A Student Of The Game Is Always Learning

“At the end of our workout I spoke to the kids briefly about the two fundamental “rules” I have for when we’re together.  1) Safety – basically don’t do anything dumb that would put someone else or yourself in harm’s way.  Wear helmets when batting, be careful and aware of others when swinging bats, make sure others are paying attention when you throw baseballs at them, etc., and 2) “Don’t do anything that would prevent someone else from learning something.”  This is basically the “don’t mess around during practices/games” rule – includes talking while instruction is taking place, poking, prodding of teammates, etc.  I haven’t noticed any problems with either “rule”, and I don’t expect any either.  I just like to establish this expectation early.  I’m sure I’ll remind the kids of these ideas again.

“The other thing I said a couple times during practice to the kids that evening was that I expect them to listen and learn when coaches are talking to their teammates.  Sometimes coaches make comments or give specific/individual attention to one of the kids.  More often than not such instruction is actually applicable to many if not all of the kids.  Players have an opportunity to learn from what is said to their teammates, not simply from what is said directly to each of them.  I expect them to absorb and learn from this indirect instruction.”

– an excerpt from my March 28, 2011 TWIB Notes (“TWIB Notes” is the name I use for my weekly note to parents.  My TWIB Notes each week usually include a little bit of commentary along with scheduled happenings for the week and other ancillary information.  The name “TWIB Notes” derives from the television program This Week In Baseball, which originally aired in 1977 and ran in syndication throughout the ‘80s and beyond.  The show was hosted/narrated by legendary broadcaster Mel Allen until his death in 1996.)

Some kids learn by doing.  So they practice.

Some kids learn through experience.  So they play games.

Some kids learn by listening.  So they pay attention to coaches.

Some kids learn by reading.  So they dig into a book (or blog).

Some kids learn by observing.  So they attend a game or watch one on tv.

Most kids learn through a combination of these approaches.  So they do a little bit of everything.

During the past couple weeks our team has been making some of the same mistakes multiple times.  Examples include infielders and outfielders not communicating with one another on pop-ups, outfielders not getting back on fly balls when the wind is carrying out, pitchers not backing up bases, and infielders not charging the ball when the infield grass is long and slows the ball.

It doesn’t really bother me much when a player makes a mistake.  I obviously would prefer that our team not make them or that we not make them in critical situations.  But mistakes are part of the game.  Mistakes are part of life.  Trying to minimize them is what’s important.  Doing whatever you can to avoid them is what’s important.  Learning from them is what’s important.

I’m not a fan of mistakes but I’m willing to accept them as part of the game.  What I’m not willing to accept is making the same mistake over and over and over.again as if the original mistake and subsequent recurrences had never happened.  I get irritated when we don’t collectively learn from our mistakes.

The players that I’ve had the privilege of coaching over the last few years have done a pretty good job of learning from their individual mistakes.  The players that I’ve had the privilege of coaching over the last few years have been less diligent about learning from their teammates’ mistakes.  Players must learn from their own mistakes.  Those that can’t, aren’t likely to have much success as the years go on.  Players must also learn from their teammates’ mistakes.  Those that can’t, aren’t likely to have much success as the years go on.

Our team has 12 players on it.  Each player on our team shouldn’t have to make the exact same mistake in order for everyone to learn from it.  As a team, in an ideal world we should collectively make an individual mistake only once.  If our team is going to make mistakes, let’s make new mistakes.  Let’s not make the same mistake over and over and over again.

Classic social learning theory of psychology outlines basically two fundamental forms of learning.  The field of Behaviorism outlines the learning that occurs through the direct experience of an individual.  Individuals learn from the rewards and punishments they receive directly.  In a baseball game this might take the form of an encouraging word of a coach or a high five from a teammate that makes a player feel good after performing well.  The high five is a reward for good effort and good play.  The player learns that whatever he just did is something he should try to do again.

The field of Observational Learning outlines the learning that occurs from watching someone else being rewarded and/or punished.  In these situations, the learning is considered indirect because an individual did not experience the reward of punishment him/herself.  In a baseball game this might take the form of seeing a teammate get a big lead at first and being rewarded by getting a good jump and stealing second.  The player sees his teammate rewarded when taking a big lead and therefore might do the same if put in a similar situation.

In 1961 psychologist Albert Bandura conducted a classic experiment now commonly referred to simply as the Bobo Doll Experiment.  The details of the experiment aren’t particularly important, yet they are somewhat interesting if you have the time to investigate it.  What the experiment demonstrated however is that people not only learn by being rewarded and punished themselves, but also that people learn from watching others.being rewarded and punished.  Through observational learning, behaviors of an individual can spread across a culture (or a baseball team) through a process known as diffusion chain, which basically occurs when an individual first learns a behavior by observing another individual and that individual serves as a model through whom other individuals will learn the behavior and so on and so forth.

Bandura’s social learning theory contains four essential stages that are necessary for observational learning to take hold.

1.  Attention – In order to learn, you need to be paying attention. “Keeping your head in the game” (whether playing the bench or a position out on the field, or watching teammate bat) is the first step to learning by observing.  If you’re not paying attention, you’re going to miss opportunities to learn.

2.  Retention – In order to learn through observation you need to be able to remember at a later time what had been observed.  For instance, over the course of a season, a baseball team is likely to play some teams multiple times.  A pitcher that can observe and later remember how a teammate had pitched with success during a previous encounter with a particular batter, could apply the same technique or throw similar pitches to get that same batter out.  In order to apply a learned behavior, a player needs to be able to remember what had previously occurred.

3. Reproduction – Observers must be physically and intellectually capable of producing the act.  Baseball players generally speaking are pretty versatile, but player skills and abilities can vary.  A crafty pitcher on a baseball team for instance who doesn’t throw particularly hard but has mastered the use of off-speed pitches might not be able to reproduce the same technique and outcomes experienced by a hard-throwing fastball-pitching teammate.  If put in similar situations however, do your best to replicate the behavior of your teammate that produced the desired outcome.

4.  Motivation – In order for observational learning to be successful, you have to be motivated to imitate the behavior that has been modeled.  There’s a difference between learning and performance.  And sometimes a person will not produce learned behavior unless motivated to do so.  Coaches, teammates, and parents play an important role in motivation.  Pep talks, high fives, encouraging words that are observed between players and their coaches, teammates, and parents, can provide the motivation from which other players feed.

When you find yourself on a baseball field, pay attention.  Try to remember what you’ve seen and heard.  Do your best when put in similar situations as your teammates.  And feed off the positive energy and attitude of teammates and coaches.

Be a student of the game.  Always be learning.