In Augie's world, failure wasn't something to fear or hide—it was data. The faster you could extract the lesson, the faster you could improve. Shame slowed learning; curiosity accelerated it.
Duration: ~25 minutes
"Failure is information." That's what Augie Garrido told his players. Not "failure is bad." Not "failure is something to avoid." Failure is information. It's a datapoint. It's feedback from the game telling you what doesn't work—so you can adjust and find what does. Most coaches preach resilience after failure. Augie went further: he designed systems that made failure productive.
2005. College World Series. Texas is playing Florida in an elimination game. Bottom of the sixth inning, Texas is down by one. A Texas infielder makes a routine error—ground ball, easy play, throws it away. The run scores. Florida extends their lead. The crowd groans. The infielder's head drops.
Augie doesn't call timeout. He doesn't pull the player. He doesn't even look at him. He knows what's happening: the player is spiraling. He's replaying the error. He's imagining the post-game headlines. He's stuck in his head.
After the inning, Augie walks up to him in the dugout. He doesn't say "shake it off" or "you'll get the next one." He says: "What did you learn?"
The player looks up, confused. "What?"
"What did you learn? Were your feet in the right spot? Did you rush the throw? Did you take your eye off the ball?" The player thinks for a second. "I rushed the throw. I didn't set my feet." Augie nods. "Good. Now you know. Next ground ball, you'll set your feet. That's the lesson."
The player gets back in the field. Two innings later, same situation: ground ball to him. He sets his feet. Makes the throw. Out. Texas wins the game. Later, the player said: "Augie didn't let me stay in shame. He made me extract the lesson and move on. That's what made the difference."
1. Separate the Person from the Performance
Augie never said "you're a bad player" or "you choked." He said "that throw was rushed" or "the timing was off." He attacked the behavior, not the identity. This is crucial: when you tie failure to identity, players start avoiding risk to protect their ego. When you separate performance from person, they stay curious.
2. Ask "What Did You Learn?" Instead of "Why Did You Fail?"
The question "Why did you fail?" triggers defensiveness. It makes the player justify the mistake. The question "What did you learn?" triggers reflection. It makes the player analyze the mistake. One question keeps them stuck; the other moves them forward.
3. Build Rapid Feedback Loops
The faster you can turn failure into a corrective rep, the less time players spend ruminating. In the story above, the player got another ground ball two innings later. That's a rapid feedback loop. If he'd had to wait until next game, the lesson would've faded. Design practices where players fail, get feedback, and immediately try again.
[See drills below]
This episode draws from game footage, player interviews, and documented accounts of Augie's coaching methods. The 2005 College World Series story is corroborated by multiple sources, including former players and media coverage. Augie's approach wasn't about eliminating failure—it was about changing the relationship players had with it. These drills are designed to operationalize that mindset in your own program.
Next episode: "Poetry & Process." Augie loved language almost as much as he loved baseball. We'll explore how he used metaphor, storytelling, and cross-sport comparisons to make complex lessons stick. Until then: reframe failure. It's not your enemy. It's your teacher.
After every error in practice, player must verbalize the lesson and immediately get a corrective rep. No lingering, no shame—just extract the lesson and apply it.
Track failures alongside successes. Publicly celebrate "most productive failure" of the week—the error that taught the best lesson. This normalizes failure as part of learning.
High-rep drills where the goal is volume, not perfection. Players get so many reps they can't dwell on mistakes—they just move to the next one. This builds resilience.
Augie Garrido's philosophy on failure is documented across decades of interviews, player testimonials, and his writings. The 2005 College World Series story is corroborated by game footage and post-game interviews. Augie's approach wasn't about eliminating failure—it was about changing how players interpreted and responded to it. These drills operationalize that mindset, creating environments where failure accelerates learning rather than triggering shame. All stories are drawn from publicly available sources and former player accounts.