Justin Dehmer 1-Pitch Warrior – Stories of a Streak: Lessons in Leadership1-Pitch Warrior, LLCJustin Dehmer – Peak Performance Coach214 Balfour Drive Norwalk, Iowa 50211Cell (515) 371-3059 Email: coachd@1pitchwarrior.com

“No pressure, no diamonds.” – Thomas Carlyle

After our first State Championship in 2010 we went 43-0. We were only the ninth team to win a

state title and go undefeated in the history of Iowa high school baseball. As we kept winning in 2011 we

were inching closer and closer to the state record which was 59 wins in a row held by Kee of Lansing (as

fate would have it, the team we would play in the state championship game later that year and home to

the winningest high school baseball coach in the country, with over 1700 wins). We naturally started

getting more and more press coverage as we were nearing the state record.

My message was always to enjoy the moments but to focus on what we can control and to never

get caught up in all the hype. We had interview crews come from local TV stations in Des Moines during

practice to talk with us. I think the media coverage was a good thing because it made our guys focus that

much more about staying present and locking it in on every pitch regardless of who we were playing,

who was watching, or what the situation was.

One of the best compliments I would receive as a coach was always about how we went about the

game and how our players thrived in the spotlight rather than flounder like so many other do. I have seen

it so many times in high school baseball: One error turns into a string of them and a big inning results or

one bad call by the umpire and the wheels start falling off.

This doesn’t mean we didn’t make our fair share of errors or have bad calls happen to us. But we

where prepared to handle those situations by responding rather than reacting to them.

Coaches would say, “Your guys are so poised, how do they handle the pressure, how are they so

relaxed all the time.” At the time I would just smile and laugh in my head because most coaches just

thought I was really lucky to have such amazing mentally tough players that were born that way. Of

HANDLING THE PRESSURE

course I knew the truth, they were not born that way, they were trained that way. But of course I didn’t

want to share that at the time the streak was going on. When coaches made those types or comments or

complimented our program I got goose bumps and also knew that the mental game was paying off in a

huge way for our players. That is was working because they bought into it, they believed in it, committed

fully to it, and they worked it.

Coach’s would always ask me what do we do to keep our kids so focused and relaxed. I just told

them breathe. Of course there is more to it than that but we slowed the game down while our opponents

let it speed up on them. I like to say we didn’t win 88 games in a row or back-to-back-to-back state titles

the other team lost a majority of those games because they lacked mental toughness and the adversity of

the game ate them up.

What’s the best way to eat an elephant? One bite at a time. Creating some huge streak like we were

able to pull off was never conceivable or even a thought. It was the result of the one pitch at a time

mentality and controlling what you can control. I would remind our players that the only 3 things that

they can control are their attitude, concentration, and effort. If they did this pitch after pitch we would

give ourselves a great chance to win.