Topic: Grit

Activity:

• Plank challenge
• Have team begin in plank position. Start a timer.
• While they hold their plank, every 15 seconds, ask if it is getting harder to keep holding. DO NOT MOTIVATE THE PLAYERS!
• When they begin to struggle, have them identify "the hard part" (holding their body up)
• Ask the players for reasons that they should I keep going? (get stronger)
• When they have all fallen, stop timer.
• Ask if they could have held on for just 1 second longer
• When some answer "yes," ask why they didn't. Players will likely say that it was hard or uncomfortable.

Conversation Starters:

• Q: What is grit?
  • A: Grit is pushing yourself for that extra second, even though it was hard. Grit pushing through hard part so you can improve.
• Q: How can grit help you on the baseball diamond?
  • A: Grit will help you improve any skill. Even when you think you're running as fast as you can run, if you have grit, you can push yourself to get even faster (running more, exercise even harder)
• Q: Imagine that your team is losing by 5 runs. How can having grit help you?
  • A: Having grit will make sure you don't quit. If you give all your effort, even when the task is hard, you will always have a chance to succeed.

Key Points:

• Grit is a mix of passion and perseverance. Passion is really wanting to do something. Perseverance is when you push yourself to keep going, even though something is difficult.
• Get comfortable being uncomfortable. That's when you'll get better.

“The Ride Home”

• I loved watching you play.
• What is the last thing you did at school that was really hard? Did you keep trying? Did you eventually succeed?
• What are some hard things that you think parents do?
• Why is it important for your parents to have grit to do those things?
• Why do you think your parents do those thing? What is their motivation?
• When it comes to school work, what is your motivation to do your homework, study and get good grades?