20 LESSONS LEARNED IN PROFESSIONAL SPORTS
What pro ball taught me about strength, setbacks, and what separates the pros from the amateurs.
Nobody hands you this stuff when you’re coming up.
Not your coach. Not your parents. You learn it the hard way — in clubhouses, on bus rides, in the training room, and on the day they call you in and tell you they’re letting you go.
I learned it over a professional baseball career that started the day I was drafted in 2006. This book is the 20 lessons that career taught me — written down so you don’t have to learn them the way I did.
Who it’s for
- Athletes — the edge nobody teaches: recovery, bouncing back, separating yourself when talent is equal.
- Players chasing the next level — youth, high school, and college athletes, any sport, any game. How the guys already there think, work, and survive.
- Parents of athletes — what your kid’s world actually looks like from the inside, so you can actually help.
- Coaches — what you wish your players understood. Read it, then put it in their hands.
- Recreational athletes — still competing? League ball, golf, tennis, the weekend race — the same lessons hold.
- Anyone making a comeback — injury or time away, the comeback lessons were written for where you are right now.
- Former athletes — the playing days end. The lessons don’t.
- The curious — get inside the mind of a professional athlete: the pressure, the failure, the fight to stay.
It’s not just for baseball. It’s for anyone who competes in the arena, or for those guiding their young athletes along the way.
A look inside
A sample of the 20 lessons:
- “When the shit hits the fan, some guys run, and some guys stay.…Stay.”
- Make the separators bulletproof
- Having a short memory is easier said than done, but totally necessary
- Someone is always watching
- Don’t idolize professional athletes. Find the things they do well, and appreciate those instead
Plus an introduction and a closing, from me to you.
About the author
I’m Chad Rodgers. I was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in 2006 out of Walsh Jesuit High School in Ohio, where we won two state championships and I finished 18-0. I played professional baseball for nearly 8 seasons. Injuries and setbacks taught me more than the good years ever did. Today I coach at Show Me Strength in Naples, Florida — 15 years of coaching, 250+ clients, 28,000+ sessions — helping athletes and everyday people get strong and come back from setbacks of their own.
The details
- 80 pages, PDF — read it on your phone, tablet, or computer, right after checkout
- Delivered to your email instantly
- $27
FAQ
Q: Is this just for baseball players?
A: No. It was written from a baseball career, but the lessons are about competing — any sport, any game, any level.
Q: How do I get it?
A: Check out, and the book lands in your email as a PDF within a minute or two.
Q: I’m a parent / coach — is it appropriate for my kid / team?
A: It’s honest locker-room language in a couple of spots — it’s how pros actually talk. Most parents and coaches tell me that’s exactly why it lands.