Best-selling author Jon Gordon brings 'grit' to Millersville baseball
1/18/2023 4:14:00 PM | Baseball
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By: Ethan Hulsey, Director of Athletic Communications
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MILLERSVILLE, Pa. - As Millersville baseball prepares to defend its PSAC Championship and chase a regional crown, it received a memorable and positive message about achieving success from best-selling author Jon Gordon Wednesday afternoon.
Gordon is a highly-regarded author of more than a dozen books on leadership, teamwork, and positivity, and counts NFL, MLB, and NBA teams and numerous Fortune 500 companies as his clients. His books have sold millions of copies, impacting coaches and business leaders at the highest levels. Among his Wall Street Journal best-sellers are "The Energy Bus," "The Carpenter," "The Power of Positive Leadership," and "You Win in the Locker Room First." Gordon is also the host of the Positive University Podcast on which he interviews a wide variety of successful athletes and business leaders.
Gordon's message to the Marauders focused on grit as the No. 1 predictor of success, what defines grit and how it can be utilized in both the long term and short term to achieve positive results. Included in the message was advice on overcoming negative thoughts and fear. Gordon also answered questions from the players following the message.
"It's fantastic to have a speaker like Jon visit campus," said Millersville head coach Jon Shehan. "I want to say thank you to Garrett Kramer, Ryan Kramer and Jon Gordon for coming. For our players, it gives relevance to what we are trying to accomplish as a team this year. To have someone who is an expert and has worked with championship teams at every level talk to them is a fantastic opportunity."
During his message to the team, Gordon addressed the rising levels of anxiety and identified how negativity is destructive to the individual and team. Shehan especially appreciated Gordon's approach and solutions to the subject.
"I hope the players take away from today that negative thoughts are from outside of us, and we need to continue to say no to those negative thoughts and speak to ourselves, not listen to ourselves. That really hit home. We've talked about it a lot as a team, but it's good to hear an expert speak on it in a clearer, understandable way."
Jon Gordon, speaking to the Millersville baseball team, is the author of several best-selling books on leadership, teamwork and positivity.
Gordon's writings have long been an influence on the Millersville baseball program, as Shehan and his players have read and discussed several of his books in past off-seasons.
"We've read "The Hard Hat," "Training Camp," "Coffee Bean" and a number of his books through the years," said Shehan. "They are outstanding reads about leadership that are impactful for this age group. He takes complicated subjects and puts them in a simple way that people can understand. They've made a major impact on our alums for sure."
The lessons drawn from authors and speakers like Gordon have helped Millersville baseball be among the most consistently successful teams in Division II over the last 15 years, winning nine PSAC East titles and two PSAC Championships since 2008 while also reaching nine-straight NCAA Regionals--a streak unmatched in the Atlantic Region. Millersville's 2023 season begins at Barton on Feb. 3.
