Elite athletes review every game, practice, and drill to learn what can be done better next time.
This is how they create Consistency, and strive for excellence.
Their formula for excellence?
3 critical questions:
This approach, known as an After-Action Review (AAR), is a technique used by Navy SEALs, and it can help ballplayers, too.
Here's how to use it to radically improve your performance on the field.
An AAR is about reflecting on each performance, practice session, or game, not as a post-game rant but as a tool for learning and improvement.
Here’s the process:
Step 1: What Went Well?
The first question asked is: “What replicable new learning did we gain from what went well?”
In sports, it's natural to focus on mistakes, but identifying what you did right is essential for repeat success.
Think about your mechanics, timing, and approach. What worked for you?
Let’s make sure you bring those elements forward.
Step 2: What Didn’t Go Well?
Next, they move to constructive reflection: “What replicable new learning did we gain from what did not go well?”
This isn’t about blaming yourself for bad at-bats or defensive errors; it’s about figuring out what you can learn from each opportunity to execute.
What adjustments can you make? Do you need a mechanical adjustment? A shift in approach or mindset? Maybe something with your pre-game preparation?
Step 3: Set New Standards
Finally, using the insights from the first two steps, they ask: “Based on questions 1 and 2, what can we change in our routine or training to enhance consistent excellence?”
In baseball, like any high-stakes field, improvement is systematic.
This question is about finding those incremental changes that set the standard higher and move you forward.
Quick Process Tip: Write down your thoughts for each question within 24 hours of a game or practice.
When you review your answers later, you’ll see patterns over time that help you get better.
Carlos Delgado had a journal as thick as the Old Testament where he documented every at-bat over the course of a season.
I'm thinking he was on to something.
This AAR process in summary:
- What went well (and should be repeated)
- What lessons can be learned from what didn’t go well
- How we’ll adjust our approach to keep raising the bar
How do you review your performance?
Reply and lemme know.
Today's terms of the day; Make haste, slowly.
To develop more bat speed, think slow feet fast hands quiet head.
To react quickly, slow down the breathing.
Loose muscles are quick muscles.
To be quick, think slow.
Make haste, slowly.
What's your approach here?!
See how others responded with their approach.
Things I'd Like to Share:
Short: Training pitch-selection with the Post-Up Drill at home.
Reel: V-Swing Fire.
Short: Steve Springer on how to deal with a 0-3.
Quote to chew on: "I will not turn against myself during tough times."
- Bill Beswick
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