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What Is RPS BASEBALL?
It's About the Mind - NOT Just the Body
The number one place most baseball programs fail their players is in the mental aspects of the game. As a longtime coach at the All-Star youth level I've learned that having all the skills and polished techniques in the world can't fully help young players, if those skills can't be articulated in actual game situations. For as much as we "rep" physical skills in practices, we seldom teach the actual confidence-building skills to find true success in sports. Building confidence in our players, through sound techniques but also through mental preparedness, helps players know that when they take the field, they'll be able to perform at their very best, and leave no regrets on the field, pressure or no pressure.
R.P.S. Principles
Put simply – we espouse that the 3 fundamental principles always present in winning organizations are the ability to be Relentless, Positive, and Selfless. The best athletes never give up. Even if the odds are against them, they remain unrelenting and fearless. Best athletes also refuse to accept negativity, cynicism, or self-doubt, knowing that a positive mindset is 100% necessary for high achievement. By being positive and unrelenting, these same athletes are able to inspire and elevate the players around them. They embrace being "Team First" players. If you can master the RPS principles, you'll be well on your way to finding success in team sports.
Teach, Honor, Celebrate
RPS Baseball is not in itself a "program" per se, or something you buy a membership in. If you believe and follow the same principles and ideals laid out here, you are already "one of us." Each year, RPS Baseball looks to support programs that share our ideals, like MoCo Grays, Mid Atlantic Bomb Popz and NLB Coastal. We encourage all coaches and players we come in contact with, on whatever teams, to always seek to excel and to experience the joy of success in athletics, in unrelenting, positive, selfless ways. Wherever you see the RPS logo out in our community, you'll know the folks involved want the very best for your youth athletes.
Intrinsic vs Extrinsic Motivation
RPS Baseball aims to develop the intrinsic motivations in each of our players, that will allow them to thrive and succeed in this very difficult, failure-filled sport. As youth, we all learn during the maturation process to seek simple, extrinsic motivations (trophies, stars, allowance, etc.). However, these material, external rewards are fleeting, limited and temporary. They can not sustain a sense of fulfillment. In order to become higher achievers (in the classroom, on the field, in all of our endeavors) we must develop deeper intrinsic (internal, fundamental, self-imposed) motivations, that fuel our drive and dedication even when there aren't obvious, quick rewards to our behavior. Strengthening our intrinsic motivations can help carry us through disappointing and intimidating scenarios, which happen often in the game of baseball. These deeper motivations are unlocked when we learn to utilize the fundamental ideals of RPS Baseball, that allow our players to excel and persevere in everything they do– relentlessly, positively, selflessly.