Stephan Strasburg and Why Experience is Overrated

Guest Blogger: Inner-Sports

by Garret Kramer

You hear it all the time, “He’s got loads of talent but is not yet experienced enough to come through in the big spot.” Or, as in Tuesday night’s pitching debut of the Washington National’s Stephen Strasburg, “The kid has all the tools but is he too young to handle the pressure?” And while experience does have the potential to serve as “the name we give to our mistakes,” I am certain that when you examine the keys to success, it is one of the most overrated qualities an athlete can possess.

With a lack of inner wisdom, experience will work against an athlete.

Simply put, an athlete’s level of experience will only be as good as his state of mind during a particular contest. Golfer Greg Norman was 41 years of age and a twenty year veteran, when he relinquished a six shot lead and blew the 1996 Masters. And the Soviet hockey team was by far the best in the world when they lost the gold medal to a raw bunch of American college kids in the 1980 Olympics. Experience in these competitions then, was not the deciding factor, and I would argue that with a lack of knowledge about what can happen in one’s own head, it often works against players of any age.

What I am saying is that when an athlete fails to understand that external factors (national media, a major title, a sellout crowd, a tough opponent) actually have no ability to regulate performance, he becomes a passive victim of whatever exists “out there,” and as the experiences mount, so do the failures. Now, when a young athlete- Tuesday night’s performance by Strasburg being a great example- understands deeply that the capacity to create success rests only within him, then independent of experience and external situations, the opportunity to come through will always be at hand.

The feeling that a game or life looks bleak, or not, at a particular moment, has nothing to do with experience.

Moreover, I believe it important to recognize that no matter the level of experience, an athlete who is operating from a low level of well being and doesn’t know what to do (and not do) about it will almost always fail. While those individuals who understand to look within and thus stay true to their own course, will almost always prevail. Remember, coach Herb Brooks repeatedly told his inexperienced players to “play your game,” as their state of mind waned against the Soviets.

Lastly, I hope you now see that when an athlete views life from an outside-in perspective, he will possess little power to learn and to flourish from his circumstances, since he can only act in response to the way the game and life may appear at that particular moment. On the other hand, an insightful player (one who views life from an inside-out perspective) remains aware that creative opportunity can only exist in one place- inside of him. In turn, he possesses permanent access to the answer through any trying circumstance, including opening night pressure…..As I said, I am certain that this essential understanding and thus success, has nothing to do with one’s level of experience, and Stephan Strasburg’s major league debut provides all the proof you’ll ever need.


Garret Kramer is the founder and Managing Partner of Inner-Sports.com. Inner-Sports evaluates and then coaches athletes of all ages on the behavioral characteristics that lead to peak performance on and off the field of play. Inner-Sport’s evaluative partner has created the behavioral assessment used at both the National Hockey League and the Major League Lacrosse scouting combines. Inner-Sports and Garret work with Baseball Factory players at select player development events.