Author Archive

If you’ve read any of my former posts you probably realize by now that my writing is meant to encourage athletes, coaches and parents alike. I try to string together words that perhaps you have read before, in a way that makes them sound fresh. Recently one of my batting students made me realize how cliché some of our sayings can be at times and yet how critically vital they are to continue to repeat.

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As I’m sure you have figured out by now if you know me, I love quotes. I just absolutely love quotes. Whether they are about chasing dreams, building confidence, working hard anything that I can use to inspire me. So I love watching some of the all time classic sports coaching movies. The ones where at just the right time emotionally the well respected old coach delivers the perfect motivational saying. The one that rallies the troops to come back from an insurmountable score, the one that sticks with you the rest of your life and you just wait for the right time to share it with others and pass it on.

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I figured with Valentine’s Day fast approaching it would be a great time to ask a rather poignant question … “Are you a Diamond?” continue

This is the time of the year when many people feel the need to write down their “New Year’s Resolutions.” This tradition of becoming introspective and looking forward to a “better life” dates all the way back to 153 BC when the mythical king of early Rome, Janus, was placed at the head of the calendar. Janus had two faces and could look back on past events, while also looking forward to the future. Webster’s defines the word resolution as “a formal expression of opinion, will, or intent.” Which sounds really good, but let me share why I don’t think that will really work.

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One of the hardest things in this game is knowing as a coach where the line is between a player being hurt and a player being injured. The longer I’m around this game, and the more amazing young ladies I watch the harder it is for me to know the difference between her needing to come out of the game, and her being able to push forward. Just when I think I know the level to which they can ignore the pain, another player comes along and demonstrates to me that I still underestimate the ability for heart to go further in overcoming the pain that I had previously seen. This past weekend I watched one of the players that I work with frequently do something that raised my expectations of just how tough a player can really be even further.

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I love teaching girls how to sacrifice bunt. I mean I LOVE it. Partly because of the importance in the game, but more importantly because sacrifice is such an important part of life. Which is why it absolutely breaks my heart that in this game I love I see so much incredible sacrifice from parents, and so little from the players.

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Preparing yourself for the recruitment process is serious business. As you begin you need to realistically look at the numbers you are going to be dealing with. I’m not sharing the numbers so that you freak out and give up. I’m sharing them to help you understand just how hard you need to work this process.

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As you begin the recruiting process you do have something in common with each and every coach your write to. You both want to ensure that it is a win-win situation. They need to know you are right for the program, but it is your job to find out if the program is a right fit for you. This is the area where most players fail. They are so worried about selling themselves, that they forget to hit pause, and find out if the program is really going to be a good fit for them.

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Once you have created a profile the next step in the recruiting process is to put that profile into college coaches hands. Many girls often ask “How many schools should I write to?” I wish there was a numerical answer, but in fact there are really two lines of thought:

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You are dreaming of playing softball in college, but where do you begin? The very first step you need to do is create a Player Profile.

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