Think Ahead Before Going Afield
By Glen Wunderlich
As youngsters growing up in the suburbs of Detroit, we played organized baseball in the city leagues. Typically, one of the team-member’s fathers would handle coaching duties, and fortunately for many of us, we had some good baseball minds teaching us how to think ahead of the play.
Outfielders had it easy, because the coaches made sure all throws came to second base. Infielders, on the other hand, were required to decide what to do with a ground ball, as the opposing batter stepped to the plate. And, the coaches would make sure each infielder had a plan by verbally testing the players, as they quizzed infielders aloud before the play would begin.
The coaches understood that once the ball was hit, it was too late to begin considering options. Things happened too fast to form a committee or to take a survey. It was each player’s responsibility to think ahead.
Similarly, sportsmen and women would do well to take a page from the sandlot coaches’ book, before they take to the outdoors in Michigan’s firearms deer hunting season opener November 15th.
There is no substitute for situational awareness. Of course, experience is a good teacher and some mistakes of the past become lessons learned – albeit the hard way.
For example, taking the largest antlerless deer from among a group seems like a good strategy for those with an antlerless deer permit. But, when that large “doe” turns out to be a button buck fawn, it’s too late to think ahead. Hindsight and a tactical error become the high-priced lesson of the day.
But, there is a better way. Read more
A recent survey of American hunters by the Responsive Management organization asked the question “what’s the single most important reason you hunt?”. More than 35% of the responses indicated that they primarily hunted for the meat. While the responses might not seem unusual, only 22% responded that way in 2006. Trophy hunting came in dead last at 1%.
