Adversity: The Best Coach You'll Ever Have

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"Winners rise, losers fall, and which one you become is entirely up to you." These words capture the essence of our deep dive into baseball's most defining moments – not the championship celebrations, but the crushing failures that reveal our true character.

When the pressure mounts and nothing goes your way, what happens next defines you as a player, coach, and person. Every baseball player faces adversity – strikeouts with bases loaded, dropped fly balls, lost games that should have been won. But the response to these moments creates a clear division between champions and also-rans. Winners take ownership, learn from mistakes, and show up ready to fight the next day. Losers make excuses, point fingers, and allow failure to define them.

The team dynamic during adversity tells an even more revealing story. Losing teams fracture under pressure, with the dugout becoming a battlefield of egos and blame. Championship teams, however, lean into each other when challenges arise. They understand the profound truth that baseball isn't about avoiding mistakes – it's about overcoming them together. This resilience built through baseball's trials becomes a foundation for life beyond the diamond, equipping players to face whatever curveballs come their way.

Are you building a winner's mentality in your program? Do your players find a way or find an excuse when faced with adversity? Join us to discover how championship cultures are forged not in victory celebrations but in the fire of challenges overcome. Subscribe now and transform how your team responds when everything's on the line.

Support the show

Follow: Twitter | Instagram @Athlete1Podcast
https://www.athlete1.net
Sponsor: The Netting Professionals
https://www.nettingpros.com

Chapters

00:00 - Mindset Determines Possibilities

00:21 - Podcast Introduction

01:20 - Netting Professionals Sponsor Message

02:52 - Confronting Adversity in Baseball

04:19 - Team Response to Challenges

05:29 - Personal Growth Through Hardship

07:13 - Sponsor Message and Closing

Transcript

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Brian Kite once said with the right mindset, a world of opportunity opens.

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So much becomes possible.

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With the wrong mindset, an unfair world of adversity is all you can see.

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Even when opportunity is right in front of you, everything looks impossible.

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Welcome to Baseball Coaches Unplugged with Coach Ken Carpenter, presented by AthleteOne.

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Baseball Coaches Unplugged with Coach Ken Carpenter, presented by Athlete One.

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Baseball Coaches Unplugged is a podcast for baseball coaches, with 27 years of high school baseball coaching under his belt.

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Here to bring you the inside scoop on all things baseball, from game-winning strategies and pitching secrets to hitting drills and defensive drills.

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We're covering it all.

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Whether you're a high school coach, college coach or just a baseball enthusiast, we'll dive into the tactics and techniques that make the difference on and off the field.

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Discover how to build a winning mentality, inspire your players and get them truly bought into your game philosophy Plus.

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Get the latest insights on recruiting, coaching, leadership and crafting a team culture that champions productivity and success.

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Join Coach every week as he breaks down the game and shares incredible behind-the-scenes stories.

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Your competitive edge starts here, so check out the show weekly and hear from the best coaches in the game.

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On Baseball Coaches Unplugged.

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This episode of Baseball Coaches Unplugged is powered by the netting professionals improving programs one facility at a time.

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Coaches, are you hoping you can get one more season out of your batting cages or L-screens Tired of broken ball buckets or the windscreen flapping on the outfield fence?

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It's time to take your facility to the next level.

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Will Miner and his team at the Netting Professionals specialize in the design, fabrication and installation of custom netting for baseball and softball.

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This includes backstops, batting cages, bp turtles, bp screens and ball carts.

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They also design and install digital graphic wall padding, windscreen, turf, turf protectors, dugout benches and cubbies.

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They also work with football, soccer, lacrosse and golf courses.

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The netting professionals continue to provide quality products and services to recreational, high school, college and professional fields and facilities throughout the country.

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Contact them today at 844-620-2707.

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That's 844-620-2707.

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Or visit them online at wwwnettingproscom.

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Or you can check out Netting Pros on X, instagram, facebook and LinkedIn for all their latest products and projects.

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Be sure to tune in every Wednesday for for a new episode of baseball coaches unplugged, where we sit down with some of the best coaches from around the country.

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Let's start with a simple question when pressure's mounting and nothing and I mean absolutely nothing is going your way.

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How do you?

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Because I'll tell you this that moment of adversity doesn't just test your skills or your strategy.

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It reveals your character.

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It separates the winners from the losers, plain and simple.

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See, adversity is inevitable In baseball, just like in life.

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You're going to face setbacks.

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You'll strike out with the bases loaded, you'll drop the routine fly ball Heck.

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You might even lose a game that you had no business losing.

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Winners and losers both experience the sting of failure.

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But the difference is winners take the pain and use it as fuel.

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Losers, they let it fester and they make excuses, blame the umpires or, worse, even quit the game.

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Baseball doesn't owe you a single thing.

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If you're looking for an easy ride, you've come to the wrong sport.

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Adversity is coming for everyone who plays a game, individually and as a team.

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But what defines us is how we respond.

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Winners embrace the grind, losers look for a way out.

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Let's break it down a little bit.

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When adversity hits a team, it has one of two effects it either fractures the group or forges an unbreakable bond.

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Losers, when faced with adversity, start pointing fingers.

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They'll say wasn't my fault, I did my part, he didn't do his.

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And before you know it, the dugout becomes a battlefield of egos and the game is lost, not because of the scoreboard, but because the team fell apart.

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Winners they lean into each other, they rally.

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When one guy strikes out, the next guy in the lineup digs in and says I've got your back.

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When a pitcher gives up a home run, the infield meets at the mound and says we're still in this, keep fighting.

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They understand that the game isn't about avoiding mistakes.

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It's about overcoming them together.

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That's why winners play as a team and losers they play as individuals.

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Adversity doesn't just affect the team.

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It affects you personally.

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Here's the simple truth how you respond to adversity on the field is a mirror of how you'll respond to it off the field.

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When life throws you a curveball and no one's exempt, trust me, it will Will you step up to the plate and give it your best effort, or are you back out of the box?

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Winners develop resilience.

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They build a mindset that says no matter what comes my way, I'll find a way to win.

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Losers, on the other hand, they fold.

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They let the situation define them instead of rising to the occasion.

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Let me be clear being a winner doesn't mean you're perfect.

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Even the greatest players in the game make mistakes.

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Winners are defined by how they bounce back, they take ownership, they learn, they grow and, most importantly, they show up the next day ready to fight.

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Losers, on the other hand, let failure defeat them.

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They make excuses, they wallow and, more importantly, they failure defeat them.

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They make excuses, they wallow and, more importantly, they stop showing up.

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So ask yourself this when adversity hits and it will what kind of coach or player will you be?

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What kind of teammate will you be?

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What kind of leader will you be?

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Will you be the guy who finds a way or the guy who finds an excuse?

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Because here's the hard truth Baseball doesn't care about your excuses.

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Life doesn't care about your excuses.

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All that matters is how you respond.

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I'll leave you with this.

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Every single one of us coach, player fan we all love the glory moments the walk-off homer, the championship win, the dog pile at the end of the season.

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But those moments, they're earned in the fire of adversity.

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They're earned in moments when you're down 0-2, with two outs and a ninth.

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They're earned when your back's against the wall and you make the choice to fight.

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So the next time you find yourself staring at adversity in the face, remember this winners rise, losers fall, and which one you become, that's entirely up to you.

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Baseball Coaches Unplugged is proud to be partnered with the netting professionals, improving programs one facility at a time.

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Contact them today at 844-620-2707, or visit them online at wwwnettingproscom.

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As always, I'm your host, coach Ken Carpenter, and be sure to tune in next Wednesday for a new episode of Baseball Coaches Unplugged.