayist

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Sanity:

"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

-Albert Einstein, US (German born) physicist

Problem solving:

"Common sense is not so common." -Voltaire, French essayist and Philosopher

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"Youth is for adventures of the body, but age for the triumphs of the mind."

-Logan Pearsall Smith, American essayist and critic

Preparation:

"Inaction saps the vigor of the mind" [and body]. -Leonardo da Vinci, "Renaissance Man"

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"Chance favors the prepared mind" -Louis Pasteur, French chemist

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Learning:

"Knowledge is the antidote to fear" -Ralph Waldo Emerson, American essayist, poet and transcendentalist

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Achievement:

"Doubt is a thief that often makes us fear to tread where we might have won."

-William Shakespeare, English poet and playwright

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The following story is worthy of careful consideration:

_An old Cherokee was teaching his grandchildren about life. He said, "A battle is raging inside me...it is a terrible fight between two wolves. One wolf represents fear, anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego. The other stands for joy, peace, love, hope, sharing, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, friendship, empathy, generosity, truth, companionship, and faith."

_The old man fixed the children with a firm stare, "The same fight is going on inside you, and inside every other person too."

_They thought about it for a while and then one child asked his grandfather, "Which wolf will win?"

_The old Cherokee replied, "The one you feed."

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Preparation:

"Failing to prepare is preparing to fail" - John Wooded, Coach

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"The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining" - John F. Kennedy, President

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Understanding:

"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler."

-Albert Einstein,Theoretical physicist

Diligence:

"The expectations of life depend on diligence; the mechanic that would perfect his work must sharpen his tools."

-Confucius, Chinese philosopher (c. 551-479 B.C.)

Learning:

"There should be no element of slavery in learning. Enforced exercise does no harm to the body, but enforced learning will not stay in the mind. So avoid compulsion, and let your children's lessons take the form of play." -Plato, Greek philosopher (380 B.C.)

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Intimidation:

"The pitcher has to find out if the hitter is timid. And if the hitter is timid, he has to remind the hitter he's timid." -Don Drysdale, Dodgers Pitcher

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Accomplishment:

"Getting ready is the secret to success." -Henry Ford, Industrialist

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Instruction:

"The mediocre teacher tells -the good teacher explains -the superior teacher demonstrates -the great teacher inspires." -W.A.Ward, Educator

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Adversity and perseverance:

"A battle sometimes decides everything; and sometimes the most trifling thing decides a battle."

-Napoleon Bonaparte, French military and political leader

Team work:

Tom as a youth played hoops with a friend who would never pass the ball. Tom asked, "Why do you always have to shoot." His friend said, "I have a philosophy, when you're HOT keep shooting; when you're cold keep shooting until your HOT." Tom replied, "That's not B-ball, that's Me-ball." Tom's friend rarely got the ball again.

Anecdote of - Tom Shenberger, Consummate Raconteur

Determination:

"The big shots are only little shots who keep shooting" -Christopher Morley- Author

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Learning:

"When you're through learning, you're through." Vernan Law, Pittsburgh Pirates

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