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Mark Knudson’s Three Strikes Blog: An open letter to high school athletes – The Three Priorities

@MarkKnudson41

This will be (hopefully) my fourth season as a high school baseball coach. As a program, we were looking forward to the possibility of a really good season. Excitement was all around us.

On Monday night March 9th, we met with the parents of our players, and outlined what we were going to try to accomplish this season. The players had worked very very hard all off season, and we were ready to go.

On Wednesday night we had a function in the gym at school. Our first game was set for Thursday at 4pm. After the function, I got in my car, turned on the radio and heard the name Rudy Gobert.

Everything changed.

Just after lunch time on Thursday – about three hours before first pitch – our game was postponed, and our season put on hold…and placed in serious jeopardy. By Friday afternoon, I had been forbidden from having any contact with my players until April 6th. Not even a team meeting. Zip.

Such is life in our litigious society. God forbid I speak to them before sending them off for three weeks.

But it is what it is. So let’s try this another way….

I decided to write down what I had planned to tell our team at a team meeting on Friday afternoon and share it this way. I really hope this is a message that others might find helpful during this time of crisis.

It’s all about our Three Priorities.

Strike One: On Monday I reiterated to our players and parents what I always tell them: That our A #1 top priority will always be their HEALTH. Who knew that would become so overwhelmingly obvious as this unprecedented week wore on?

Even under far better circumstances, having your health means everything. You can’t go to school and get an education without it. You can’t participate in sports without it. You can’t do anything without it.

So here we are now, and I feel the need to remind our young players – again – that their health is A #1. That Rudy Gobert has proven that ANYONE can get this virus. ANYONE. So please take precautions like washing your hands often, eating right all the time, getting your rest and maintaining “social distances” from people you don’t know. Guys, they didn’t cancel March Madness because of fear of the players getting sick. It was fear for the fans who would have been crammed into the arenas and on airplanes almost on top of each other. That’s how this crud spreads. So stay out of large crowds. Be careful what you touch. This virus can live on stainless steal surfaces for SIX WEEKS. You are NOT bulletproof. Be careful out there.

But…DO go out there. Don’t plant yourself on the couch. Get outside. I heard an expert say this virus doesn’t sustain in U-V rays. Go out and get some sun. Soak it up. Hopefully sunshine kills this damn thing. Let’s find out.

Strike Two: High school WILL resume, either in classrooms or perhaps on-line. Be prepared for anything. ACADEMICS remain the top priority after your health. You will have work to make up and you will need to stay the course to graduate. On-line classes, if we go that route, are actually harder than your regular classes. We know this isn’t fair, but it is what it is. Everyone has to deal with the realities of our current situation.

I’m pretty certain that all six of the seniors on this year’s team plan to go to college and most want to compete in sports. Even though two of you have already signed LOI’s to play in college, you aren’t done with high school yet. Finish strong. Do whatever work is required for us to watch you walk down that isle and accept that diploma later this spring.

Ever since I read a book I bought in Buffalo, New York in 1990 called The Winner’s Edge I’ve tried to live by the motto, “It’s not what happens to you that matters most in life, it’s how you handle it.” Handle your academic requirements like responsible, young adults. Understand that everyone else is in the same situation. It sucks. It’s not fair. But it has to be handled.

Strike Three: Awhile back I asked you to make baseball your #3 priority, behind only your health and your schoolwork. I ask that again, during this difficult time. Put BASEBALL ahead of socializing, video games, and any other activity that’s not going to help you become better. (Believe me, there will be plenty of time in the day for Fortnite or whatever…AFTER you work out.)

If I were in this situation as a young player, I would take it upon myself to make sure I got in the weight room. Make sure I found a place to take batting practice. Make damn sure I found a place to throw and catch. I would go out of my way to organize my teammates to work out together, without the coaches being present. I would have found a way to make myself and my team better on April 6th than we are right now.

Because you know what? We will get back on the baseball field this spring. Not sure when, not sure where, but we will get back out there. And the players and teams that spend the next three weeks keeping themselves in good physical shape, the ones that work hard on the basics of throwing, catching, fielding and hitting, will be the ones that have the most success. I want that to be us.

This is not just about winning baseball games. It’s about winning at life.

Life is going to throw you curveballs. It just threw us one of the nastiest curves ever. We need to fight it off and keep this at-bat alive. We can’t let this thing win.

It’s the same for all of us dealing with this virus right now in whatever line of work we are in. We have to work hard and work smart in order to overcome. Sound familiar?

In order to achieve ultimate success in whatever endeavor you choose to make your life’s work moving forward, it’s going to take ultimate commitment. Especially in the hard times.

I love the old saying, “hard times don’t build character, they reveal it.” I believe in the character of our team. I believe we will come out of this better and stronger than we are now. I hope you prove me right.

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