There is a proverb (or an anecdote, or a story, I’m not sure which) about a Native American medicine man who was particularly renowned for his ability to overcome droughts by performing a rain dance.

One day he decides to retire and so takes on an apprentice to whom he can teach all his secrets. He shows the younger man a whole variety of treatments and such, but of course the younger man is particularly interested in learning the skill for which the medicine man is most famous.

Finally, the younger man just flat-out asks him, “Teacher, what is your secret for being so successful in performing the rain dance?” The medicine man gives him a sideways look, then says, “It’s simple: you have to keep dancing until it rains.”

This is the aspect many young softball players (and their parents) miss when it comes to improving their games. All too often they are looking for that quick fix – do a one-day clinic, take a handful of lessons, stay after practice for an hour one day, etc. and then they’ll be great.

It would be nice, and for an ultra-gifted athlete that may be all they need. But for the overwhelming majority improvement isn’t going to come that fast.

Instead it will happen in small, often unnoticeable increments that add up over time. If the player (and her parents) are willing to keep chipping away at it, they will see the results. Mostly because they kept working until the results showed up.

Take a story I heard the other day. The father of a couple of my students who is also a head coach was telling me about another girl I work with on his team.

When I first got her she struggled with hitting. A lot of strikeouts, and when she did hit the ball it was usually an easy ground ball or pop-up in the infield.

We worked at it and she got better, but it wasn’t exactly a straight line. If she was away from lessons for a few weeks due to being a multi-sport athlete who had other commitments we’d see a lot of backsliding and often have to start all over again.

When that happened I could see the sadness in her face. She was frustrated with the results, and probably frustrated with me that I was telling her she had to go backwards and re-learn how to hit.

Honestly, I thought I was going to lose her at least a couple of times. But she kept dancing.

Fast forward to the other night. The coach told me this girl was raking the ball in practice. I wasn’t surprised because she’d been doing that lately in our lessons too.

The key difference, though, was that although she had taken a few weeks off again, when she came back we were no longer going back over the basics. She had locked them in so all I was left to do was make little tweaks here and there to help her elevate her hitting to a level above where she’d been in the past.

If you looked at her swing now you’d probably think, “Wow, what a natural.” She is smooth and powerful (despite still having what I would call a slight build) and she is bringing the bat with authority. And she’s able to hit the ball hard in multiple zones, not just when it’s thrown down the middle.

None of that would be happening now if she had just given up when things got discouraging, i.e., when the swing mechanics reverted to her old ways. Instead, she kept working at it not just until she could do it right but until she couldn’t do it wrong. And boy is she having fun at the plate now.

Of course, not all roads lead to success. If you’re a parent, coach, or parent/coach you still have to do your due diligence to see if what your daughter is being taught lines up with what you see the majority of high-level players doing – whether that’s hitting, pitching, throwing, or some other skill.

If, however, you are sure of the mechanics or techniques, then keep working at them. Persistence pays off, and eventually it will rain.

Otherwise you may find yourself like the person who invented 6UP, wishing you would have hung in there just a little bit longer.

Rain photo by Aleksandar Pasaric on Pexels.com