Uno Mas!

This will be my last post for the semester and I'll try to make it short...unlike the rest of my posts. I'm also gonna try to switch it up and not write about anything softball related but I am going stick with sports! So have any of you been watch the NBA playoffs?? The Suns swept the Spurs and it couldn't be sweeter! I'm a third generation Phoenix Suns fan and the playoffs for me have been extremely frustrating over the past several years. The Spurs have been our Achilles Heel and to be honest I can't stand them! They play dirty and in my opinion have never deserved to move on against us. I was watching the game last night at my grandparents house during dinner for Mother's Day. Everyone was cheering and yelling at the TV throughout the entire game and when the game was finally over we were ecstatic! One thing though...what the heck is up with Tim Duncan elbowing Stevie in the face?!? Some people are saying it wasn't intentional but I beg to differ! Tim Duncan never does anything like that unintentionally. All he has to do is put that puppy dog face on and say, "I didn't do it." LAME! Why do the Spurs always have to pick on Steve Nash?? They're always beating up on him. But I think Steve is OK (even though his eye was black and blue and swollen shut!) and the best part is we WON! SUNS WIN! I don't know if any of you are Suns fans but we were due! This is going to be our year! You just wait and watch! Lakers beware! We're in it to win it this year!

I'm Graduating!!!

Yaaaaa!!!! Finally!! I have just about completed my undergraduate degree! It's been a loooong road of 7 years since I first started college right out of high school but I have certainly learned a lot! I definitely did not go the conventional route and graduate in 4 years but the path I have taken to get done was well worth the wait. I started it all off at Mesa Community College while I was playing softball with their program. College ball turned out to be way more work than I ever wanted it to be. It wasn't fun anymore and I was taking the game too seriously. Once I was done with my two years at MCC I made a random switch to Kansas State University. As random as it was, it was probably one of the best things I have ever done for myself. I have lived in my little bubble of Tempe, Arizona my entire life and haven't experienced too much in the way of diversity. Moving to Kansas was a complete culture shock but I loved every minute of it!! I met some of my closest friends while I was going to school there and we still talk and see each other regularly. After my short 1 year stint at K-State I moved back home to try and finish things up at my true home ASU!!! I have been a Sun Devil since the day I was born! There was no way I was gonna have a choice because my grandpa coached here and my dad went to school and played here. I was destined to be a Sun Devil at some point in time and now I'm finally graduating!!! I was worried for a long time that taking 7 years to graduate would be an embarassment....but now that I'm finally done I couldn't be more excited. What does it matter that I took 7 years to finish? The fact is I FINISHED! There are a lot of people in our society that start college and don't finish or don't even go at all! However, now that I'm done I still don't know what it is that I want to do. Obviously coaching and being involved with softball is my passion...but I'm not sure how to make that a profession. The only way to ever get paid enough to make it a profession is to coach at the collegiate level and I need a lot more experience to make it that far. So for now I'll just find whatever job I can get my hands on and hope that I'll have the opportunity to keep coaching somewhere. Even if I can't continue to coach I'll still be playing ball a minimum of 4 days a week! I love it! I have my womens and coed tournament teams and a handful of leagues that I'm supposed to play in. This will keep me pretty busy over the summer while trying to find a J-O-B! Any suggestions?!?!? I hope I haven't bored too many of you with these blog entries. I've now realized every blog I write is a freakin NOVEL compared to some other posts people are putting up. So for that I apologize. When I start typing I get a little carried away. Thanks for listening and congrats to any of you who are also graduating this May! GO DEVILS!!!

Final Reflections on the Varsity Team

After the JV season was over, I was asked to stay on and work the Varsity team through playoffs. Working with the Varsity team has not been my cup of tea this year. It's tough to come work with a team you haven't been with all season because they have their own routine and way of doing things which was completely different than anything I would have done. To get into the playoffs at the end of the season you have to be one of the top 16 teams. Our Varsity squad at Corona barely squeaked in at the last minute at the No.15 seed. Our first game in the playoffs was against the No.2 seed Red Mtn. a team we haven't been able to beat in the regular season. Going into that first game, I feel guilty for saying this, I didn't think we would be able to pull off the win. Much to my surprise we played lights out with a final score of 4-0. Our next game we faced No.7 seed Mtn. Ridge. We had the lead for most of the game but in the 5th inning the score went from 4-2 to 4-5. Giving up those three runs in the 5th was frustrating but the girls didn't seem to be too bothered by it. In the 7th inning we started to rally back. We got girls in scoring position on 2nd and 3rd base but were unable to score any of our runners and the final score was 4-5. That loss was a huge blow to the girls. It's really important to try and stay in the winner's bracket in playoffs because if you can make it all the way to the Pool B championship game the other team from the losers bracket has to beat you twice to move on to the State Championship game. With our team taking a loss to Mtn. Ridge it moved us to the loser's bracket matching us up against the No.3 seed Basha. This is another team we weren't able to beat all season. Basha is in our conference so we get to face them multiple times during the regular season. This game played out much like I thought the Red Mtn. game would have, we lost with a score of 8-2. The season is now over for all teams in the Corona del Sol softball program. Varsity finished with a regular season record of 8-10 and a playoff record of 1-2. This was not the best season Varsity has ever had and I think a lot of it had to do with a lack of team chemistry. They have so much talent but for whatever reason just couldn't get along. This was the complete opposite of the JV team I worked with all season long. JV went 16-2 with a team batting average of .490! Hopefully next season some of my JV girls will move up to the Varsity team and things will be different. Only time will tell....

Arizona State Parks Are Closing :(

I'm not sure if any of you reading this have heard, but almost half of the Arizona State Parks are going to be closed in the next month because the State is lacking funds to keep them open. I'm a native to Arizona and I love the outdoors! For many years I have visited several of the Arizona State Parks and there is so much that they can offer to visitors. Hiking, camping, boating, swimming, horseback riding, mountain biking, off-roading, and one of my favorites fishing. These parks also provide many educational opportunities in addition to preserving much of Arizona's history. Here are some quick facts about the State Parks here in Arizona:

Although there are 31 parks total, only 27 State Parks are currently open to the public

2.5 million visitors use the State Parks annually

1,386 official camping sites ranging from primitive to large RV sized areas and 13 of the parks have electric hook-up sites

58 miles of hiking/walking trails within the parks

9 swimming areas and 10 fishing areas

10 museums and 25 visitor centers

It makes me really sad to think that a majority of the State Parks will soon be closed. They have provided me and many other visitors with some great memories. I've been on field trips to the Arboretum with my elementary school classes and I've been fishing on many of the rivers that run through these parks. These parks need to stay open to the public because it helps make Arizona rich and diverse. The State Parks are also a big attraction for people visiting here from out of state. I'm not sure why more people haven't taken a stronger interest in finding ways to keep these parks open. Fortunately some parks will become privatized through various organizations in order to keep them open, but other parks will not be so lucky. I know that not everyone loves the outdoors as much as I do but it's still worth checking out what these places have to offer. I know that I can get tired of life in a busy city and sometimes I just need to escape and get away from it all for a weekend. Well these parks are a great way to do that and I will continue to help support our State Parks year after year. If you want to read more about our State Parks and the situation you can visit these websites:

www.azstateparks.com

www.arizonastateparksfoundation.org

Who do you admire as a leader?

There are a couple of different leaders that come to mind when I think about those I admire in leadership positions. The first and most important that comes to mind is my grandfather, Frank Kush. He was a head football coach for many years at ASU and also with a couple of professional football teams. Growing up around him I’ve received many lectures about life and self-leadership. Accountability, responsibility and keeping my priorities straight are some of the ideas that have stuck with me over the years even though they’re not always easy to adhere to. My grandfather was an exceptional leader that was and still is highly respected. I admire my grandfather because he had a vision and was able to move his followers towards that vision. Relating to our discussion question this week, I would classify his leadership style in more of a traditional view. In regards to his players, he was very strict in practice and games and the players understood that when you were told to do something you did it. Otherwise, there were always consequences that ensued insubordination. This style in comparison to today’s views on leadership may seem archaic. However, what he did as a coach worked and it worked very well. To quickly contrast, my grandfather also took a lot of pride in listening to his assistant coaches. He understood that the success of the team and how good he was as a coach depended on the competency of his coaching staff. I admire my grandfather for being ahead of the game by not allowing himself to be corrupt with power. Listening to those you work with is an extremely important factor in an organization’s success and overall effectiveness of the leader or leaders. Other reasons I admire my grandfather are the multitude of characteristics that make for a great leader which include: integrity, determination, good work ethics, sociability, knowledge and experience. These are only a few of the traits or characteristics employed by my grandfather, but they are important and are the ways I try to emulate my practices as a leader. I have learned so much from my grandfather as a leader. His success is a direct derivative of putting into practice good leadership styles and characteristics. I also learned from my grandfather that knowledge through experience in invaluable. He never learned about leadership in a classroom, rather he learned through his own reflections on the experiences he has had in his life and it takes years to develop these concepts simply through life experiences. I’m hoping to apply these concepts to my own practices so that I may experiment with what works and what doesn’t work. Coupled with drawing upon the knowledge of past leaders I look forward to the wealth of knowledge I will accumulate.

Final Reflections on the JV Team

Well this season for the JV team flew by! I can remember the first week of practice thinking how the end of the season seemed so far away. Thinking back on what expectations I had for the team and how I thought the season would go it is interesting to see where it all ended up. I was nervous for the amount of girls we had on the team and getting everyone some playing time. I also was impressed with the amount of talent I had on the team this year. When it all started I was uneasy about the situation with the other JV coach. We didn't end things too well last year and I wasn't sure if the negativity was going to carry over from last year or if we could just let it be water under the bridge. There were some girls on the team this year I knew would produce a lot of results and there were others I didn't expect to do well at all. In addition to all of that I honestly thought this team would go undefeated this year.

Now that the season is over some of the things I expected happened and others situations I was pleasantly surprised by the outcome. First off, our team did not go undefeated but we finished with an amazing record of 16-2. I was a little bummed that we took two loses for the season but overall I'm very pleased with the record. Even though at one point we had 18 players on the team, we still managed to get everyone some playing time. It wasn't easy to get everyone in the game all the time but we did our best. Some of the girls that I knew would be key players for our team this year produced results and even exceeded what I thought they would be capable of. Other girls that I didn't expect much out of surprised me constantly. It's amazing how much a little positive encouragement and telling a kid that you believe in them will do. One of the other great parts about this season was the fact that the other coach and I got along really well for 99% of the season. He and I have different coaching styles that are on opposite ends of the spectrum. I'm really intense and he's extremely laid back. I knew at the start of this season that we had to find a middle ground somewhere otherwise we would have struggled all season. With the leadership classes I've been taking I realized that I needed to tone my approach down to better match his and I had some pretty good ideas on how to do that. I believe that opposites attract and can work very well together if mixed properly. We worked really well this year and I think we both gave a little to find the middle ground. What was weird though is that neither of us ever talked about the situation, it just sort of worked out. He at times this year was a little more intense and pushed the girls harder than he usually did and I was a lot more laid back and let the little things that used to make me mad slide. It feels really rewarding that through applying some of the knowledge I acquired in the classroom about leadership I was better able to make the situation work for me, the other coach and the rest of the team. This was one of the best teams I have had the privilege of working with. I learned a lot from this season about coaching and leadership. The self reflecting I have done this year has been a great way for me to learn more about myself. I'm not sure where I'll go from here because now that I'm graduating from college I'll have to get a "real" job and I'm not sure that it will allow me to continue to coach at the high school level. If that ends up being the case I'm glad I had the opportunity to work with the girls on the JV team at this high school. It has been an experience I will never forget.

Leadership Qualities...What do you bring to the table?

I think that one quality I bring to leadership is confidence. As a leader I think it is important to be confident in what you are doing because it would otherwise be difficult to follow someone who is lacking confidence. As a leader in the softball world I also think that I bring experience, which is something that makes me confident as a coach. I’ve been playing softball for 18 years or so and I there is a lot I can offer as a coach because I’ve been in a lot of the same situations the girls are in now. Another quality I think I bring to leadership is my ability to communicate with those I am working with. I try my best to be a good listener and I’m always asking the girls how they are doing or what their thoughts and opinions are on a situation. I like to be open as a leader and tell the girls exactly what is happening and why rather than telling them something they want to hear. My drive to openly communicate with the girls I work with has served me quite well in developing coach/player relations. I think it has built respect and trust between the kids and myself. Honesty and integrity are another set of qualities I think I bring to leadership. I have been put in difficult situations before where I could have taken a short cut and lied or done something that would be considered unethical but every time I’ve been put in those situations I simply cannot take the easy way out. I’m a true believer in karma and I’m always telling people, “That’s bad juju, don’t do it. Otherwise It will come back 3-fold and bite you in the rear!” As a leader I think I have many qualities that I bring to the table. Therefore I’ll talk about one more, influence. I would like to think that I am an influential leader and that I have the ability to motivate others to work hard, stay positive and be respectful. As a coach I want to be able to make a difference in the lives of those I work with.

I find that I am regularly encouraged to exercise my leadership qualities that I previously listed. Most of my encouragement does not come directly. Rather it comes in the form of positive results. Although on occassion I do get positive feedback from other coaches or even teachers that I work with on the softball field and in the classroom. It’s always nice to hear back from my peers rather than my subordinates on how I’m doing as a leader because it makes me feel that I’m going in the right direction. Ever since I’ve been enrolled in my leadership courses I’ve tried to do a lot of self-reflection so that I can become a better coach. The other coach I work with on the JV team has pointed out to me a couple times this year the improvements he has seen in me as a coach over the past year and that he thinks I’ve been doing a great job. The encouragement I have received has been great but I have also experienced my fair share of discouragement. The softball program I’m currently working with hasn’t changed since I was involved in the program as a player in high school. In my opinion the program has become stagnant and is in need of some serious changes. The problem is that everytime I bring up a suggestion or an idea I’m shot down and told, “well this is how things have always been done and that is how it is going to continue to work.” It’s extremely discouraging and leaves me feeling like I can’t collaborate with the other coaches on bringing new ideas to the program.

Some of the qualities that I would like to further develop is having the ability to stand up for what I believe in. Again with the softball program I work with I think there are a lot of changes that need to be made. I usually only voice my opinion to the other JV and Freshman coaches. For some reason I’m afraid to approach the Varsity Head Coach. I’m not a big fan of confrontation and I don’t want to bring up a subject and cause problems. I don’t want to lose my position as a coach witht he program but I’m unfortunately becoming so frustrated with the situation that I’m to the point that I don’t care if I lose my position as a coach. I’d much rather voice my opinion in a respectful manner and however the Varsity coach takes it is up to her. In addition to working on standing up for what I believe in, I also need to devolop my time management skills. This is an area I’m severely deficient in and it has proven to be my kryptonite with school. I’m a terrible procrastinator and I know in the professional world that procrastination and poor time management skills will not get me very far at all.

Our Catchers...

On the JV team this year we have three catchers. When I was playing fastpitch growing up this was my favorite position. Now that I'm a coach if I'm not working with our hitters I much prefer to work with our catchers. Unfortunately this is a position that can easily be neglected in practices and I see it happen to our team regularly. It's frustrating for me because I used to be a catcher and I know what it feels like to be looked over in practice.

There are several things that catchers really need to work on in practices in order to really advance their skills. Blocking is a skill that a lot of young catchers need to develop as soon as possible. In game situations it is important for the catchers to keep the ball in front of them at all times otherwise you risk a runner stealing a base and errors only equal runs. A lot of catchers when they first start learning how to block they have a difficult time with the concept of kicking your feet back and smothering the ball. I tried to work on this with our girls throughout the season but I haven't seen much improvement from the girls who struggle with this. Another part of catching is framing a pitch. Sometimes I feel framing a pitch is more important than blocking a ball in the dirt. The reason I think framing is more important is because it can really help a pitcher in many different ways. If a catcher can frame a pitch just right and sell the pitch to the umpire it will help keep the pitch count low for the pitcher. One of the games this season we actually had an umpire tell one of our catchers who struggles with framing that she needed to do a better job at "sticking" the ball. This catcher in particular will catch the ball but she lets her glove travel even after the ball has hit the glove.

It was interesting to have three catchers on the team this year because each one of them had a strength where the other had a weakness. One girl did a great job at framing pitches, another girl was great at blocking and the other has a great arm when throwing down to second base. If I could combine all of the girls skills into one catcher you would have a stud of a catcher! Unfortunately that can't happen and it's up to me to develop their skills. I wish I had more time to work with the catchers during the season but there just isn't enough time. Again it's hard to work with the catchers in practice and they easily get looked over. So far we only had four or five practices where the catchers could spend some time with me working on catching skills. I hope that as the years continue I can see these kids grow. Each of them has the potential to play for Varsity but I'm afraid it's going to come down to politics. It's not really a fair system but I really don't know how to change it. As an assistant coach you don't really get much say in what happens with the teams regardless of what my opinion is. Hopefully in the off season the girls will be able to work on their skills and come back next season with a vengeance.

This Is Why I Coach...

Now that I am a coach, I have taken my experiences and lessons learned as a player to share with the girls I work with. One of the main reasons I coach is so that I can share my wisdom and pass on my knowledge in all aspects of the game. To me it’s not just teaching mechanics, it’s about teaching life experiences. The very same politics and drama that I experienced as a player still exist today. Last year I was working with a club team called the Chandler Sting. They were an 18u team that had girls from the ages of 15 to 18. Working with this group of girls was extremely challenging due to the attitudes of some players. However, there were a select few that were hard workers and shared my passion of the game. My time with this team was only the fall and winter seasons before last years spring school season started. After last years school season, I decided not to return to the club team due to conflicts with the other coaches. That being said, one of the players from that club team that was a great kid to work with came to me asking a favor. When I met with her to help her out I asked how her school season went. She said that it went well but that she was quitting and would not be returning for her senior year. I then sat her down to talk with her about my experiences when I was in high school. I experienced a lot of the same problems she was describing and I actually didn't play my senior year. I urged her not to quit because looking back on it now, three months of my life is a minor blip in my existence. I would give almost anything to go back and change my decision of quitting the team. I told this girl that she needed to stick it out because her hard work and efforts would be worth while in the end regardless of whatever politics she may be battling. I tried to make this conversation as heart felt as possible because I would hate to see all of her talent go to waste.

It’s now almost a year later and I haven’t seen or talked to this girl since that conversation. I received a text message at the beginning of this season that said, “I just got home from my first day of try-outs. I almost didn’t go but I rememberd what you said to me last year about not quitting. I wanted to thank you for your encouragement because without it I might not be where I am now.” This was by far the proudest moment I have ever experienced as a leader. To know that the experiences and advice I gave to one of my former players stuck with her and influenced her life in a positive way makes all of my efforts worth while. All I want to do as a coach is be a positive influence on those I work with. I had many influential coaches growing up and now it’s my turn to pass on the favor. At the end of try-outs week I received another text message from the same girl. She said that she had made the varsity team and will be able to play her senior year in high school. I was touched that this girl had remembered what I said to her and that she wanted to contact me to inform me of her situation. I hope that as I continue coaching and leading those I work with I will continue to make a difference in their lives.

The Anti-Monster Job Search Webinar

Well I just attended my first webinar and I'm glad I did one. It was extremely convenient that I could attend a career workshop from my home. I have to say that I'm a feeling a little bit of information overload. Since this workshop was at night and it's the end of the semester I was the only person that joined the webinar, which was cool because I could work one on one with the host. However, there was still a lot of information covered and because it was all new to me it was hard to keep up. The experience as a whole was very enlightening but it also made me realize how much I don't know about finding a job. One thing I heard tonight that I keep hearing from everyone is that finding a job is all about networking. There's another webinar series that is titled Dynamic Networking and I really want to attend one just because tonight made me realize that much more how important it is to network.

A couple of things I learned from the webinar tonight other than I need to know how to network is that Monster.com and Careerbuilder.com really aren't all that helpful when trying to find a job. I think it's only 20% of the companies that exist post job on one of those popular job search sites. The other 80% can be found through other search methods that were discussed in the presentation. There were some really helpful tips for me to get started with. First I need to do some self assessment so that I can then figure out what kind of industry I want to even go into. My major is general studies with a certificate in leadership and ethics. I'm really not sure what I can even do with that type of a degree and it makes me feel a little bit uneasy. Either way, this workshop gave some links to some sites that I can do some free self assessments and I may even try to go to the career services center on campus and work with them on self assessment. Once I get the self assessment done I need to figure out what industry I want to go into and then follow a series of steps that help you find jobs that exist and most people don't know about. Unfortunately I'm still waiting on the e-mail I'm supposed to receive that has all the info from the presentation. In it is a worksheet that breaks down the process of finding a job. After attending this workshop I feel a little bit more optimistic about finding a job. It gave me somewhere to start which is something I didn't have. Hopefully with this workshop and some more research I plan on doing, I'll be able to find a job without too much complication.

Learning How to be a Leader

I have enjoyed all of the classes about leadership that I have taken to date. Since I am a coach I have the perfect opportunity to continuously practice what I am learning about leadership. Through this journal and the journals I wrote in other classes I have been able to reflect on my actions as a leader and develop my skills. I am finding that as I self reflect more regularly I am able to control my actions so that they benefit me in whatever situation I face. I now see how my actions effect those that I work with. Just the other day in a game our head JV coach made a change in the line up putting a different catcher in the field. I was not happy about the situation because he put our worst catcher in. It was a close game and our pitcher started to do poorly because of the change. It’s a little tough to explain but in the game of softball or baseball, changing a catcher on a pitcher in the middle of a game can completely throw off the rhythm and that is exactly what happened. Soon after the catching change our pitcher was getting hit by every opposing player. We then had to make a pitching change. After the pitching change I went to our head coach and I told him that I thought it was a dumb move and I wanted to change it back because I was afraid the new catcher was going to cost us the game. The head JV coach was irritated with what I was saying to him and told me that he hasn’t heard anything so negative come out of my mouth all season long and that I needed to stop. In previous seasons I might have sat there and argued with him instead of keeping quiet. Instead I decided to take his words to heart and I thought about the situation. I made the decision to talk with our catcher and feed her with positive and encouraging words. To my surprise the catcher was able to maintain for the rest of the game assisting the new pitcher and we ended up winning the game.

Thinking back on the situation I’m glad that I was able to step back and reflect on what was happening at the time. I could have very easily worn my emotions on my sleeve and let the whole team know how pissed off I was about what was happening. I think that my choice to stay positive is a direct effect of the leadership classes I have been taking. I hope to continue to learn about leadership through books, coaching clinics and self reflection or keeping a journal on my experiences. Knowing more about leadership can help me be successful in my future career or other endeavors because it will give me the tools to help others when working in teams whether it is in the office or on the softball field. Knowing how to interact with others and finding ways to bring the best out of them will hopefully make me stand out amongst many others. I think that if I can find a way to stand out in a positive manner it will help me climb to the top. Unfortunately I think there are many managers or coaches that do not fully understand leadership. I think a true leader brings out the best in others so that the team or organization can be at its best. There are many “leaders” out there that are only in the game for their own self advancement and do not really care about the team. I think the most successful leaders in our world are those that truly care about the cause they work for and those they work with.

Ojos

Growing up playing softball my dad always used to say to me, "Ojos!" What he was trying to tell me was to keep my eye on the ball. Over the many years of playing softball I have realized the importance of watching the ball. It's pretty simple, how can you hit something if you can't see it? Today in practice we worked on vision training. This is something that many coaches do not see as a necessary drill for practices but in all reality it will absolutely improve your hitting.

There are several drills that you could use for vision training and I've seen and used most of them. One of the most basic drills you can do for your players is to buy about a dozen golf size wiffle balls and then take a 3/4 inch pvc pipe that is cut to the length of a bat. You could use just about anything for the bat like a broom stick or some people use what is called a quick stick. Quick stick is a bat developed by I believe Jenny Finch (not positive on who actually developed the idea) that is designed to develop quick hands. Either way the point of the drill is to use a really skinny bat and a really small ball. The idea is that both the bat and the ball are much smaller and you really have to focus on watching the ball hit the bat. It is important that when using this drill for the first time with your players that they slow their swing down so that they can focus on seeing the ball. As the players get used to the drill and become more successful at hitting the ball with a slow swing they can begin to speed up their swing.

Another vision training drill I learned about this year was take two color markers and write the numbers 0-9 on a bucket of balls. Then feed the balls through a pitching machine and have one of the girls stand in the batters box and try to see if they can tell what color the marker is and what number is written on the ball. Obviously the number should be written multiple times on the ball because the ball spins when pitched. I really like this drill because it trains the eyes to read the spin of the ball which will become important when hitting against a pitcher that has a great rise ball, drop ball, curve or screw ball. Any one of those pitches should have a significant break on it when pitched. The longer you can see the ball and read the spin the more likely you are to hit it. The eyes are controlled by muscles and muscles need training in order to function at an optimum level. Training your eyes to watch the ball is an extremely important part of the game that is frequently over looked.

It's Tough When a Kid's Hopes and Dreams are at Stake

I had a conversation recently with one of the pitchers on our JV team and her parents. This kid is extremely talented and has a lot of potential for growth in her softball skills. Her favorite position is pitching with shortstop and center field being her second and third choices. At the start of the season we gave this pitcher a lot of starts but unfortunately she could never finish a game in the beginning and we would have to bring in a different pitcher to finish the game. She has a lot of velocity on her pitches but she is lacking a lot of control. When watching her stand on the mound right before she lets a pitch go, it seems that she is lacking confidence. One thing you have to have in order to be a successful pitcher is confidence. Even though she has struggled throughout the majority of this season I continued to have faith that one day she would just find "it". I knew that there would be one day during a game that she would finally feel relaxed and feel confident while pitching. We gave her a start against our last match up with Dobson High School. She had a what I thought was a personal best game that day striking out 8 hitters and allowing only 2 runs scored. That was her first full game she has pitched in three years. The only other opportunity we have given her to pitch was against Mountain Pointe and because we have so many players she only got to pitch for 3 innings but I could tell that again she was feeling more confident than at the start of the season.

With that being said, when I spoke with this girl's parents they informed me that she wants to continue to pitch and that her ideal dream is to pitch for her favorite University. The particular University she wants to go to is a big contender in the NCAA for softball. Her parents then asked me what I think she needs to work on to get to the Varsity level in high school and then on to college ball. It took me a moment or two to collect my thoughts because I did not want to crush the dreams of this girl but at the same time I wanted to be as realistic as possible. I first said that she needs to work on hitting a lot more because if any player has a really strong bat most coaches will find a place for you in the line up. I also suggested that she continue to see her pitching coach on a weekly basis. The next step for her to take towards her dreams would be to find a club team to pitch for. The only way she is going to continue to grow as a pitcher is to get as many innings pitched as possible over the next year. The more games she plays in the more confident she will become. That's of course if she can find her control and develop her various pitches. As of right now she can throw a fastball and a change up. If she wants to take her game to the next level she needs to develop more pitches like a rise ball, drop ball, screw and curve. The other problem she is facing is that she is one of five sophomore pitchers in the program. There are also two freshman in the program this year, one was on JV and the other on Varsity. In addition to competing for playing time against 6 other pitchers this year, next year the program is anticipating two more freshman coming to the program that are likely to pitch on the JV and maybe even Varsity levels. All of which I tried to explain to the hopeful pitcher and that if she wants to continue to pursue pitching she has her work cut out for her. I tried to also reinforce the fact that I think she would make a stellar center fielder. She tracks the ball very well and she is by far the fastest girl on the JV squad and maybe in the top three in the entire program if not the absolute fastest. A great center fielder needs to have speed because they have a lot of ground to cover.

Situations like this are tough when dealing with the kids you are trying to caoch and their parents who are invested in their kid's future. I tried to be as blunt as I could about the situation without being completely discouraging. I wanted to make sure that she understood what she is up against before choosing to continue her dream. I want to support her as much as possible with out then becoming unrealistic. I want this kid to be successful in this sport and I'm not necessarily sure pitching will be her forte. But how else can you explain that to a kid who dreams of pitching for her favorite University? It's not easy...I wish her the best of luck and I hope that I can help her achieve her dream in one way or another.