Monthly Archives: October 2023
Greatness Comes With A Cost
A whole bunch of years ago there was a series on cable called Camelot. It was yet another retelling of the King Arthur legend, although with a grittier feel to it.
Of course one of the key characters was Merlin, the King’s magician/adviser. Normally he is portrayed as someone who can wave his hands or wand or whatever and easily conjure up whatever is needed at the time.
But in Camelot it didn’t happen quite so simply. On the rare occasions when Merlin needed to summon up some magic, it took all his concentration and an extreme effort, which would often see him bleeding from his eye before he finished.
When asked about it, he would painfully reply, “Magic has a cost.”
The same is true for learning how to play fastpitch softball. (You knew there had to be a point to this story somewhere.)
If you want to be great at it, or even really, really good, you don’t simply walk out onto the field and start playing. There is a cost to achieving greatness – a price to be paid in exchange for the glory you seek.
Often that price is paid in time. You may stay need to stay after practice when everyone else is going home to get some extra reps in or solve a particular issue.
It likely will also involve working on your own, even when you don’t feel like it, to improve a skill that’s deficient or take one that’s good to the next level. (Often the second one is tougher to get going on than the first, because it’s easy to convince yourself you’re already good enough.)
The price may come in terms of missed opportunities for other things. While your friends are all going to a concert or an amusement park or a birthday party or some other fun event, you’re going to a college camp or a tournament or maybe even staying behind because your team has practice.
The price could be financial. If your family doesn’t have a lot of disposable income you may need to pass on that new phone or skip getting a new outfit so you can pay for team fees or a new bat or a college camp – anything that’s outside of the core fees.
Or it could mean you’re not able to get a job to make some “fun” money of your own because your practice and game schedule doesn’t allow it.
The price could be pain from a particularly tough speed and agility class or perhaps the result of an injury – especially if you’re attempting to play through it. Or it could be the feeling of being tired all the time.
College players experience that a lot. Between early morning lifting, classes, practice (team or on their own depending on the time of year), study tables, and making up for lost time in the classroom due to games they can pretty much be in a fog much of the year.
The cost can manifest itself in many ways. But there is always a cost if you have that burning desire to stand out on the field and do all you can to help your team win.
This isn’t just for players, by the way. There is also a cost is you want to be a better coach.
You will find yourself putting in far more time than just the couple of hours at the field a few days a week or even the 12-hour days of a tournament. There’s practice planning, coordinating schedules, managing budgets, talking to parents and players, and a whole host of other tasks to be performed while still trying to stay employed at your day job.
If you want to be great you also have to allow for continuing education. You’ll need to take online courses or attend in-person clinics such as those offered by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association as well as local events.
You’ll invest an inordinate amount of your own money on books and videos as well as training devices – even if it seems they will solve one problem for one player.
And, of course, at some point you will miss a family birthday, or a school reunion, or a work outing, or something else because, well, games. At which point the cost will also include the internal stress it puts on your personal relationships because “you’re always at some field somewhere” instead of where others think you should be.
So is achieving your goals on the field worth the cost? Only you can answer that.
The key, though, is to understand that there will be a cost if you want to aspire to greatness – or even “really, really goodness.”
Your willingness to pay it is where the true magic happens.
Magician photo by cottonbro studio on Pexels.com
Coaches: Remember What You Do Makes A Difference
Coaching fastpitch softball can be a grueling grind. The seemingly never ending games, practices, organizational meetings, fundraising concerns, educational seminars, late night calls from concerned parents. etc. can all take their toll after awhile.
That’s why coaching burnout is such an issue and threat to everyone who is crazy enough to grab a clipboard (or tablet) and step onto a fastpitch softball diamond.
It’s easy to become overwhelmed by the sheer volume of work, not to mention the intensity of trying to help 12-15 players become the best versions of themselves as athletes and human beings. That’s a huge responsibility.
But underlying all of that is something else – something embodied in a great scene in the movie Star Trek Generations. (If you’re not familiar with it, this was the movie that handed off the film series from Star Trek the Original Series [TOS to you Trekkers out there] to Star Trek: The Next Generation [TNG]. I so rarely get to use the [square brackets] so what a treat for me.)
This scene takes place shortly after TNG’s Captain Picard runs into TOS’ Captain Kirk in a place called The Nexus, which is sort of a Field of Dreams for sci fi. In it, Captain Picard has been trying to convince Captain Kirk to come back to our reality and help him stop the bad guy who is killing billions of people in his attempt to get back into The Nexus.
At first Captain Kirk turns him down because he is perfectly content in The Nexus. No surprise there because it’s where your life can be whatever you want it to be.
But then Captain Kirk has a realization. (It takes a minute to get to the payoff in this clip but it’s worth it, trust me.)
If you didn’t bother to watch the clip, or weren’t able to, Captain Kirk’s realization is that while he was in Star Fleet he could make a difference in the world. Since he left, though, nothing he does really matters that much.
That’s what coaching enables you to do – make a difference in the lives of your players. And by extension their families.
None of us knows what goes on behind the scenes in the lives of others. So it’s easy to assume that everything is all hunky-dory with them, and that the face you see is indicative of what’s happening “under the hood.”
That may not be the case, however. I can’ remember who originally said it, but I once saw a statement that admonished coaches to remember that their practice might be the best part of their players’ day.
Maybe the player is struggling in school, or had a fight with her parents. Maybe she’s being bullied, or has had a close friend abandon her.
Maybe there is some food or housing insecurity in her family, or a favorite pet is on the brink of crossing the rainbow bridge. (Don’t click the link if you are in public and susceptible to emotional demonstrations.)
There could be hundreds of different things happening in your players’ lives. But when they get to your practice or game they have opportunity to set all of that aside and do something that makes them feel good about themselves and their lives, providing you’re doing it correctly.
The guidance you provide in helping your players overcome various softball hurdles is very likely to carry forward into the rest of their lives.
As a result, you can help a shy kid learn to make friends. You can help a kid who is always down on herself or feeling she isn’t good enough develop self-confidence.
You can help a kid who always follows the crowd (for better or worse) step up and learn to become a leader instead. Or at least learn to make better decisions rather than succumbing to peer pressure.
You can help a kid who has always been coddled and over-protected by her parents learn to manage adversity. You can help a kid with behavioral issues learn to work in a team setting.
You can help a naturally lazy kid develop a work ethic. You can help a kid who over-thinks everything learn to let go of her conscious thoughts (and fears) and trust her gut.
You can help a kid who feels like a failure learn what it’s like (and what it takes) to succeed. You can help a kid who feels unloved and unwanted at home to feel like she’s part of a family of sorts.
You might even prevent a kid from doing harm to herself or others. All while you are helping those kids learn to catch, throw, pitch, and/or hit a softball.
In other words, you can make a difference.
And you never know the ripple effect of making that difference either. Perhaps that kid you helped in some way goes on to cure cancer, or improve the environment, or become an elected official who enacts policies that make everyone’s life better.
Or even becomes a coach herself someday and pays what you did for her forward. Or maybe just grows into a great human being who has a family and/or contributes to society in some small but meaningful way.
All because you were there as her softball coach, making a bigger difference than you could have possibly realized.
Yes, coaching fastpitch softball, like any sport, can be a grind after a while. You definitely need to pay attention to your physical and emotional wellbeing if you’re going to help others. Just like how on a jet they tell you to put on your oxygen mask before you try to help others.
But when things get tough, keep in mind how empty your life would be if you weren’t coaching. Because as Captain Kirk says, while you’re in that chair you can still make a difference.
Make that difference for someone today.
Fastpitch Softball Returning to 2028 Olympics
The fastpitch softball world got some great news this week, as our sport will once again be included in the Olympic Games for 2028. I’m sure it comes as no surprise since the games will be held in Los Angeles and the U.S. is essentially home territory for softball.
Still, nothing is ever a given, so I’m glad to see our sport (as people like to say) will be part of the world’s biggest sports showcase. Hopefully we’ll be able to avoid another worldwide pandemic just prior to the Olympics so there can actually be fans in the stands to see the competition and cheer their teams on.
Of course, with every wish comes a curse. In this case, if past patterns hold, it means beginning this year USA Softball will divert nearly all of its attention to putting a team together to compete at the 2028 games and providing all the logistical support that requires.
The result is the youth levels (with the possible exception of the most elite players) as well as the men’s game (yes, for those of you who don’t know there actually still is men’s fastpitch softball too) will receive scant if any attention for the next five years.
Hope I’m wrong. But I wouldn’t bet against it if I were you.
In any case, as we look forward to watching softball return to the Olympics in 2028, here are a few things I’d like to see.
A new crop of players
Let’s be honest: as exciting as it was to see softball in the 2020 Olympics, it also kind of resembled an Old Timer’s game. Many of the marquee players on the top teams had actually participated the last time softball was in the Olympics.
No disrespect to those long-time players. They were and are tremendous athletes, inspirations, and ambassadors for our sport. I salute them all.
But there are many exciting young players who now deserve an opportunity to wear their countries’ jerseys and fulfill their dreams of competing in the most visible softball games in the world. I look forward to getting to know them throughout the games.
Softball actually be part of the Olympics
While technically softball was part of the 2020 games, the reality is the gold medal had already been awarded by the time all the other participants marched in the parade and lit the torch. It was kind of a slap in the face to our sport, in my opinion.
It was like saying, “Ok you can play, but you have to be done before the REAL Olympics begin.”
This time around I hope to see the games integrated into the two or so weeks that the rest of the events occur. Doing so will maximize the audience by bringing in more casual viewers (most people who watched softball in 2020 were us, the die-hard fanatics) and provide a little more validation of our sport’s place on the world stage.
Announcers who actually understand the sport and its nuances
Much as we love to see fastpitch softball on TV in any capacity, a lack of quality in the announcers covering the game can definitely take away from the enjoyment of the broadcast. At least for those of us who live and breathe the sport.
I’m sure it doesn’t bother the casual observer when, say, a high pitch with bullet spin is called a “riseball” when in fact it is just a high fastball. Or that same bullet spin ends up on the outside corner and it’s called a curve even though it didn’t break even an inch off its normal path.
But those of us who love the sport really would like to see a more accurate appraisal of what is going on.
To that point, I personally would like to see a little more honest analysis of what’s happening on the field instead of the boosterism that normally occurs.
If a knowledgeable expert in the booth thinks a team’s strategy is bad, say so! If an error is made because a player lost focus or made a poor decision, call it out.
That’s what the most popular announcers in all sports do. John Madden never hesitated to call out a boneheaded play (or play call) when he was doing NFL games. Bob Uecker made a career out of telling the (mostly) unvarnished truth during games.
That doesn’t mean announcers need to be hyper critical. But they don’t have to have the Pollyannaish approach we typically hear either.
If announcers call ’em like the see ’em, and make sure to do their homework so they really know what they’re talking about, I think it will be a better, more credible experience for everyone.
The USA change its offensive philosophy
Obviously this one is specific to my favorite team, and the host team, but the offensive approach in the 2020 games was a disaster. Mostly because it seemed to be stuck in the ’80s or ’90s.
It appeared to me that the starting lineup in 2020 was selected for its defensive prowess, as if the people making the selections were expecting a lot of 1-0 or 2-1 games.
Those days are gone. Better equipment, better skills training, better strength and conditioning, rules changes, and more have made today’s game one where you need to put at least a half dozen runs on the board if you plan to win.
That means no more automatically trying to sac bunt a runner to second when the first batter gets on base. IIRC, the U.S.A. team wasted its best hitter by having her bat in the two position and then automatically bunt when the leadoff hitter got on base.
When she finally got a chance to swing the bat she was putting up extra base hits consistently. Imagine if she had done that with a runner on first and no outs!
Having bats in the lineup also gives you a chance to come back if you fall behind. Playing the short game when you’re down three runs in the fifth inning just punches your ticket out faster.
The selection committee needs to invite players who can flat-out hit, and choose a coaching staff that understands how to let them do what they do best instead of trying to fit them into an outdated model.
A little spectacle
Fastpitch softball is a very fan-friendly sport. Much more so than watching athletes run around a track or chuck heavy objects (not that there’s anything wrong with that).
Let’s treat it that way. One of the things that keeps softball out of the Olympics is that some on the Olympic Committee feel it isn’t universal enough, i.e., viewers in non-softball countries won’t tune in to see it.
Give it a little extra pizzazz in the presentation, with some knowledgeable explanation of what’s happening and an eye toward showing non-softball countries how much fun it is to play, and maybe, just maybe, we won’t have to wait another eight or more years to see softball in the Olympics again.
Olympic rings image by Vusi vilanculos, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
A Practical Fastpitch Softball Tips Grab Bag!
Normally posts in Life in the Fastpitch Lane revolve around a central theme. Today, though, I thought we’d try something a little different.
There are plenty of topics that don’t rate a post by themselves but are still important to the overall experience. I know this because I see many of these topics asked over and over on different softball forums and Facebook groups.
So I figured why not gather them together in a sort of grab bag of ideas? Hopefully you’ll find one or more valuable, and that you’ll have a little fun along the way.
Ok, let’s get to it.
How to clean white uniforms
I have to tell you I loves me a white uniform. It’s a classic, elegant look that just screams “Champions.” When I was coaching teams I always preferred my players to wear the all-white uniform for bracket play.
But I also know why softball parents, especially moms, hate them: they’re hard to clean. Particularly the pants.
If you get dirt on gray, or black, or green, or pretty much any colored pants, really all you have to do is get rid of most of it. On white pants, though, it’s all or nothing, because any little bit of leftover dirt (or other substances) that are left just make them look bad.
Ordinary laundry detergents don’t really work. But there is something that does.
Fels-Naptha is your best friend. It may not be available at your local grocery store but you can find it all over in hardware stores and home centers such as Ace and Home Depot. Pick up a supply and you’ll make your life a whole lot easier.
Get your daughter a good metal bat
Yes, it’s true that your best bang for the buck (literally as well as figuratively) comes from a composite bat. An Easton Ghost or equivalent can turn even your 98 pound weakling of a daughter into a potential power hitter (if she can just get the bat on the ball).
The problem with those bats is they’re only good down to about 60 degrees. After that, the manufacturers will tell you not to use them because they are likely to break much more easily.
So what do you do if you live in an area (or are traveling to an area) where spring and fall gametime temperatures are likely to be closer to 40 than 80 degrees?
You can roll the dice and take your chances, but don’t complain if a manufacturer refuses to honor the warranty. A better alternative is to invest in a quality metal bat.
They’re still around. Bats such as the Anderson Rockettech will give you plenty of pop in cold weather without the risk of seeing it crack in half the first time your daughter makes solid contact on a 50 degree day. And if she really likes it, those bats perform just fine in warmer weather too.
At one time, back in the early 2000s, Rockettechs were THE bats to own – before composite bat technology became what it is today.
As a bonus, metal bats tend to hold up better when hitting pitching machine balls as well. I wouldn’t necessarily use one at a commercial cage, where the balls are more focused on lasting longer instead of the effect on bats. But for the rest, you can save yourself a lot of time and trouble by having a good metal bat in the ol’ bag.
Pack extra hair ties – and sunglasses
Yes, your daughter should be responsible and think ahead to ensure she has them in her bag. No, she won’t always do it. Or maybe she did, but it broke.
No matter, these are little things that can make a big difference during a game.
Take a hair tie for example. If your daughter needs one and doesn’t have one, it’s likely to be a huge distraction to her.
Her hair will blow with every breeze, and if there is any truth to Murphy’s Law it will blow in her eyes right as she’s trying to catch a fly ball or field a ground ball with runners in scoring position. My kingdom for a hair tie!
For the sunglasses, perhaps it was cloudy before the game so your daughter didn’t think she’d need her sunglasses and didn’t pack them. But then the sun broke through and suddenly she’s squinting directly into it.
Having an extra pair of sunglasses in your softball “go bag” will be a lifesaver. And may save you a few hours in the ER if she loses a ball in the sun.
BONUS TIP: Keep some duct tape handy too. As any good Southerner will tell you, duct tape can fix anything.
Keep a charged power block with you
This is especially true for parents with multiple daughters playing at different fields.
You’re going to want to check on your other kids’ games via GameChanger or a similar app. It’s only natural.
What you may not realize is these apps keep running in the background by design, so while you may have closed them they’re still sucking up battery power. If you have a long day at a tournament you may find yourself running out of power before the day is done.
Grabbing a high-quality power block will give you enough spare juice to keep going no matter how long the day goes on. Even enough to power your phone’s GPS to get you to the out-of-the-way restaurant the other parents chose for a team bonding meal at the end of the day.
Spend a little more to get a comfy chair
The same parents who will spend several hundred dollars to buy their daughter a bat, then several hundred more on another one in case the first one breaks, are often the ones who decide to save money by purchasing a cheap chair for themselves. Don’t do it.
A good quality chair that provides adequate space and good support, plus a strong cupholder or two, is worth every penny.
You’re probably going to spend more time at a field than at home on softball weekends. Be sure you have comfy chair to do it in.
For skills training, hire a coach
I’m not just saying that because I am one. It really does make a difference.
Not necessarily on the basis of knowledge either. You may have a lot of personal expertise and be fully capable of training your daughter yourself
But the parent/daughter dynamic is a tricky one. I have seen it in action often.
For example, you might tell your daughter to do things the same way that I tell her. When she hears you say it, though, she hears her father or mother criticizing her and shuts down.
When I tell her, she’s all about whatever I said – because I’m her coach, not her parent. And if she isn’t interested in it, you can just walk away from the lessons. Not so if she’s going home with you.
I have trained and continue to train the daughters of people who work with other people’s kid on hitting, pitching, catching, etc. They find it a relief to just sit on the bucket instead of having every session turn into a battle of wills.
Besides, there’s always the practice sessions between lessons where they can interject. But they can say “remember what Coach Ken said” to soften the blow.
The bag is full
Hopefully I covered some topics that you’re interested in or always wondered about. If you have other experience-based knowledge to share, or want to suggest a future topic to cover in another grab bag article, leave it below in the comments.
Grab bag photo by Angela Roma on Pexels.
Life in the Fastpitch Lane 