Tuck It In

I get a lot of flack for tucking in my shirt around the gym. It’s weird, I know. It is what I’m used to, however. In the baseball community, shirts are tucked in just about as much as the sky is blue.

I recently was reminded of how deep this resonates with me when I paid a visit to our very own, David Carvajal’s, scrimmage last Saturday. He’s an athlete at DEUCE who is looking to walk-on to a local college program. This summer he’s playing with a local team of 18 year olds with similar aspirations.

At the practice, I had fun watching the kids perform and seeing David do his thing. One kid caught my eye. He’s about six foot two, 220 pounds, and sloppy. His hat was on crooked. His shirt untucked.

What stuck me is that what this kid apparently doesn’t know is that if he throws 90MPH (which he doesn’t) or runs like the wind (which he doesn’t) or can drive the ball out of the ball park (which he can’t), he still doesn’t have a chance in hell at getting a job at the next level simply on presentation alone. Without even taking a crack at the sport he’s out there to play, he’s got a red line through his name.

Of course, not everything worth doing has a “shirt tucked” rule. I’m not proposing that it ought to either. What I am saying, however, is that it pays to be a professional. Whether it’s grade school, dating, apartment hunting, or car shopping, you’d better understand etiquette. If not, you might kill your chances at success before you even start.

 

Logan Gelbrich

@functionalcoach