Category Archives: General Thoughts
Taking personal responsibility for your playing time
Truthfully, these players gave 100% all the time. I just needed a shot of players on the bench!
My friend Tim Boivin sent this article to me a couple of weeks ago. Tim’s been around the block as a youth leader with the Boy Scouts, and as a soccer coach. He even coached a recent Winter Olympian (although not in the sport for which he went to the Olympics, however).
The article addresses a topic that is a concern to many players and parents these days – playing time. Or perhaps more accurately a lack of playing time and how to deal with it.
In today’s world the typical reaction to a lack of playing time is to complain to your parents (if you’re a player), other parents (if you’re a parent), eventually the coach, and anyone else who will listen. It can become pretty toxic pretty fast.
Now, there are some legitimate cases where playing time decisions are based more on who the coach likes, or who raised the most sponsor money, or whose parents are on the Board, or which players babysit the coach’s kids for free, or other factors like that. In those instances, the complaints are justified.
But as the article points out, there is another common cause – the amount of effort the player puts in to improve her skills, both during practice and on her own. As the old saying goes, you can’t control the outcome but you can control your effort.
The easiest thing to do is complain when things aren’t going your way. Especially if you’re used to having everything handed to you.
If you’re not getting playing time, however, the first place you should look is in the mirror.
Do you hustle in practice – really, truly hustle, running from station to station and giving 100% in every drill and activity? Or do you try to skate through practice breaking as little of sweat as possible?
Coaches make a lot of their game day decisions before the actual game day. Good coaches look at who wants it, and who is willing to run through a wall to get it. Especially at the upper levels.
Often the difference in skills isn’t that great, so what coaches are looking for are competitors. They want players on the field who won’t quit no matter the circumstances, who will dive for balls or look to take the extra base or even take a pitch in the backside if it will help their team win the game.
Another thing to look at is the type of teammate you are. Are you supportive of others, or do you sulk if things aren’t going your way no matter how the rest of the team is doing? Team chemistry is critical, so those who create positive chemistry are going to tend to be given preference over those who don’t.
The good news is all of this is controllable. There are really only two things you can control – yourself, and how you react to everything you can’t control.
Did you strike out or make an error? Suck it up Buttercup and do better next time. Did the umpire call ball four when she clearly should have said strike three? Shake it off and get the next hitter.
Is the air cold or the ground wet? Increase your focus on the task at hand and you won’t be bothered by it. Having a bad day off the field? Don’t let it affect your performance on the field.
The more you take command of yourself and give maximum effort, the more likely you are to find yourself on the field.
At the very young levels, the goal should be equal playing time to help players find their love for the game. But along the way – often around 14U – that starts to change, and it becomes about performing.
If you want to get on the field, give your coach a reason (or multiple reasons) to put you on the field. And keep you there.
Next week I’ll share an example of a college player who has done just that – to the benefit of both herself and her team.
Softball tryouts – hitting off the pitching machine
In my last post, I offered up some general tips for a successful tryout. While it was aimed at high school softball tryouts, the truth is those tips apply to all types of tryouts – and most to more than just fastpitch softball.
Included in the post was a brief mention about getting used to hitting off a pitching machine if that’s what will be used during your tryouts. This is an issue a lot of players face.
They will crush it against front toss and even live pitching. But stand them up in front of a machine and they struggle.
So for all of you who are in that boat, or know someone who is, I’m reprising this video blog to help you make sure you’re ready when it’s time to show your stuff. Follow these tips and you should have much greater success in showing what you can really do.
6 Tips for a More Successful Softball Tryout
For most of the fastpitch players in the country, the end of February means one thing – high school team tryouts. Whether you consider high school ball the pinnacle of your year or merely something to do until travel ball season starts, it’s an opportunity to show your school spirit and make a contribution to community pride. But before you get there, you first have to make the team.
The best way to assure your spot, of course, is to choose your parents wisely and be born dripping with talent. High school pitchers who throw 65 mph, hitters who can crush a softball 250 feet, and shortstops who can go into the hole, turn and fire for the out, generally don’t have much to sweat.
Neither do those who have older sisters who could do those things. Every high school has its legendary family, and the assumption is the gene pool runs deep enough to cover everybody, whether it really does or not.
But if you’re in the other 99 percent of the players out there, it’s important to make the best impression you can during tryouts. (Hopefully, the legend’s sister doesn’t play your position. That’s often tougher to overcome than actual talent.)
Remember that the amount of time the coach sees you follows a simple formula: your time = the total amount of time for tryouts ÷ the number of players trying out. In other words, if tryouts take a total of six hours and there are 60 girls trying out, you have six minutes to get noticed. Here’s how you can use that time wisely.
- Hustle, hustle, hustle. There’s no substitute for it, and it’s one of the key factors coaches look for. Desire is an important attribute coaches look for in prospective players, and hustle is a great indicator of desire. Hustle is also an indicator of coachability. With hustle and at least one strength, most coaches will figure a player can possibly be developed into a good or great softball player. When you’re moving from station to station during tryouts, don’t walk. Run. If you’re fielding ground balls, don’t go through the motions – act like the state championship is on the line, and dive if you have the opportunity. The more effort and enthusiasm you show, the better your chance of tipping the scales in your favor.
- Be friendly. In her book Coaching Fastpitch Softball Successfully, one of Kathy Veroni’s “unwritten rules” is to say hello to the coach. That’s great advice for tryouts too. It shows confidence, and helps you stand out immediately. Remember, it’s a long season, and there are a lot of bus rides ahead. Having people around he or she likes makes the rides go faster.
- Make sure you’re in good shape. It’s likely the coach will put you through conditioning drills. My friend Bob Dirkes, a former scholarship nose guard at Northwestern University, says you never want to show you’re tired during conditioning drills. Being in good shape will make that happen. Being in shape also shows a level of commitment that might tip the scales between you and a comparable player. It’s like that old deodorant commercial said– never let ‘em see you sweat.
- Be fundamentally sound. If you have a few weeks before tryouts, get in the gym now and work your fundamentals. Catch with two hands – every time. (Unless you are a catcher or a position player reaching for a ball.) Look the ball into the glove – every time. Get on the batting tee and make sure you’re using a good hips-shoulders-bat sequence. If you mess up a chance or two but show good fundamentals, you’ll still look solid. If you make the plays but your technique is poor, you’ll look chancy. Chris Simenson, a former HS coach in Iowa, says, “The game is still a matter of learning fundamentals and execution. A player willing to practice and learn will advance beyond a talented athlete who does not.” Coaches want players they can count on game after game to make the plays they should make. Show you’re one of them.
- Show all your skills. If you have something special, don’t assume the coach knows it – and don’t wait until the coach asks, because he or she probably won’t. If you’re in the batting cage and you’re a slapper, be sure you show it. Just about every knowledgeable coach wants a slapper or two in the lineup. If you’re a pitcher, don’t just throw fastballs. At the minimum, show your change. If the coach goes to the catcher’s end and you have pitches that move (drop, curve, rise, screwball), be sure to throw them. You just added a dimension to the coach’s game plan.
- Practice under the conditions you’ll use in tryouts. If you’ll be hitting off a pitching machine, you’d best start practicing hitting off of one, even if you don’t particularly like it. If you can, use the same type of machine, and find out how fast they set it. If you will be indoors, try practicing fielding on a similar type of surface. The ball bounces differently on a wood gym floor v. a tile gym floor v. a concrete surface v. a turf surface v. an actual field. If you don’t know, ask if they use actual softballs or the rubbery ones. Pitchers should try to find out what types of balls the team uses, because different balls feel different and you’ll need to be comfortable with the balls you’re throwing. Even the lighting conditions can make a difference. The more you get the feel for what the tryouts will be like, the better you’re likely to perform.
The last piece of advice is to relax and just show your stuff. Don’t think of it as being judged – think of it as your time to shine!
Remember, softball is a game, and games are supposed to be fun. Approach it that way, and you’ll be successful. Good luck!
Just Like Novacaine
One of my favorite lines in the movie “Remember the Titans” is the one where Coach Boone (Denzel Washington) is describing his offense. “I run six plays, split veer” he says, “It’s like Novacaine. Just give it time, it always works.”
Here’s the actual scene, just for fun.
That’s the way it is when you’re working on developing good fastpitch softball mechanics.
Sometimes it may not seem like you’re headed in the right direction. It’s rarely an instant fix – nice as that would be.
But if you’ve done your homework and know you’re trying to learn the mechanics top players use, there’s no need to panic. Give it sufficient time and it will work.
That’s often a problem for players, parents, and even coaches these days, however. They don’t want to give it time. They want it to work now.
One of the challenges, of course, is that they usually need those skills right away. There isn’t much of an off-season these days, even up in the frozen north, so it seems like there’s always a game coming up.
It could take weeks or months before a player is comfortable with new mechanics after a significant change, and can execute them without thinking (or over-thinking) about them. In the meantime, she’ll have some success and some failure.
Pitchers will struggle with control and consistency. Hitters will miss balls they might have otherwise hit. Catchers will drop a ball or two when trying to throw a runner out on a steal, fielders will overthrow bases, and so on. It can be frustrating, and everyone will wonder if maybe the player wasn’t better off before.
But again, if she’s learning the right mechanics the answer is yes. Once she locks them in, she’ll be a far better player than she was before.
So keep that in mind. Learning new things takes time. But if you’re learning the right things, there’s no doubt about it. It always works. Just like Novacaine.
Great story about character
For me, one of the best parts about coaching fastpitch softball is the opportunity to meet (and work with) so many girls I would have never otherwise known. Today I’d like to share one of those stories since I think we could all use some good news right about now.
It’s about a wonderful young lady named Emma Borrelli. Emma is an 8th grader, and just one of the nicest and most upbeat people you’ll ever want to meet. I work with her on both pitching and hitting, and it’s always fun because I can say the meanest, most insulting things to her to make a point (all in jest) and she just smiles or laughs. She’s also one of the hardest-working girls I’ve ever worked with.
Anyway, her dad Mike forward an email that her homeroom teacher sent to him a few weeks back telling a kind of “under the radar” story that describes her character perfectly.
It seems that in her homeroom class there is a boy with special needs. Every day, on her own, she helps the boy at his locker, walks him to his homeroom, and says goodbye to him after homeroom.
No one asked her to do it. She’s not doing it to try to win an award or add something to player resume. She just does it because she is a good person. Or maybe there’s just something in the name Emma.
What makes this so interesting is that Emma is not an outcast or a fringe kid. From what I understand she is pretty popular in the school, with a large circle of friends. She could easily walk right past this boy and no one would think twice about it.
Yet she passes on hanging out with them before school to be with this boy instead, which her teacher says makes his day.
Sometimes us older folks shake our heads at the younger generation and wonder what’s going to happen when the world is in their hands. Based on what I see and hear about Emma, as well as so many others, the world is going to be just fine. Maybe even better.
Thanks for hanging out
Just wanted to take a moment here before the end of the year to thank everyone who has chosen to be a part of the Life in the Fastpitch Lane community this year.
Whether you’ve been around awhile or have just come across this blog recently, I truly appreciate your interest in hearing what I have to say. Hopefully you’ve found the posts to be helpful, informative, and entertaining.
A special thank you goes to those of you who have made the effort to subscribe so you don’t miss any posts. For those who aren’t aware, you can enter your email in the above left box to receive an email notification every time a new post goes up.
I don’t have anything to sell, so you don’t have to worry about adding to the metric ton of spam you receive each month. All you get is an alert when a new post goes up. Also, I will never, ever sell your email address to anyone.
Also a special thank you to those of you who commented on various posts throughout the year. Always love to hear the feedback, and to hear your stories.
Finally, I want to thank those of you who share these blog posts with your social media contacts, friends, teams, and programs. I appreciate you going out of your way to help Life in the Fastpitch Lane reach a wider audience than it could on its own. Please keep sharing content you find valuable so it can helps others.
The changeover in the calendar means the new season is coming fast. College teams will start practicing soon, and high school tryouts for spring softball will be here before you know it. Same with rec league tryouts.
Travel teams have been practicing all winter, of course, but despite the arctic chill right now in much of the country it won’t be that long until those teams are hitting the field too.
Whatever level captures your interest, I hope 2018 is the best year ever for your favorite player(s). I’ll do my best to help you make that happen by providing you with (hopefully) valuable information and inspirational stories.
And if there’s a topic you’d like to see covered this year, definitely be sure to let me know in the comments below.
Have a happy and successful 2018!
NOTE: This post was edited on 12/29/17 to add a thank you to those who share the content with others.
Image by Ashashyou (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons
Why I’m ok with participation trophies
Thought that might get your attention! Although it is a topic that seems to get a lot of attention these days – most of it bad.
It’s not unusual to see people disparaging participation trophies online. They blame participation trophies for kids being soft, whiny, and lacking in effort. The term “snowflake” is often used in connection with participation trophies, and they don’t mean it in a nice “White Christmas” or “let’s go skiing” sort of way.
From what I’ve seen, the people who complain the loudest about participation trophies tend to fall into two categories. One is the “Internet tough guy” who likes to voice his/her opinion on what’s wrong with everyone else.
Usually they’re not actually talking about sports, but more about how entire groups of people (Millennials, Liberals, Millennial Liberals, etc.) just don’t measure up to how wonderful they think they were/are.
The second, more sports-specific group, is parents whose kids are great athletes and would accumulate a bedroom full of trophies no matter what. They seem to think that giving a trophy to a kid who tried hard but maybe hasn’t quite found her coordination somehow takes away from the awesomeness of their own daughters. After all, what’s the good of getting a trophy if you can’t use it to show your friends, family, and neighbors how much better your kid is than theirs?
I am of the mind that it’s okay to give kids participation trophies at younger ages – maybe up to 10 or so in rec ball. As I see it, it’s the Tony Soprano model. You want to give the kids a taste of getting trophies so they learn they want them. Then once they’ve acquired a taste for them you take away the freebies so they have to “pay” for them.
A kid who has never had a trophy may not believe it’s within her reach. But if she had them before, and now the conditions change, she’s more likely (in my opinion and experience) to want to do what she needs to get another one.
It’s also a good way to encourage kids to stay with a sport, especially in the early stages. Outright winning a trophy may not be within the realm of possibility for a young player, or a group of young players, whose athletic skills are developing a little slower than others their age.
Getting a trophy at the end of the year might be enough to encourage them to hang in there a little longer. We’ve all seen kids who were weak in their early years blossom later. But to do that they still have to be playing when they’re ready to blossom.
Giving everyone a trophy also removes a lot of the risk of the crazy parent/coaches who take a “win at all costs” approach to coaching young kids just to get that plastic trophy at the end. Anyone who has been around the sport of fastpitch softball (or pretty much any other sport for that matter) knows a lot of the craziest coaches and parents are found at the youngest ages. If the goal is to keep kids participating, removing the need to trophy hunt helps address that goal.
Now, I know what people say. If you give everyone a trophy the kids don’t learn how to compete. Funny thing is, I’ve heard plenty of college coaches talk about how showcase tournaments also seem to be hurting players’ ability to compete, yet it seems like there are more and more of them every year.
Fastpitch softball used to be about getting better so you could win this weekend’s tournament, or the league championship, or whatever. Now it seems to be more about getting the almighty scholarship. So the “not learning to be competitive” argument doesn’t really hold water.
Of course, as I mentioned earlier, at some point the “free ride” needs to end. By the time kids are 11 or 12, they all should have matured enough to understand that now if you want to get a trophy you need to work for it. If you’re playing travel ball – not just a team that “travels” but one that is looking to be competitive – the cutoff is probably more like 9 or 10.
But up until that time, what’s so bad about making kids feel good about themselves? Give them a taste of success and maybe they’ll develop an appetite for it.
What fastpitch softball coaches can learn from HGTV shows
As a fastpitch softball coach , when you’re looking for ways to improve your players, it’s likely you think of DVDs, YouTube videos, books, and sites like the Discuss Fastpitch Forum as your go-to resources. Yet there is another, kind of out-of-the-box option that might help you from a philosophical point of view: HGTV.
No, they haven’t suddenly started running fastpitch softball content there, although that would be nice. But what they do a lot of is shows such as Fixer Upper and Flip or Flop Atlanta that take an older, cramped-looking, out-of-date house and turn it into an amazing showplace home with giant, airy rooms, lots of sunlight and picture-perfect furnishings.
Of course any of you with kids (or who are players who are part of a family) know that about 10 minutes after the cameras leave the new owners are going to crap it up with all kinds of stuff that doesn’t fit the decorating theme laying everywhere. But for those few brief, shining moments it’s practically a palace.
What’s fun about those shows is seeing how they do it. Sometimes the house they finally pick (usually from two or three options) is just old and outdated. It has gold or avocado appliances, yellowing linoleum floors, a bunch of small rooms, a tiny kitchen, etc. Every now and then, though, they get the big challenge – a house where there is actual garbage (or worse) in every room, the siding is missing, the shingles are coming off, the ceiling is falling apart, and there are holes in the walls.
Whatever the current state of the house, that’s what they work with. Just like a fastpitch softball coach getting a player.
The first step, of course, is evaluating what needs to be done to get the house to its ultimate state. Sometimes that just means some tweaks here or there, such as tearing out a wall or two, adding a fresh coat of paint, and updating cabinets and fixtures in the kitchen and bathrooms. Of course, even their “tweaks” cost tens of thousands of dollars.
Other times, however, the only solution is to tear the house down to the studs and foundation, inside and out, and start over.
That’s what fastpitch softball coaches face too. Sometimes a player comes in with a pretty good swing, or decent throwing technique, or a good pitching motion, etc. and just needs a few tweaks to up their game.
Other times, it doesn’t take long to see that a swing looks like an unmade bed (unorganized, no particular sequence or purpose to the movements). Or the throwing technique makes you wonder how they get the ball anywhere at all. Or the pitching motion was learned at the bowling alley.
In cases like that, it’s not time to be shy. You just have to tear it down to the studs and start over.
Of course, just like on HGTV you first have to get buy-in from the owner – in this case from the player. On the house programs, they draw up plans on the computer and show the owners what they plan to do. As a coach you can also use a computer to show examples of high-level players to demonstrate the swing/technique/motion you’re going for.
But you need to go beyond that as well. You need to paint the picture for them in their minds about what their softball life will be like once they make the fix. You also need to explain it’s not something they can master in a week or two.
The HGTV shows are compressed to fit into an hour, but really they’re like a Rocky training montage. A lot of people put in a lot of work to make the changes happen.
In the case of fastpitch softball players, only one person can really put in the work – the player. Can’t subcontract out drills or practice and expect any improvements to be made. Which is another reason the player needs to be on-board.
The climax of the HGTV shows is the Big Reveal – the point where they walk the owners through their new, way better than before home. Many happy tears are shed and high fives exchanged.
The Big Reveal for players is when they finally get back on the field, and suddenly things that were difficult or nerve-wracking become easy and relaxed. Hitters go to the plate with confidence, knowing they can take the pitcher deep. Fielders can make quick, sharp plays and throws because they’re not worried about whether they’ll catch it or where the ball will go. Pitchers can focus on dominating hitters rather than wondering where the ball will go or if it will do what it’s supposed to do.
Take your cue from HGTV. Figure out what your players need to make them showplace-worthy (or showcase-worthy I suppose) and put your plan together from there. If you do have to take one down to the studs, be kind. It will be worth it in the end.
Photo credit: chumlee10 via Foter.com / CC BY-SA
Infographic: the cost (and value) of athletic participation
Ohio University has come out with a new infographic that looks at the cost as well as the ROI of playing high school sports, including fastpitch softball. It’s a great read for those of you who wonder sometimes is it all worth it. You can see the full infographic and their analysis here.
As an educational institution, most of their focus is on school sports. Anyone involved in travel softball will find their costs of participation, um, rather low, because they only account for a small fee to the school and the equipment. Still, the point is valid.
What I found most interesting was the information toward the bottom where they get into the ROI. According to the infographic, former student athletes earn significantly higher salaries than non-athletes by age 30. So even if playing ball doesn’t result in that big college scholarship, there may be additional payoffs down the road.
For high school athletes, it says that they are twice as likely to go on to college as those who don’t play sports. Interesting given the stereotype of the “dumb jock,” or the movie trope about the star high school quarterback who ends up as a loser in a dead-end job. (Perhaps that’s just wishful thinking on the part of the kids in theater arts.)
There are some other worthwhile stats there too, although I don’t see any attribution so not sure whether this is empirical data or just what people report.
I’ve certainly seen first-hand how having participated in sports has helped young athletes in other careers. From time to time, one of my players, former players, or former students will ask me to write a letter of recommendation for them, which I am always happy to do. I remember one case in particular.
A brilliant young lady named Kathleen was going for a prestigious medical research internship, I believe at Boston General, while she was an undergrad at a top school on the East Coast. She asked me to write her a letter of recommendation.
I couldn’t speak to her academics (although they pretty much spoke for themselves), but I did speak to her character as a player, especially around persistence and giving 100% all the time. I also brought up that she sacrificed her chance to be class valedictorian in high school so she could take a gym class, which I found admirable and a great demonstration of her doing what was best for her rather than seeking outside recognition.
She got the internship, and later her mom told me that my letter had been one of the key points. The judging committee said they see a lot of very smart students, but they favor athletes because they know how to work in a team setting, understand how to overcome adversity, and don’t get discouraged easily; they just put their heads down and keep working.
That’s a pretty good case study of what athletics can do you for long after your sports career is done. Kathleen now works doing research at the National Institutes of Health, and has even had her name on a published paper or two. Perhaps someday she will make a discovery that improves the health or saves the life of someone reading this blog today, or someone they know. Her spending her summers on diamonds around the area will have been a contributing factor.
There’s plenty of great information in the infographic. Definitely give it a look if you have time. And if you have thoughts about the information, be sure to leave them in the comments below!
Empty repetitions are like empty calories
One of the most common questions I get from the parents of fastpitch softball pitchers is “How many pitches should my daughter throw per day?” Sometimes they’re worried that throw too much, but most of the time it’s that they don’t throw enough.
I know they’re looking for a hard and fast number, like 100, but it’s actually a tough question to give a blanket answer to. Here’s why.
If I tell them 100, or 200, or 50, then someone is probably going to start counting the pitches. The goal then becomes getting to the target number when the goal should be to improve with every pitch. That’s just human nature.
The problem is empty repetitions, where you’re just throwing to hit the number, are like eating empty calories. It might feel good at the time, but you’re really not helping yourself.
In fact, in the long run you may be hurting yourself. Just as you are what you eat, you also are what you practice. If you practice the wrong mechanics simply because you’re trying to hit that count of 100 pitches, you’re locking down a way of throwing that will make you worse, or at least keep you in the same place, rather than making you better.
I know this from personal experience. When I was a young lad, I took piano lessons. The requirement was I had to practice for a half hour a day. Well, a lot of times I wanted to be outside with my friends instead of sitting at our crappy old piano that had some broken keys, playing exercises and songs I didn’t care about. So I put in the required half hour (and not a minute more) without really accomplishing much of anything.
If you’re hungry and have a candy bar, you’ve staved off the hunger for a bit. But you haven’t nourished your body. You’re not making it healthier; you’re just making yourself fatter and more prone to whatever illness is going around. If your goal is to be strong and healthy, you need to eat foods that will help you accomplish that goal. Which means thinking before you eat.
The same is true of practicing. At each practice session you should have a goal. Maybe you need to fix your arm circle, or improve your leg drive, or gain control of your change-up. There’s always something to work on.
Knowing what your goal is, you should work toward that. It may come in 20 pitches. It may come in 1,000 pitches spread across a period of days. Whatever it takes, you should focus on what you need to do to reach your goal rather than how many pitches you’ve thrown that day.
It’s a much more efficient way to practice. In fact, I’d rather see a player throw 20 mindful pitches, or spend 10 mindful minutes working on something, than just “putting in the time” like a prisoner in the Big House.
This idea doesn’t just apply to pitching, by the way. It is the same for hitting, throwing, base running, position play, and so forth. Empty repetitions gain you nothing. In fact, the mindset that makes them empty will also tend to make them less than great, helping you get worse instead of better.
Instead, go for the substance. Nurture your game with focused practice and you’ll reach your goals more quickly – and with greater ease.
