The month of September has been a month of gratitude for us here at Major League University. Not that every month isn’t a month of gratitude, but this one felt important to us. We know showing gratitude will keep us grounded in a time where the world seems like it has been turned upside down. We know that consistent displays of gratitude can put us in a better mood and bring up those around us. We know that the more intentional we are about showing that gratitude, the more habitual it will become.
I believe the first time I heard about this Impact Drill I was at the University of Nevada, my first year after playing. Coach Johnson had come in to replace the legendary Coach Gary Powers after 31 years at the helm. As the players all returned from winter break and time with their families there was a bit of a shift in the atmosphere. The long-distant season was quickly approaching and with that came the anticipation. This time can put a lot of pressure on a player. There are very few players on the team at this point that have the luxury of knowing they will be an everyday starter. And man, as a freshman at that point in time it is hard to tell the difference between excitement and panic.
Our team finished up a long week of practice and had one more drill that we needed to do before coach let us go for the evening. This was different, we had to all head to the locker room. Coach Johnson sat everyone down and said this was the most important drill we would do this year. There was no telling exactly what the season would bring, but we needed to know exactly why we were playing in the first place. When we can fall back on that, we always have a little more push when the times get tough.
“Think about everything you have done to this point in your life”, Coach Johnson said. “Think about how many games, practices, ground balls you have taken. Think about all the tough papers and tests you had to write to get you here. Think about all the sacrifices people have made to help you achieve that goal!”. The room was silent. Every single one of us was deep in thought. Every player has a different background, social status, ethnicity, race, family dynamic, coaches…. Nothing about any of us is the same, except the fact that we played baseball, and we all had help.
“Now that you have that image in your head, I want you to narrow it down to one name. I want you to write the name of the person on that ball that has had the biggest impact on you achieving your goals and making it to this point. Then I want you to write out exactly what that person means to you. Take your time on this part!” We began writing names on the balls and feverishly scribbling notes into our spiral journals. The words came very easy, even to those of us who may not be the best writers. When Coach finally yelled “Alright, go ahead and wrap it up there”, 40 guys were still writing out their last few words.
“We don’t normally have phones out during meetings, but take out your phones, take a picture of the ball and send it to that person along with a description of the drill. Follow it up with ‘I will call you at this time and would like to share what I wrote with you”. You could feel the tension raise just a bit in the room. Writing this all on paper was one thing, saying this to that person was something entirely different. But here’s the thing—when I was able to finally share with my parents what I wrote, you wouldn’t believe good I felt. I was a little nervous, sure, but the tears of joy that came from them was amazing. We go through life with the typical “I love you” and “Love you too” but rarely to we take the time to point out specifics.
I highly encourage you to try this drill out yourself and if you like it, share it with your teams, your family, and the people you care about. It can seriously change your life. Below are the letters that I wrote to my mom and that Kewby Meyer wrote to his brother Aaron as examples. We love this drill and hope you do too!
Letter from me to my mom
Letter from Kewby Meyer to his brother Aaron
Ray McIntire
#MonthOfGratitude
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