Some people learn important things in life from school, parents, other family members, friends and teachers. For me, I've learned important lessons from all of these sources, but one particular thing in my life has taught me some of the most important lessons. This thing in my life is baseball.

I've played the game since I was a little kid and it's always been important to me. It's also been very influential in my life. Above all the values baseball has taught me, there are three things I consider the most important: teamwork, leadership and perseverance.

For the most part, I've played with the same group of guys every year since I began playing. Of course, a few of them have come and gone, but, overall, it's pretty much been the same group of players since we started.

This has helped us all develop great teamwork and we've carried that over into high school competition. Some of us got split up between the junior varsity and varsity teams, but we've still maintained the importance of playing as a team, not as an individual.

I've learned that without teamwork the team will fall apart. All of the players on the team have to work together. Even if there's only one member of the team playing for himself, it will drag the entire team down. I'm not saying that everyone has to like each other or even get along, but they do have to respect each other.

The same is true in life. It's obvious you'll never like everyone, but you do have to respect the people you're around, or have to work with, to get things done right and to succeed. If the members of a "team" can't at least respect each other, then they are doomed to defeat before they even begin.

Perseverance can be summed up in a single quote, "When the going gets tough, the tough get going."

To understand this quote is one thing, but to believe it and follow it is another matter entirely. Greatness is not measured through victories in times of ease, but in times of hardship.

The bond of teamwork is formed if, and when, a team is able to pull together when things get hard. Once the bond is there, it can't be broken because when a team has been through hardships together, nothing can pull it apart. The strength to never give up, no matter what the odds, is a rare trait.

There's one all-important component every good team must have to be successful. One thing, among all others, is the driving force behind the strength of the team. It's the thing that everyone on the team looks to when hope is fading. That thing is a leader.

A leader of a team doesn't have to be the strongest, the smartest, the fastest, or the best player. These things are not the qualities of a true leader. Determination, the undying will to succeed, the power to motivate when all seems lost, and the courage and bravery to do what's never been done, these are the skills of a true leader.

There's a saying that goes as follows: "Do not go where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." To me, this is the perfect description of a leader.

To be a good leader you must be able to take control of a situation and lead where no one has ever dared to go before. There's no limit to how far a team can go if the players are just able to trust their leader. The will to settle for nothing less than victory is a prerequisite for victory itself.

Teamwork is the original bond formed between the players of a team once they've grown to trust and believe in one another. Perseverance represents the strength of the team and the belief that no matter what happens, your team will always have your back. Leadership is what truly solidifies a team. Without it, the players are only individuals without a uniting force.

I'm thankful I've always had baseball in my life to teach me these lessons.