Brillianteer

I was asked recently about the years I spent coaching baseball and my “coaching philosophy.” I felt that the question was… what are you doing out there? I see the role of a coach in so many ways that picking just one is difficult, so I went to the earliest days of my coaching years and remembered one of my favorite understandings.

It is easy-even facile- to see the talent in others as diamonds in the rough. There are many subtleties in this simile/metaphor that become available when you are entrusted with the task of taking a milky , darkish stone and bringing forth the brilliant sparkle that lies within.

The first steps in refining the gem of talent is a process that diamond professionals call bruting. In this process, the rough stone is worked against a diamond edged drill to re-cut the natural stone to a workable shape. It is no surprise that the never-ending repetitive exercises we do in practice are called drills. The goal of bruting is to take a stone to a point where it is ready for polishing.

The polish comes from working with teammates and coaches to forge a common purpose. In this phase coaches evaluate talent and place that talent where it is most likely to succeed. Players run situational scenarios to the point of exhaustion. Confucius is a good source for the polisher: ” the gem cannot be polished without friction nor man perfected without trials.” We learn to hit cutoffs. make quick catch -to -throw transfers, run the bases, to play as a team.

Next we call in the lapidary that prepares each individual stone for a cutting that will reveal individual brilliance. This stage is the fine work of throw angles. release points, secondary leads , foot placements and eye disciplines. In this effort, character is revealed. and clarity is achieved. In diamond production these are called color and clarity because new facets are revealed in the process and new discoveries often occur. These discoveries occur because very small talents are being measured , often for the first time. Players are often surprised by their own speed and range.

Last comes the job of every coach …brillianting. After all the basic work is done, the brillianteer will cut the final facets and add a final polish that makes a beautiful gem. This phase often includes life lessons, focus techniques and team philosophies. It is pretty amazing that almost anyone can see a finished product instantly. A player with no rough spots , substantial weight, clarity and color is very hard to hide.

When I started coaching many years ago I relied on certain authors to help me refine my own skills. There were the classics from Delmonico, Polk, House and others but one of my favorites was The Four C’s Of Life by Terilyn Goins. Cut, color , clarity, carats (weight) were good concepts to apply to coaching.

Because all of my players were gems.