Saw a reference to this blog post show up in my Twitter feed today, courtesy of @jbmthinks, and just had to pass it along even though it’s not directly about fastpitch softball. It tells the tale of Olympic skiier Edie Thys Morgan and how she ultimately learned more from losing than winning — and how losing made her a champion.

Yes, no doubt as a parent it’s hard to watch your child lose, especially if it seems to be turning into a habit. I’ve certainly been there. We all want our own kids and our players to win and experience success. Yet if they’re constantly the big fish in the small pond, sooner or later there will be a day of reckoning when they run up against other big fish who are better-prepared.

We’ve certainly all seen those tales of woe. A kid who was always the big gun (and therefore didn’t have to work at it) gets passed by one who may not be as athletically gifted but has a better work ethic. It can be a real shocker for that player who is used to winning.

The same goes for teams that play in tournaments or leagues that don’t challenge them so they can brag about how many trophies they won. We’ve all known them as well. If you’re going to get better you have to challenge yourself, even if it means going home early on Sunday now and then. Because again, sooner or later you’ll have to face that level of competition and it could be a real shocker if you haven’t truly paid your dues.

In any case, check out the article. I think you’ll find it really strikes a chord.

Still having problems with spam, but I think I’ve figured out a strategy to make it manageable. Not going to share it here lest the spammers use it to their advantage, but I’m going to give it a try.

The good news is comments have now been reopened. So as soon as I post something worth commenting on, give it a try. I’d love to see less lecturing and more discussions!

Ken

Sorry to say this, but lately Life in the Fastpitch Lane has been getting inundated with spam comments. Rather than continue to delete them manually — which has gotten very time-consuming — I have chosen to shut down comments for the time being in the hopes that the spammers will move on to someone else.

I will try reopening comments in a week or two. Sorry for the inconvenience. I always appreciate your legitimate comments!

The season is now over for the team I coached this year. That’s just hard to believe. We worked so hard for so long — going all the way back to September, 2010 — and now it’s over.

One of the things that’s fairly unique about the program I coach in is that coaches generally don’t stay with their teams. They remain at a particular level, and players get passed along from coach to coach.

That’s good in some ways — it gives the players exposure to different coaches and different coaching styles, helping them become more well-rounded. At the same time, though, it’s also kind of sad. Players you’ve spent a year or two getting to know move on, and you’re left to start all over again.

It seems like just yesterday we were getting going on our first tournament. Now we’re done. It’s particularly sad because we spent so much time on team building, and our girls got along so well.

I will miss them all. But that’s life, I suppose. All I can hope is that they enjoyed themselves during the season, will take away great memories, and that they learned a little something about playing softball along the way.

One of the things that makes fastpitch softball so difficult is that it is not the type of sport where you can hit a groove very often. Because of the design of the game, your tempo or pace may not match up with the tempo or pace of your opponents. When that happens, you either have to make adjustments or you’ll lose the little matchups that make up the game.

Hitters versus pitchers is an obvious one. Nearly every hitter has a pitch speed they really like to hit. If the ball comes in at that speed, it’s like batting practice to her. She can even handle +/- two mph. But go outside that comfort zone and the hitter has two choices — adjust or struggle.

Or take catchers and baserunners. A catcher’s pop time — the time from when the pitch hits her glove to when it hits the person covering the base’s glove — will usually be pretty consistent. But if the opposing baserunners have more speed than she’s used to, or is getting a little extra jump, what normally works may not work anymore.

In these and other situations players can react a couple of ways. They can get mad at the opponent and make excuses — I can’t hit slow pitching, the runner is leaving early, the umpire is making bad calls — or she can make adjustments. In other words, she can change what she’s doing to match what’s being dictated by the opponents.

Take that hitting example. She can time her swing like she always does and be ahead of the ball on a slow pitcher, then complain the pitcher is too slow. Or she can figure out when she needs to move and swing to deliver full batspeed into the ball.

In the case of the catcher, she has to know that she needs to pop up a little quicker, and perhaps get rid of the ball a little quicker than usual if she’s going to have a shot at getting the runner. It may not be what’s comfortable for her, but it’s what’s necessary.

What it comes down to is what you can and can’t control. You can’t control the speed of the opposing pitcher. I’ve never met a pitcher yet who didn’t want to throw faster, so if the pitcher could throw harder she would. That being the case, you can adjust what you’re doing, because you can control that. Just work up your determination, get out of your comfort zone, and do what needs to be done in the situation.

Losers make excuses — winners make adjustments. Remember that and you’ll have a lot more softball success.