Thoughts.

Mike Lamb, 3b/1b for the Astros, struggled mightily to hit throughout the first half of the season. He was trying to win a starting job, but eventually fell into part-time duty because of his struggles at the plate.

However, around the time the all-star break rolled around, an injury gave an opportunity for him to play full-time, and coincidentally that was around when he started to hit; he played well and solidified his role on the team.

What’s the moral of this story? Little things make a difference. Lamb started hitting better because he realized that he wasn’t getting his foot down quickly enough. Something as simple as getting the lead foot downa half-second sooner when swinging was the difference between a .230 benchwarmer and a .290 regular.

Likewise, with ultimate there are a lot of little things you can do that can transform your game. Things like keeping on the toes of your pivot foot, allowing you to get around on fakes considerably faster than on your heel. Things like following through with your fingers instead of your arm on a forehand so it doesn’t turn over.

And it extends to all aspects of the game. The difference between a good cutter and a great cutter is the little things he does that really throws off the defender–rather than simply cutting at the right moment, he is always active, forcing his defender to focus on him, taking advantage of any momentary lapse in focus to get open.

I’ve learned a lot just by watching some people play. Look at those players who are exceptional in what they do, study their model, and apply it to your own game until it becomes your own. This is how true progress as a player is made–observation, realization, application, breakthrough.

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