"HUSTLE"

My buddy and I share an important role in our children’s lives.  While that sounds obvious, there is a greater, more important part to it.  We share very similar values when it comes to helping our children see the big picture in sports, because as many of you know, that discipline, that focus will take you through life... so you need to enforce it early.  In a nutshell… it comes down to 1 word… Hustle.

Now, I’ve written about hustle when I was slightly picked apart in Peter Keating’s ESPN the Magazine’s piece a few weeks ago in which he questioned why fans got on Robinson Cano for his non-hustle.  The reality is, and I made this clear in HUSTLE TO BE NUMBER 1… NOT 2, if you command millions and if a family of 4 is travelling to the stadium to watch that millionaire player jog to first, well, it’s aggravating.  I do not care that you’re “saving” your energy. Your job is to play…hard!

My buddy and I were on the sidelines this summer watching our boys play in a summer baseball league.  It was a magical season and our 2 were in a world of paradise.  They loved the players, they respected the coach and they loved putting on the uniform.  They had arrived… but there was something they also needed to do... they needed to step up their game... they needed to hustle.  They knew it, and we did too, but what started out as just a word, took over their brains each and every game.  There was a change, they began to push themselves, and one another.

“Hustle kid!” my buddy yelled from the sidelines.  But it wasn’t a forceful yell, it was more of a reminder… “Hus-tle!” The kids would run down the line and at first, they didn’t say a word.  I looked over at my buddy, “I like that! Let’s keep it going.”  The next game it happened alittle more, the pre-game warm-ups were blasting Metallica and Fall out Boy and our words began to sound like just part of their workout… “Hus-tle 5, HUSTLE!”  We’d laugh at each other.  It’s for the kids we'd say and laugh alittle more. But the message was clear and everyone on the field be it parents or the kids knew it.  Hustle was important. Truth be told, we didn't need to say it. For us, it was a friendly reminder. The kids knew their role...they knew they needed to hustle.  This was the best experience our kids would get at that moment, and they needed to prove themselves. They HAD to hustle. They needed to earn their spot. For the team and for them, it was important.

“Hey 3-3… Hus-tle kid!” The kids would look over as they sprinted down the line, now looking aggravated. As an 11 year old kid, the last thing you want to hear is your old man on the sidelines telling you what to do.  It’s embarrassing, we knew that… and we did it anyway. Because it wasn't a command, it was a reminder.

It was probably right around Game 6 that the ferocity and intensity started to really turn on for the kids.  With it, came the stress of performing and the kids were truly part of the team now.  “Hus-tle kid…HUS-TLE!” my buddy and I snickered on the sidelines.  Now it was a game.  Then, the glare and the mouthing of “Shut up!” came from their mouths… we broke them and they were pissed.

“I don’t think your son likes it anymore”, my buddy said laughing. “He hates it,” I said, “But this is good for them.”  Sooner or later, as the team would do their pre-game ritual, the word stopped coming out of our mouths, and the kids did it on their own.  They wanted it.  They were broken in.  I’d love to tell you that we had something to do with it, but we probably didn’t.  What started out as our joke, became their mission and you could see a change in their attitude and ability on the field. They'd made it. They hustled.

Our kids won it all this past summer.  It will be a summer they’ll never forget.  They worked hard, they believed in themselves and each other… and won, and you know what? Even without us dopey dad’s on the sidelines reminding them, they would have still done it, because ultimately they believed they could. They had heart.  Hey, you have to respect that, and maybe that’s why people get on Cano every game.  Sure, he’s dynamic and one of the best 2^nd basemen ever to put on pinstripes, but you don’t always see the heart as he’s running down the line. 

If hustle’s good enough for our kids, why isn’t it good enough for Cano?  Maybe he needs his old man yelling from the sidelines… “Hustle 2-4… HUSTLE!”  

Maybe.


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