Dear Mr. CEO,
You figured out who you are and determined the best marketing strategy to grow your business. Now its time to figure out Where to Invest your capital to enhance your performance. I would say this is the most important aspect of your business. Investing in the right areas will not only enhance your business’ performance but will help separate yourself from the competition.
I see it everyday, youth players spending 90% of their time working on and developing their positional skill (pitching, fielding or hitting) and not on the other aspects of the game. I am here to tell you, you may be working hard to get better but you are not working smart nor are you separating yourself from the thousands of players who are doing the same thing you are. And in the end you will end up like me, out of business before you even realize your out of business.
The biggest mistake I made with my business was not investing in ALL areas. I invested 75% of my capital to pitching leaving myself with only 25% to invest in weight training, nutrition, and education/knowledge. Regarding weight training, I only invested half way, per se, by doing my own thing and not educating myself on weight training and nutrition which left me coming back to spring training the following year with minimal strength and weight gains.
So what do I mean by not investing in ALL areas of your business or only investing half way? Just like with the stock market you have to diversify your money. Your not going to put all your money in just Bonds, or Stocks, or Mutual Funds, you’re going to spread your money out over all three. And you’re not going to invest money in only a few different markets, you’re going to spread them around a handful of markets. For your business, you need to spread your money over all the areas you need to improve to become a high level player. Some areas may require more investment than others which only you know, so you have to be honest with your personal assessment and invest accordingly.
As I mentioned a majority, and I would guess around 75-85%, of youth players only invest in baseball specific skills. It’s time to start investing in your strength, speed, knowledge and academics, and the time is NOW! You may say you don’t have enough time but you do, you just have to prioritize.
If you’re a high school or college player, it’s a must that you invest in a trainer in the off-season. And not 
just any trainer. Your trainer needs to have an idea about the game of baseball and design a plan for you with baseball specific exercises (The TCP Weight Training Program is a great investment). Your trainer also needs to educate you on nutrition as well so your body receives the maximum benefit from weight training (The TCP Nutritional Guide is a perfect investment). Strength training and nutrition is a MUST, and you must invest in these on a year ’round basis.
If you’re a Positional player and you don’t work on speed and agility, you better start now. Decrease the amount of money you invest in hitting lessons and start to invest in getting faster and quicker. The difference between a 6.8 and a 7.0 in the 60 yard dash is the difference between a 30% scholarship and a 50% scholarship or the difference between a D1 scholarship and a D2 scholarship.
If you’re a Pitcher only (PO) and you haven’t invested in arm injury and prevention programs, such as bands and cuff weights, along with some sort of velocity program, you need to start now! The Driveline Baseball program is a great place to start for both. Too many young players are throwing too many innings and too many pitches and never take care of their arm. And these same players invest money in lessons where they throw even more. Seems to me by doing all this and not investing in injury prevention programs they are essentially investing in their future Tommy John surgery. Your arm is your business if you’re a PO. You better start investing in your business.
And finally, investing in education. This cannot be taken lightly! Players, the better your grades are (a 3.0 or higher) the more doors you will open to play college baseball. If you need to improve your grades, invest the time and money to get a tutor. Or simply invest the time to do your homework work! College baseball is a business like you are. College baseball coaches only have 11.7 scholarships to work with. If you have a 3.0 and they have to offer you a 60%+ scholarship to get you to the school but only have to offer someone else, who has comparable skills as you, a 40% scholarship because that individual has a 3.5, who do you think they are going to go after? It’s as simple as that. But don’t forget, your baseball career will end and you will have to live of your brain at some point.
All in all, it is imperative to invest your capital in ALL areas of your business. There are thousands of players out there who possess the same skills that you do, what are you doing to separate yourself from them? It’s time to take an honest and true self-assessment and evaluation and ask your coach for an honest opinion on what you need to focus on. Then get after it!!!
Stay tuned in to read Attention Youth Baseball Players! You Are a Business Part 3.2 to talk about Where to Invest as you begin the recruiting process.
Andy Schindling 