For 20 years, I spent a majority of my time on a baseball field. As both a player and coach.

My path:

- Little League

- Travel Baseball

- High School Baseball

- College Baseball

- Professional Baseball

- Coach at Two Universities

Since stepping away from the diamond - I'd like to think I have gained more clarity on what it takes to play baseball at the next level. Much like a painting, being up-close is good for the details - but, to see the whole picture - it's best to step back.

I know what it's like to be a kid with a dream of playing in the Major Leagues...or, wanting to get a scholarship to play college ball...or, hoping to make the varsity roster in high school. There is challenges, fears, worries, & unknowns at every level.

With that said, here are my truths, and I hope you can use them to make better decisions for what ever you next level is on a baseball field.

I will probably get hated on here. But, it's the truth.

You will have coaches that want you to be a winner.

That's what they (the coach) gets measured on...that's their metric that determines whether they get hired or fired.

And, many times -- coaches that go hard on "winning" don't realize that is a result of doing the right things -- not force feeding the mentality.

Concluding thought: when you get to pro baseball -- moving levels is about a mixture of money invested in you as a player and individual results that align with the metrics that the organization sees as valuable. Not about winning.

Sitting the bench sucks.

Be a good teammate...cheer on your team..."pick em' up"

Agreed, a player needs to know and accept their role. Not accepting it, being a sour teammate in the dugout and in the clubhouse is toxic at many different levels.

But, here's the deal: what's better? Playing or not playing? Playing. So, optimize your decisions to make that happen right away.

Many kids dream of D1 baseball -- as did I. But, one of the single most important questions you can ask yourself and the coaching staff:

Do I have the opportunity to play right away?

If the answer is no - consider a different path.

This is within reason.

There is two (main) scenarios:

1. You have a coach with a good reputation & well respected ... and, he doesn't have good things to say about you ... that's no bueno.

2. You have a clown show of a coaching staff ... and they don't have good things to say about you ... well, this is less no bueno.

The great thing about today -- word travels much faster, and circles have become much more intertwined in the baseball world. So, when you are a clown -- word travels fast.

In other words, if you have a clown-show coaching staff in high school -- and, the clown-show coaching staff says bad things about you -- it's taken lightly because of the reputation of the staff.

I am not advocating you to be a jerk because your coaching staff doesn't like you -- just show up -- do your job -- smile more -- worry less what your coach is telling others/scouts, and perform...everything else will take care of itself.

Thank you for reading! My name is Randall Thompson, and in 2014 I started a company where we turn baseball bat barrels in drinking mugs.

I'd love to write more things like this -- so, if you think it's valuable -- share with someone in the baseball community that can get value from it.

When you share it will help spread the word about Dugout Mugs!