January always feels like a clean sheet of paper. A new year. A new season. A fresh opportunity to get aligned before the games ever begin. Across youth sports, high school, college and the professional ranks, January is not about wins and losses yet—it’s about preparation. Tone setting. Intention.
That’s why so many organizations host first pitch luncheons, dinners, banquets and galas this time of year. Those events aren’t just social gatherings; they are moments of alignment. They answer an important question before the season starts:
Who are we going to be?
When I think about answering that question, I often frame a season using a simple alliteration of four S’s:
- Stupid.
- Selfish.
- Successful.
- Significant.
You can’t skip steps. And you can’t have a successful season on purpose if you are operating in stupidity or selfishness.
Stupid: Knowing the Right Thing and Not Doing It
Stupidity isn’t a lack of information.
Stupidity is knowing what you’re supposed to do and choosing not to do it.
It’s skipping workouts you know matter.
It’s ignoring recovery, nutrition or sleep.
It’s showing up late, unfocused or unprepared.
It’s parents undermining coaches instead of supporting the process.
It’s coaches preaching standards, but not living them.
Every level of the game is full of people who know what excellence looks like, but don’t consistently practice it. January is the time to eliminate that gap. Before the first game is played, you decide whether you will do what you already know you need to do.
Selfish: Making the Season About You
Selfishness shows up when personal agendas outweigh the mission.
For players, it looks like chasing stats instead of roles.
For parents, it looks like prioritizing exposure over development.
For coaches, it looks like protecting ego instead of building people.
Selfish teams fracture under pressure. They can look talented early, but they rarely last. January is when you establish that the season will be bigger than any one person. Roles matter. Sacrifice matters. Buy-in matters.
You don’t eliminate selfishness by talking about it once. You eliminate it by setting clear expectations and reinforcing them daily.
Successful: Defining What’s Actually Attainable
Here’s the hard truth that doesn’t get talked about enough:
Not everyone is going to win a championship.
Not every team is going to win the state title, the College World Series, or the World Series. Some teams legitimately do not have that shot this year. And that’s not a failure, it’s reality.
Success must be realistic and clearly defined before the season starts.
Success might be:
- Improved consistency
- Better chemistry
- Player development
- Academic eligibility
- Health and availability at the end of the season
- Competing with discipline and confidence
Every team and every individual can define a level of success that is attainable. The problem is when success is never clearly established. If you don’t define it, emotions, egos and expectations will define it for you.
January is when you decide what winning actually looks like for this season.
Significant: Using Success to Serve Others
Significance is what separates good seasons from meaningful ones.
Significance is taking whatever success you achieve and using it to serve something bigger than yourself.
That might mean:
- Giving back to the community
- Mentoring younger players
- Representing your school or organization with integrity
- Using visibility to create opportunity for others
Success ends with you.
Significance extends beyond you.
And here’s the key: Significance is built on success, not the other way around. You earn the platform first. Then you steward it.
January’s Focus: Teamwork
In January, my core value focus is teamwork, which I define simply as:
Individuals operating with excellence within a mission.
Excellence is not going above and beyond.
Excellence is meeting expectations.
Doing your job.
Doing it consistently.
Doing it with the team in mind.
When everyone meets expectations, trust grows. When trust grows, teams become resilient. And resilient teams give themselves a chance to be successful and, ultimately, significant.
Seasons Build on Seasons
No season stands alone.
What you do this January shapes February.
What you do this season shapes the next one.
Habits compound. Culture compounds. Decisions compound.
This is why January matters so much. It’s not just the start of a calendar year. It’s the foundation of everything that follows.
So the conversation to have right now, between players, parents and coaches, is simple but powerful:
- Are we willing to stop being stupid?
- Are we willing to move beyond selfishness?
- Have we clearly defined success?
- And are we committed to using it for significance?
Because when those questions are answered honestly, the season doesn’t just happen.
It’s built on purpose.
Remember: Intelligence tops being smart.
For more information, visit www.diamonddirectors.com today.
If you found this inspiring and thought-provoking, or if you have any questions, comments or concerns, add me on Discord and let’s go deeper.
C.J. Stewart has built a reputation as one of the leading professional hitting instructors in the country. He is a former professional baseball player in the Chicago Cubs organization and has also served as an associate scout for the Cincinnati Reds. As founder and CEO of Diamond Directors Player Development, C.J. has more than 22 years of player development experience and has built an impressive list of clients, including some of the top young prospects in baseball today. If your desire is to change your game for the better, C.J. Stewart has a proven system of development and a track record of success that can work for you.
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