November 3, 2025 | By: Jennifer Stitt in For Love of the Game
The Toronto Blue Jays lost an absolute heartbreaker, Game 7 in extra innings, after having multiple chances to put the game away. It’s the kind of loss that hits hard for players, coaches, and fans alike.
But I hope this doesn’t discourage young players and fans of the Jays from taking risks, from playing the game they love, or from cheering this team on. I hope it does the opposite. I hope it reminds them just how beautiful, humbling, and unpredictable baseball can be. Because even in heartbreak, there are lessons worth holding onto.
As a coach for the past 17 years, and the Director of Field of Dreams Baseball Camp for 15, I’ve worked with thousands of youth baseball players, and I’ve learned that baseball teaches life better than almost anything else. I could write a whole book about it (and maybe one day I will). But for now, here are a few big lessons we can all take from this Blue Jays team; lessons for coaches, parents, and players across youth baseball.
Resilience & Belief
The Blue Jays earned the nickname “comeback kids” for a reason. No matter the score or the inning, they never stopped fighting all season long. That’s one of the most powerful lessons any young player can learn.
As a coach, I talk a lot about resilience, and so do all of our staff at Field of Dreams: that mindset of “we’re still in it” until the very last out. Baseball, like life, rarely goes exactly as planned. You’ll strike out, make errors, or fall behind early. But belief…in yourself, in your teammates, and in the next opportunity, is what keeps you competing.
At Field of Dreams, we work hard to teach players how to respond to adversity with confidence, not frustration. We help them understand that the best athletes (and people) don’t avoid failure or fear it; they learn from it and use it as fuel to grow stronger.
Parents and coaches play a huge role here too. When players see calm, belief, and positivity in the dugout or the stands, they absorb it. Confidence is contagious, and so is doubt. Let’s choose to spread the first one.
Team Culture & Leadership
One of my favourite things about this year’s Jays was their chemistry. You could feel their connection. The laughter, the high-fives, the “we’ve got your back” energy. That’s the heartbeat of any great team, and every successful team I have coached.
At Field of Dreams, we see every season that the teams with strong culture always outperform those built on individual talent alone. Great teams are built on trust, joy, and unity. Coaches play a key role by creating an environment where players feel safe to make mistakes, learn, and grow, through team get-togethers, fun practices, and shared experiences. Parents can support this by cheering positively and remembering that development, friendships, and lifelong memories are just as important as the pursuit of winning – not winning itself, but the effort, the growth, and the journey toward it.
This is what youth baseball should be about, teaching kids how to be great teammates and leaders, not just great players.
Adaptability & Growth
The Jays’ season wasn’t smooth. Injuries, lineup changes, slumps, they faced it all. But they adjusted, they kept learning, and they stayed in the fight.
That’s something I teach every team or group of players at camp that I work with: you can’t control everything, bad calls happen, balls take bad hops, injuries can occur. Don’t focus on what you can’t control, focus on the things you can control: your attitude and your effort. When things don’t go your way, learn from it. Coaches can model that mindset by adjusting plans, and parents can reinforce it by focusing on growth instead of perfection.
Baseball mirrors life in this way: those who can adapt, learn from challenges, and maintain focus when things get tough, are the ones who thrive, not just on the field, but in every area of life. By embracing adaptability and growth, players develop confidence, problem-solving skills, and resilience that lasts long after the game ends.
The Mental Game
Yogi Berra once said, “Baseball is 90 percent mental, and the other half is physical.” As funny as that sounds, it’s also completely true. I use this quote often when working with teams and consulting with coaches because the mental side of baseball is massive, and yet, it’s often the most under-practiced skill in youth sports. We spend hours on the physical aspects, fielding, hitting, pitching, but rarely do we dedicate time to developing the mental side of the game.
If you watched players like Vladimir Guerrero Jr. this postseason, you saw what elite mental toughness looks like: calm, composed, and focused, even in the highest-pressure moments. That’s not luck, it’s preparation. It’s learning how to breathe through intensity, stay present, and trust your process when everything is on the line.
This is the next level of baseball, and it’s something we can start teaching at every level. I always tell players and coaches: the mental game has to be practiced and talked about. Create pressure in your practices. Teach players to think through at-bats, manage their emotions, and reset after mistakes. Help them build mental fortitude and baseball IQ.
That’s what separates good players from great ones, and what helps kids grow into confident, resilient humans off the field.
Joy & Passion for the Game
Through all the ups and downs, the Blue Jays never stopped showing their love for baseball. You could see it in their celebrations, their dugout energy, their smiles. That’s exactly the kind of joy I want our campers and players to carry with them, the pure love of playing the game.
When kids love what they do, everything else follows: effort, focus, resilience, and teamwork. As coaches and parents, our biggest job is to protect that joy, to make sure the love for the game always comes first.
At Field of Dreams Baseball Camp, that’s our mission. We’re not just teaching how to hit, pitch, or field. We’re teaching kids how to handle challenges, how to support teammates, and how to grow through the game they love.
These are the lessons the Blue Jays reminded us of this season, and they’re the same lessons we’ll carry into every practice, every camp and every program.