THE CONFIDENCE TO COMPETE
By: Pease Baseball Professionals
11/11/26
For Urbana High School junior Matthew Rodrigues, the journey from self-doubt to self-belief has been built one swing, one adjustment, and one difficult day at a time.
PEASE BASEBALL PROFESSIONALS | PLAYER DEVELOPMENT FEATURES
There were games during Matthew Rodrigues’ freshman season at Urbana High School when he never made it onto the field.
No at-bats. No opportunities to make a play. Nothing to do but watch, wait and wonder when his chance might come.
For a young player trying to establish himself, those moments were difficult. The frustration was real. So was the uncertainty about where he stood.
But Rodrigues found a way to turn that frustration into something useful.
He went to the batting cage.
“There was a couple times my freshman year where I didn’t get in the game at all and I was just so frustrated that I went to Pease and hit for hours,” Rodrigues recalled.
There was no guarantee that the extra swings would earn him a starting spot. No promise that his next opportunity would be different.
Just a young player who wasn’t satisfied with where he stood and decided to do something about it.
It’s the kind of moment that rarely appears in a highlight video or on a stat sheet.
But for Rodrigues, now a junior and a two-way contributor for Urbana, those hours have helped shape something considerably more important than his swing.
His belief in himself.
WHEN THE HARDEST OPPONENT IS YOURSELF
Baseball has a way of exposing doubt.
A hitter steps into the batter’s box knowing that failure is statistically more common than success. An outfielder waits through innings of inactivity, knowing the next ball hit his way could determine the outcome of a game.
For a young player still learning to trust his abilities, those moments can feel enormous.
Rodrigues understands that feeling because he’s experienced it firsthand.
“There have been points in my baseball journey where I have been scared to go up and hit in a big moment or scared to get the ball hit to me in the outfield,” he admitted.
It’s a candid acknowledgment from an athlete who now describes himself as someone willing to compete aggressively, whether he’s standing on the mound or stepping into the batter’s box.
But the two versions of Rodrigues aren’t as far apart as they might seem.
The player who once feared making a mistake is the same one who now understands how much preparation matters when those moments arrive.
“I feel like baseball is a very mental game and when you have no confidence it’s hard to play well and enjoy playing.”
That last part is easy to overlook.
When confidence disappears, baseball doesn’t simply become more difficult.
It can stop being fun.
And for Rodrigues, rediscovering that enjoyment has become just as meaningful as improving his performance.
THE HOURS THAT DON’T MAKE THE HIGHLIGHT REEL
Ask Rodrigues what separates him from other players his age, and he doesn’t begin with a statistic.
He points to two things: work ethic and coachability.
Neither is particularly glamorous. Both require a willingness to recognize that there is still something to learn.
His description of what happens when nobody is watching is equally straightforward.
“Putting in extra reps when needed, trying to figure out what I need to do to get better and doing work when I don’t feel like it.”
It’s an approach that Pease Baseball Professionals co-founder and pitching / hitting instructor Ivor Hodgson has come to recognize through years of working with young athletes.
As Rodrigues’ private instructor, Hodgson has watched those qualities become central to the Urbana junior’s development.
“Matthew is a strong, athletic, hard-working kid,” Hodgson said. “He loves to know the details of what he’s working on so he can do the work on his own.”
For Hodgson, that curiosity matters.
It’s one thing for a player to execute an adjustment while a coach is standing beside him. It’s another to understand the adjustment well enough to repeat it independently.
That distinction allows development to extend beyond the scheduled lesson.
And Rodrigues has demonstrated a willingness to put that understanding to use.
As a multisport athlete, his schedule can be demanding. There are practices, games, school responsibilities and the physical fatigue that comes with balancing multiple athletic commitments.
Still, he regularly finds his way back into the facility.
“Being a multi-sport athlete means there are many days he comes exhausted from a long day of practice,” Hodgson said. “He still shows up for his lessons in the evenings with the urgency of getting better.”
Those evenings don’t always end with hitting instruction.
Hodgson has also watched Rodrigues complete strength-training sessions with PBP strength coach Colin Doll or participate in other player-development programs offered through the facility.
It’s a level of commitment that can be difficult to appreciate from the outside.
The visible results are only part of the story.
Behind them are the days when an athlete is tired, when progress feels slow and when the easiest decision would be to skip the work.
Rodrigues keeps showing up.
BUILDING A SWING. BUILDING BELIEF.
One of the most tangible examples of Rodrigues’ development has come at the plate.
During the past offseason, he and Hodgson focused on improving how quickly his bat moves through the hitting zone.
It’s a technical adjustment, one involving timing, sequencing and the ability to get the barrel into position against pitches he wants to drive.
For Rodrigues, the work has translated into something he can feel during competition.
“I’ve hit for much more power than I have before and I think it’s due to the work I put in over the past year,” he said.
The improvement has given him another reason to trust his preparation.
But it hasn’t eliminated the need for continued adjustment.
Rodrigues is currently working to become more effective using the entire field, particularly against pitches on the inner half of the plate.
It’s a challenge that requires both technical refinement and a disciplined approach.
And for a player who wants to contribute on both sides of the baseball, the work is never limited to one part of his game.
On the mound, Rodrigues has found an important role for Urbana.
Hodgson points to his reliability as a starting pitcher as one of the clearest ways he’s contributed to his team.
“Being a reliable starter on the mound has been his main way to contribute on the field,” Hodgson said. “He’s definitely showed some flashes at the plate as well.”
For Rodrigues, the objective is to bring the same mentality to both roles.
When pitching, he wants to attack hitters and trust the pitches he’s spent so much time developing.
When hitting, he wants to stay disciplined while remaining aggressive enough to capitalize on pitches he can drive.
Both require conviction.
And conviction can be difficult to manufacture when the results aren’t coming.
That’s where his development has extended well beyond the physical side of baseball.
LEARNING TO TRUST WHAT HE HAS BUILT
For much of his early baseball experience, Rodrigues struggled with the uncertainty that accompanies competition.
A mistake could linger. A difficult game could affect how he approached the next one. The possibility of failure could become more distracting than the opportunity to succeed.
What has changed isn’t that those challenges have disappeared.
It’s how he responds to them.
Rather than treating poor performance as evidence that he isn’t good enough, he’s learning to see it as information.
Something to evaluate.
Something to understand.
Something he can work on.
That shift has been one of the most meaningful developments of his time at Pease Baseball Professionals.
“I feel like I went from a player who had no confidence in my game to a player who has confidence and can step up when it is needed.”
Confidence, in this case, hasn’t arrived through a motivational speech or a sudden breakthrough.
It has been built gradually.
Through repetition. Through adjustments. Through difficult days that ended with more work instead of resignation.
Hodgson believes Rodrigues’ willingness to learn has played a significant role in that transformation.
Having the discipline to work is important. Understanding the purpose behind that work makes it more valuable.
For a young athlete still developing physically and mentally, the combination creates an opportunity for continued progress.
Rodrigues is beginning to recognize that his preparation gives him something to rely on when the game becomes difficult.
The confidence he carries now isn’t based on believing that he’ll always succeed.
It’s based on knowing that he has prepared himself to compete.
THE ENVIRONMENT AROUND THE ATHLETE
No athlete develops entirely alone.
The people surrounding a young player can influence how he processes mistakes, responds to adversity and ultimately views his own potential.
For Rodrigues, the atmosphere inside Pease Baseball Professionals has played an important role in that process.
“I feel like the most different thing about the environment at Pease is just how positive everyone is,” he said. “Whenever I go all the coaches there are just so positive and welcoming to everyone.”
It’s an observation that speaks to something deeper than instruction.
A player who lacks confidence doesn’t necessarily need someone constantly reminding him of his limitations.
He needs people who can help him recognize those limitations without allowing them to define him.
He needs honest feedback, meaningful work and the freedom to make mistakes while pursuing improvement.
There is a place for demanding standards in player development.
There must also be a place for encouragement.
For Rodrigues, those two things have helped reinforce one another.
Hodgson sees an athlete who wants to understand the details, accepts instruction and returns ready to apply what he’s learned.
Rodrigues sees an environment where the people around him want him to improve and believe he is capable of doing so.
That relationship between expectation and encouragement has helped change how he approaches the game.
The player who once questioned whether he belonged in important moments is becoming one who actively wants the opportunity to make a difference.
BECOMING THE PLAYER OTHERS CAN COUNT ON
There is another part of Rodrigues’ development that has little to do with his pitching mechanics or exit velocity.
He wants to be a leader.
Having spent much of his life around baseball, he recognizes that the experiences he’s collected, including the difficult ones, have value beyond his own performance.
“A standard that I hold on myself is that I want to be a leader and a mentor for other players,” he said.
It’s an interesting ambition for someone who readily admits that confidence was once among his greatest challenges.
But perhaps that’s what makes it meaningful.
A player who has experienced self-doubt may be particularly well equipped to recognize it in someone else.
He knows what it feels like to sit on the bench waiting for an opportunity. He understands the frustration of struggling with a swing. He remembers the uncertainty of stepping into a moment and wondering whether he’s capable of handling it.
Now, he wants to become someone his teammates can turn to.
Someone who contributes beyond the box score.
Someone who understands that leadership isn’t always about being the best player on the field.
Sometimes it’s about helping someone else believe they belong there.
THE PLAYER HE’S STILL BECOMING
For all the progress Rodrigues has made, he isn’t satisfied.
He wants to become a more complete player, capable of contributing on the mound, at the plate and in whatever role his team needs.
He wants more consistency.
He wants to become the kind of athlete who can change the outcome of a game.
And ultimately, he believes he has the ability to compete at the next level.
Those ambitions remain ahead of him.
There will be more adjustments, more difficult stretches and almost certainly more moments when the results don’t match the effort.
But Hodgson sees considerable potential in the habits Rodrigues is developing now.
“The sky is the limit for him,” Hodgson said. “His incredible work ethic paired with his desire to be the best player he can will definitely set him up well for the future.”
It’s an optimistic assessment, but one grounded in the work Hodgson has witnessed.
The late evening lessons.
The strength sessions after demanding practices.
The questions about mechanics.
The willingness to continue working even when things aren’t going well.
Those habits don’t guarantee where Rodrigues will play baseball after Urbana.
They do give him an opportunity to keep moving forward.
And for Rodrigues, progress has become something he measures differently than he once did.
When asked how he knows he’s moving in the right direction, his answer wasn’t tied to playing time, statistics or recognition.
“I’m putting in the work consistently and I see myself learning from my mistakes and getting better.”
It’s a simple answer, but one that reflects how much his understanding of progress has matured.
He no longer needs every game to go perfectly to recognize that he’s improving.
And he no longer sees every setback as a reason to question whether he belongs.
There was a time when sitting on the bench left Matthew Rodrigues frustrated enough to head straight to the batting cage.
Now, those same experiences have become part of the reason he trusts himself.
The swings mattered. The adjustments mattered. The hours spent working through disappointment mattered.
But what he was building during those sessions went beyond the mechanics of hitting a baseball.
He was learning how to respond when the game didn’t give him what he wanted.
How to keep working without immediate reward.
How to believe in the player he was becoming before the results had fully caught up.
The confidence didn’t come first.
The work did.
Players build themselves. We’re part of their journey.