I Connick the Terminator

Chapter 39: The B Theory

The B theory was inspired ,by what I know as God's voice, while cutting grass in my back yard. I just started coaching at Baker High School. The baseball program was competitive but had taken a turn towards being average as of late. Coach Bill Glover had taken over the program from Larry Andrews, who ran the program for the last 30 years. I was asked to coach the pitchers and catchers. The team played in a pre-season tournament called the Hank Aaron tournament. After the tournament, the team was 3-3, if I remember correctly. 

 While cutting grass in my back yard, on the first weekend following the tournament, God told me something. Yes, I may be crazy, yes, I may be full of it or there is a possibility of being delusional, but I know I have never heard anything like this before in all my years of playing or coaching baseball. I heard a specific plan that would lead a group of baseball players to the state championship.    The B theory goes something like this:

 Everyone knows when a season starts; the state tells the coaches the date they are able to start working with the players and it is time to go. There is a great anticipation of the up- coming season. This theory asks the question how much emphasis is placed on how the season ends. I know everyone wants to say, we want to go to the state championship. Well,if a team has never been to the state championship or has no clue about what it takes to go to the state championship then you might as well be saying this accomplishment is somewhere over the rainbow. Most players will lose motivation if the goal is too lofty or unbelievable. So the words directed to me, on this day, were to say "we want to play in the last game the state has to offer". This focal point made the game seem just like another game, it just happened to be the last game. So every time we met in the weight room or locker room, we discussed where we wanted to B at the end of the season. Everyone on the team knew what we were focusing on. 

After discussing the verbiage, that would be used for the focus of this goal, we told the team, that there were certain benchmarks along the way, that we had to obtain. For instance, we had to win our area or region games, there were ten of them.  We took athletic tape and made ten boxes across the top blocks of the back wall of the dugout. When we would win a game, we would put an X across the box. If we lost, it was just a slash across the box. We ended up winning nine of the ten region games.  The team accomplished the first of the different benchmarks we would have cross to move closer to our goal. The following benchmarks were each of the play-off games.

The next part of this theory was the letters PWP. This stood for practice/play with purpose. In practice, a player should have a purpose for every aspect of their individual position. If you are a catcher, then your practice should have the purpose of working on a specific skill like blocking a ball in the dirt or any other skill specific to that position. The players knew that; when practicing, there should be a specificity to the skills needed to be successful.

On game days, players would have individual goals for that game. If a pitcher came to the park, he might have a goal of so many strikeouts. If he did better that expected, he could set his goals higher for the next game. If a player did not reach his goal, he could try again the next game. Batting was the same way, do not go to the plate, just hoping not to strike out, say I am going two for three. If you do better, call it a bonus. If you do not do well, try to get it in the next game.

The B theory, as described during this time, while cutting grass in my back yard, would be the Divine instructions that guided us during  the first year.  We had a gritty group of players that were described as being average at best, but scrappy.   This team never gave up and they just happen to be the right players for this journey of trail blazing to the State Championship.  I saw things happen during this season that were just incredible.  I learned during this time, that to succeed in this game, talent has something to do with it, but more importantly you have got to fight for what you want.  These players knew how to scrap for a win. The First year of the B theory we went to the state championship.  We lost the championship in two games, but man what a ride.  I will never forget that journey.  

The second year of the B theory, we could not seem to get that swagger that you feel when you play at a certain level of baseball.  It was sort of like we hit a home run and then could not stop popping up or striking out.  It was a frustrating year, that did not seem to make sense until we got in to the play offs.  We ended up making it to the quarter finals, but got beat at our place.  

The third year of this theory was when it all came together.  We had five seniors that returned, that were part of the initial presentation of the B theory.  We introduced the B theory to this new group of players. These players, that came up from Junior Varsity, were very talented.  I could feel the old feeling coming back that motivated the B theory, except we had to change the focus of the theory a little.  We had to change the verbiage of the theory  to saying; " we want to win the last game the state has to offer".  Like I said, this team was very talented, but they did not have the fight yet.  We lost both games of a double header to a private school in town.  This team was reprimanded for having talent, but no fight in them.  That would be all it would take, because we went on a tear after that.  I remember learning that, winning is not pretty, but it is oh so sweet!  Isn't that right Lip? It took three years for this theory to be a reality thanks to the players and Coaches of Baker High School. Most miracles or blessings happen in 3's.  

These players, that were Juniors at the time, went on to destroy everyone in their path their senior year.  They repeated as the State Champions of Alabama.  

One of the members of that team is now the head baseball Coach at Baker high school.  Another former player, of the first year team, is the head Coach of the Baker basketball team. I am so proud of both of these players and I hope one day they will be in their back yard cutting grass and God will talk to them.