In honour of Canada Day, let's talk about the best pitcher to ever wear a Toronto Blue Jays jersey: Roy "Doc" Halladay. 

 

Halladay had a long list of achievements in his baseball career, including winning the CY Young Award in both the American and National Leagues, winning over 200 games, pitching a perfect game and also a no-hitter in the playoffs (becoming just the second pitcher ever to do that). 

 

A big reason for Halladay's success was his discipline and what his teammates called a "fanatical" routine ... but there was another reason: 

 

 

Halladay's father got Roy throwing baseballs when he was just one year old, and he bought the family a house in Colorado with a 65 foot long basement so his son could practice pitching year-round on a portable pitcher's mound (it even had Astroturf and a tire at the other end, for when his father couldn't catch for him). 

 

And there was Mel Queen, who got his thinking turned around and mechanics fixed after Halladay's disastrous second season which almost chased him out of the sport. 

 

And there was fellow Jays pitcher David Wells (the exact opposite of Halladay since he was an out-of-shape, beer-chugging, loud-mouthed guy) who taught him to not be afraid to throw strikes and to pitch with confidence. 

 

Finally, there was Harvey Dorfman, the "mental skills coach" whose book "The Mental ABC's of Pitching" was a favourite of Halladay's (and he went on to mentor him personally years after he first read it). 

 

If you look closely enough at any successful person (athlete, entrepreneur, musician, etc) you'll see that they had others supporting them in their journey. 

 

If you're a coach who would like to get accountability and support from others who want to see you succeed, check out my Coaching Jungle Mastermind groups. 

 

We have several masterminds currently running to accommodate people in different time zones, and you can get the details or book a call with me to chat about it here: 

 

 

Marc Mawhinney