Quote:
Originally Posted by RonCo
Every high school basketball coach I know, and I know a few, wants his or her players to go to summer camps and parks where they can play against better competition specifically so they will grow further.
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At least in this area, they don't send the whole team, though — just the best players. That's also the idea behind the 'travelling squad' in Little League; it's an all star team, playing against other all star teams.
{I think I've gotten us sidetracked again. This could quickly devolve into an arguement about whether the number of players sent to summer camp is based on talent or economics. Let's dump that part of the thread.}
I agree that as a general rule, and especially in regards to players at the Major/International level, having a slump should not affect your potential. I can see cases, especially in the minors, where it could affect your current ratings.
If a player gets promoted to High A and spends the next six weeks below the Mendoza line (where IS the Mendoza line, anyway?), I could see him getting frustrated (that word again) and start to mess with his stance, his swing, his stride, how he holds the bat, whether he pumps his right elbow like a chicken wing, and so forth. He might get anxious and start swinging early, swing at pitches in the dirt or over his head…
He might mess himself up to the point where it would take a specialist 'swing doctor' to straighten him out again. I think the game should reflect that as a drop in current contact (eye, etc.) that he might only recover from if he starts to work with a better hitting coach. But, it should not affect his potential.
So, yes, I agree at least partially with RonCo. Playing 'out of your league' could keep you from getting better, but it shouldn't prevent you from EVER getting better, which is what potential represents.
Having said that, I'm now wondering whether the same applies to pitching as it does to hitting. Is pitching more psychological than hitting? Certainly at their root they're both mechanically based. Orel Herschiser's authorized biography dwells on the mechanical aspect of pitching, but he also says that without Tommy Lasorda's psychological intervention he could never have succeeded at the major league level.
If a pitcher gets sent up to High A and gets shelled in his next six outings, would that damage him permanently? Could he get the idea that he just can't get these guys out, and never get past it? Or would the minor league staff recognize the problem and send him back down before it got that far? Or, are professional athletes just more mentally resilient than that? I dunno.