[Book Sip] Top Performance Strategy 'Don't Run, You'll Get Tired'

Some sentences encapsulate the entire content of the book itself, while others instantly reach the reader’s heart and create a connection with the book. Here, we introduce such meaningful sentences excerpted from the book. - Editor’s note

I worked as a coach in a baseball team for nearly 20 years. I worked with players like Kang Jung-ho, Park Byung-ho, and Kim Ha-seong, and also witnessed the rookie of the year seasons of Lee Jung-hoo and Kang Baek-ho. I experienced many managers such as Yeom Kyung-yeop, Lee Kang-chul, Heo Moon-hoe, Jang Jeong-seok, and Hong Won-gi. A training coach is not simply someone who takes care of players’ bodies. Naturally, body and mind go together. Therefore, a training coach becomes the players’ primary mental coach from the closest position. Over time, I have shared many stories that go against the conventional wisdom of the baseball world. One representative example is the idea that ‘excessive practice causes injuries and harms performance improvement.’ If players sprint at full power before or early in the game, they quickly get exhausted and find it difficult to complete the long 144-game pennant race. He also says he dislikes the phrase ‘give it your all.’ The reason is that if you give it your all, there are only two outcomes: ‘dying’ or ‘living.’ This book is a great help for mental management.

Doing a lot of training does not necessarily lead to good results. In my view, this method is like an Indian rain dance. Just like performing a rain dance until it rains, it’s practicing baseball until you get good at it. Nothing more, nothing less.

If players are guaranteed sufficient rest time, their concentration during training will improve. Improved concentration will not only enhance skills but also prevent injuries caused by overuse.

If players look physically drained during a game, shouldn’t we consider whether there are factors before the game that are draining their stamina? In other words, shouldn’t we think about whether something done before the game is lowering the players’ stamina?

Once, just before entering a game, after warming up and focusing fully, he was about to go up to the mound when the pitching coach called him. Then he said, “It’s okay to give up runs, just don’t give walks. Take it easy.”

The problem was that from the moment he heard those words from the pitching coach, his mind was filled entirely with walks. This happened often afterward as well. When he went up to the mound after hearing those words, he couldn’t recall the preparations he had made; his mind was filled only with walks, and especially after throwing the first pitch and it became a ball, his anxiety grew even more.

Of course, the pitching coach’s position is understandable. How frustrated and distressed must he have felt watching this player all along? He probably said those words wanting to help the player somehow and to make him feel at ease.

However, we must not forget that such words from a coach intended to help the player can actually be unhelpful and have a negative impact. The reason for saying such things may be to help the player, but perhaps it was also to ease the coach’s own inner anxiety.

Among the players, coaches, and managers I have met so far, the common trait of those who succeeded was that they were not afraid of change. Once you understand something intellectually, just try it. If you feel stagnant or want to succeed, you need big or small changes. Among them, if you have confirmed rational and valid grounds, I recommend not overthinking and just trying it. You will probably gain more than you lose. And if you are the first to accept that change quickly, you might become a pioneer in your field. Change can be practiced as long as you have courage.

Don’t Run, You’ll Get Tired | Written by Lee Ji-poong | HanbitBiz | 304 pages | 16,000 KRW

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.