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.

Sibling rivalry can be an interesting think. A few weeks ago I wrote about Chrissy Chamberlain setting the RBI record at the University of Dubuque. She was also named the team’s most valuable pitcher in a season where she originally wasn’t expected to pitch at all.

Well, not to be outdone I found out her sister Mary (who is also a student of mine) was recently named to both the all-conference and all-academic teams for the Fox Valley Conference in Illinois. She was also named her team’s most valuable player for the second year in a row.

With all those honors you would expect to find Mary to be some 6’2″ stud just dripping with athleticism. In truth, though, Mary is closer to 5’2″ or 5’3″. To look at her just standing around you wouldn’t think “this is the team’s MVP.” She doesn’t have that build. But what Mary has going for her is an exceptional work ethic and as much mental toughness as you will ever find. (She’s obviously smart, too.)

Mary doesn’t have overpowering speed, but she can make a ball move all over the place. More importantly, she knows how to set up a hitter to keep her from getting comfortable. That ability has served her well over the past few years, and will continue to next year playing for Blackburn College.

So congratulations, Mary. She’s yet one more great example of how being successful isn’t just about talent. It’s about desire and love of the game. A strong will can lead you to great heights.

Yesterday I heard from another former player who achieved some post-season honors. Her name is Lindsay Meverden, and she’s a sophomore at Lakes Community High School. She told me that she was named a North Suburban Conference all-conference honorable mention.

What’s cool about this (to me) is she then asked me what that meant. So many players these days are focused on their personal accolades and achievements instead of team goals. It’s nice to see one who is simply playing her heart out for the love of the game.

There’s also another bit of inspiration here. At the beginning of the season Lindsay was pretty much a bench player — a backup catcher in her first year on varsity. She was struggling a bit at the plate too. But we got together and worked on getting her hitting back on track. I told her if she could hit that the coaches would find a place on the field for her.

Sure enough, she started hitting, and then she started playing more. She was eventually installed at first base, learned the position (she hadn’t played there since 10U ball) and now has received some post season honors.

Once again it points out that it doesn’t matter where you start the race, only where you finish it. Work hard, persevere and good things will happen.

Congratulations, Lindsay. You’ve earned it.

We’ve all been on (or coached) teams that have had one or two players who were just flat-out better than everyone else. They were more athletic, better-skilled, more driven, more whatever than everyone.

It would seem like those teams would have a natural advantage over those that don’t have any superstars or standouts. They should be the X Factor that drives the team to success. Yet more often than not those teams never quite seem to reach their potential and everyone is left scratching their heads wondering why. Except, of course, the dad or mom of the superstar(s) who just figure the problem is that everyone else isn’t good enough to play with their daughter. 

Yet to really understand what causes it, think about competitive rowers. Let’s say you have eight people rowing in the boat, and one of them is clearly better than all the others. If they all row in synch, that star rower will provide an advantage to the team.

But what if he isn’t rowing in synch with the others, because he’s capable of maintaining a faster pace than they can and he wants to row to the best of his own abilities, with no concern for everyone else? At that point the superstar is working against the efforts of everyone else, and the boat will actually go slower as a result.

Now imagine two superstars in that boat. They’re both rowing together with each other, but against everyone else. The boat goes slower still.

In order to maximize a team’s performance, everyone has to be working together for a common goal. It doesn’t matter if you/your daughter is a better player than the others. The minute she starts to think so, and sets herself apart from the team or works against the team’s efforts, the team will never perform up to its capabilities.

The truth is a true superstar makes everyone around her better. If she isn’t doing that she’s not a superstar, just a skilled player. And part of making everyone around her better is picking up others when they’re down, offering encouragement and standing up for their teammates if anyone gets on them. At that point, the sky’s the limit for the team.

Last thing to keep in mind is Michael Jordan was in the NBA for several years before he won his first title. He was a standout player for sure, and everyone marvelled at how great he was. He was a difference-maker on the court. But he didn’t become a champion until he became a true part of a team, willing to give up the big shot to someone else in order to move the team’s goals forward. Today, he has six rings to prove the wisdom of that concept.