The Watertown Rapids open up their collegiate league baseball season on the road at Mohawk Valley Friday night. Their home opener is Saturday at the Alex Duffy Fairgrounds against the Utica Blue Sox. It's 7 News night with the first 200 folks receiving a 7 News Frisbee. The Rapids have arrived in Watertown for the upcoming season and has been working out at the fairgrounds Tuesday in preparation for their season.
Coach David Anderson joined me on The Best Ever You Show to talk about his new role as the Head Coach of the new collegiate baseball team, The Watertown Rapids.
It was an honor to spend an hour with Coach Anderson talking about his career in baseball and his never give up attitude in life and in baseball.
His philosophy is clear. Anderson says, "The drive to reach my full potential motivates me as a person. Rather than asking myself “Why me?” I try to always ask myself “Why not me?”. Believing in yourself and in your ability is key because if you don’t believe in yourself, who else will? I truly believe that in any situation, there is a way to be successful. Regardless of the odds, this belief motivates me to find that way and to achieve whatever goal is in front of me."
To listen to the show on free replay click here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/besteveryou/2018/05/17/david-anderson--head-baseball-coach-watertown-rapids-assistant-coach-cornell
An what do you do when you're on The Best Ever You Show, why of course, have a Best Ever You viewpoint. Anderson says, "My “BestEverYou” philosophy is challenging myself enjoy the process of the journey. While I have my own destination goals, I try to make a point of being where my feet are and truly enjoying the journey. I think that this allows me to be my best version of myself in the present."
When he isn't coaching the Watertown Rapids, he is an assistant coach for Cornell University. The Watertown Rapids is a summer baseball team in the Perfect Game Collegiate League and is located in Watertown, New York.
Anderson adds, "I’ve always been extremely passionate about baseball and found fairly quickly that I never wanted to be out of the game. I love the competitive nature of the game, the team aspect of the game, and the mental side of the game. There’s so much that goes into winning a baseball game from so many people and that challenge is something I’ve always loved."
He's even so passionate about baseball that when asked what he would do it he won the lotto, he said, "I would buy a baseball franchise."
Anderson joined Cornell University Baseball -Big Red- in Fall 2017 as a volunteer assistant coach. After a four-year career at Muhlenberg, he returned to his alma mater as pitching coach for the 2016 season.
Anderson has enjoyed success as a pitcher and was one of the Mules' top starting pitchers for his final three seasons. As a junior, he won three games and compiled a staff-leading 3.14 ERA for a team that qualified for the Centennial Conference playoffs. Anderson served as a team captain during his senior season and led the team in innings pitched and strikeouts while recording two wins and a save.
In between his junior and senior seasons, he was a first-team all-league selection and a New York Collegiate Baseball League all-star with the Geneva Twins, going 9-0 with a 1.03 ERA over 60 innings. Between playing and coaching at Muhlenberg, Anderson played professionally in independent leagues with the Newburgh Newts, Bridgeport Bluefish and New Jersey Jackals.
After playing, he turned to coaching and believes he can help others in doing so. Anderson says, "I think that I help others become their best by supporting them in what they are doing and maintaining positive dialogue. Whether it is positive feedback or constructive criticism, a positive outlook and mindset is something that I try to instill in myself and others."
Goal setting is key to Anderson. A native of Syracuse, N.Y., Anderson graduated from Muhlenberg in 2015 with a double major in business administration and media & communication and that wasn't without setting some major goals for himself along the way.
He adds, "I think that goal setting is extremely important in getting people going in their own journey. Goals can be broken down into outcome goals (I want to win the World Series), performance goals (I want to hit 30 home runs), and process goals (I want to focus on making I maintain proper swing mechanics). Many people set outcome goals that they have little to no control over. These goals are also very lofty and can be discouraging to look at singularly as a goal may seem unattainable or too far away. What people can forget to have are plenty of process goals along the way. Setting small goals each day that you have total control of attaining or not is crucial in directing people the right way to attain their overarching goal. Making sure daily process goals are set is also huge in increasing motivation as someone who feels that they are constantly making strides are usually more inclined to work harder and more often than an individual who does not have a structured goal system and does not feel that they are making perceived strides. So for me, having many small goals that are the foundation of attaining a big goal are huge in keeping me moving in the right direction, keeping me focused, and constantly progressing me on my journey."
More about The PCGBL and The Watertown Rapids:
To follow along in social media visit:
Watertown Rapids Facebook - WatertownRapids (@watertownrapidsbaseball)
Watertown Rapids Instagram - @wtnrapids
Watertown Rapids Twitter - @WatertownRapids
Watertown Rapids website: watertown-rapids.com
Use the hashtag #RisingRapids to locate more information on Twitter or other social media.
Watertown Rapids Coaches Interviews (video)
About the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League ("PGCBL")
Founded by Robert Julian, The Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League is a 13-team collegiate summer baseball league founded in 2010. All players in the league must have NCAA eligibility remaining in order to participate.
Best of Luck with your season Coach Anderson and the Watertown Rapids team and coaches!
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