tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2619743764213415433.post653710766595854279..comments2023-11-03T07:07:55.456-05:00Comments on CoPhilosophy: Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02115141650963300011noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2619743764213415433.post-19180562905654094942017-05-04T21:04:07.160-05:002017-05-04T21:04:07.160-05:00Zach Rosenberger Section #10
Installment 2
Ego in...Zach Rosenberger Section #10<br />Installment 2<br /><br />Ego in Sports<br /><br /> For the second installment, I took Dr. Oliver’s suggestion to look at foreign sports, specifically the difference in American and Japanese baseball. Japanese players are said to be Samurai warriors with baseball bats due to their ability to out-think, out- work, and out-perform the opposition despite their typically smaller stature and bulk. Japanese players foster the philosophy of precision and discipline over showmanship in contrast to their bulkier, home-run obsessed American counterparts. <br /> Robert Whiting, the author of “The Samurai Way of Baseball,” talked about the difference in the two countries’ game begins on the first day of school. His Japanese brother-in-law attended his kids first day of school and was surprised to see the kids being told to stand, introduce themselves, and describe something unique about themselves. He said that in Japan, this would never happen, the kids are taught to be the same as everyone else. Taught to listen quietly and not disturb the teacher with questions or opinions. This prepares them for Japan’s culture of rules and perfection. <br /> Japanese players are trained hard from day one, usually with long practices on the same day as a game. They believe athletic development and spiritual growth stem from this struggle. On the other hand, American kids are sheltered by athletics and trained in a harmonious environment. Later in life, Japanese players attend their manager’s “hell camps” where they are subject to thousand-swing drills, marathon-esque runs that honor mental and spiritual strength that resemble bushido training. They tend to make major league camps look like vacations in comparison. Japanese teams also regularly attend autumn camps, unlike American teams. These “hell camps” focus on perfecting the players swing and arm while avoiding a gym. American players spend more time in the gym and take pride in their larger form.<br /> The atmosphere at Japanese games is much different as well. Players will have “fan clubs” who have individual chants for their player as they walk on the field, pitch or get up to bat, everything. The crowd, like the players, tend to suppress their emotion when their player isn’t in play unlike American crowds. It’s fairly quiet unless a big play succeeds. Here, you will typically see spectators hootin’ and hollerin’ at the players, dancing to the music, expressing themselves. <br /> The Japanese players are extremely selfless during a game, they play the average. There’s a huge emphasis on smaller one-run-at-a-time plays where moving runners to the next base and execution are key. Americans followed this strategy in the past, when players nurtured their speed and reactivity rather than spending as much time in the gym. Stars began to emerge and the number of long balls grew quickly. Even with manicured practices of the long ball, the selflessness of a short-ball game triumphs almost always. America is fascinated by the superficial power of scoring home-runs. Maybe if we were to loosen our grounding in logic and science, in favor of a spiritual game like Japan, we would bring our game back to a place closer to how the rest of the world plays. <br />http://cophilosophy.blogspot.com/2017/04/zach-rosenberger-section-10-installment.html<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06360350171738517973noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2619743764213415433.post-23784446888916362022017-04-27T14:29:40.125-05:002017-04-27T14:29:40.125-05:00Seems like the ego-less approach is perfectly adap...Seems like the ego-less approach is perfectly adapted to the team mentality ("no I in team" etc.), and yet as you point out it's an approach very few coaches pursue. It might be interesting to look at how team sports in other cultures have adopted this approach. I'm thinking specifically of the Japanese approach to baseball, as described in a book called "You Gotta Have Wa." It shows just how "un-American" that approach can be, in ways we could benefit from in other walks of life. I don't predict it'll catch on here, in our celebrity/star culture. Alas.Philhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02115141650963300011noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2619743764213415433.post-26140107628110695632017-04-25T23:19:31.166-05:002017-04-25T23:19:31.166-05:00Seeing as we had the same topic, I like how you to...Seeing as we had the same topic, I like how you took a different spin on the subject. Specifically, how you elaborated on Phil's 3-act play and how it related to coaching. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09878587617500941292noreply@blogger.com