I always here people say “I would rather be lucky than good”, and I always thought those were people who do not like to compete, but instead have things handed to them.
Luck is not a chance happening, as the saying goes “luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity”. The big difference between the two is the latter acknowledges the fact that you have to put the work in, if you want to have success.
When I was at GRCC I was the back up 3rd baseman my freshman year, and I wasn’t sure how much time I was going to get. Then one day the 3rd baseman went down with an ankle injury, and my opportunity had come. Up to this point, I spent 1-2 hours per day lifting, stretching, and running on my own. Also, we had practice, so I was getting work in then as well. When the day came at Indiana Tech, I went 5-7 with two HRs and two 2Bs. Was I lucky? No, I was ready to play, because I got myself ready to play. After that, the other kid moved to 1st and I started every game at 3rd base.
At Western Michigan University, the same thing happened to me, except I was the 4th outfielder, back up 3rd baseman, and back up 1st baseman. A friend of mine and starting center fielder went down with, an ankle injury. In that time, I ended up starting in center for a little over a week. I played so well that when he returned, I stayed in the line up and moved to left field. Again, I put all the hours in during practice, and worked out, and took swings on my own. I was not lucky, I was ready to pounce on an opportunity when it arose, and that is exactly what I did.
The point here, is to never get discouraged when you are not the starter. I see too many kids stop working hard, and almost give up, and then when their number is called they are not ready and they fail. Why? Because they were not prepared, plain and simple.
Prepare yourself everyday.