Northwestern Wildcats Softball: Player Tip of the Month
MARCH TIP OF THE MONTH
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How to Handle those Bad Calls
By: Cindy Bristow
Have you ever let a bad call become the focus of the game, or lost your temper over a bad call? If so, you need to learn how to handle the pressure so it makes you better, not worse.
Bad calls happen, just like bad plays but we can’t let them become our focus and take us out of our game. Discover 4 things that will help you Handle those Bad Calls.
- Take Charge – I know that some umpires are bad, but you can’t let bad be in charge. If you do then you become the victim to their bad. I know that sounds harsh, calling you a victim, but since victims aren’t in charge that’s what you become if you let bad call control you. Umpires make bad calls just like players make bad plays and coaches make bad decisions. “Bad” happens in softball so when you run across a bad call, just adjust. Instead of fighting the umpire by arguing with their calls, or letting their calls be an excuse for your poor play you’ve got to adjust and take charge!
- Leave the Emotion Out of It – What’s so great about sports is that it puts us in pressure situations and sees how we’ll deal with it. If you keep making good adjustments then chances are you win. But, if you get too emotional about yourself, your teammates, the opponents or the umps – then chances are they win. So the next time there’s a bad call, leave your emotion out of it.
- Be a Good Teammate – The powerful part about team sports is when you aren’t good your teammates can pick you up and sometimes your play picks up your teammates. If you let a bad call beat you then you’re letting down your teammates. When you’re a part of a team your behavior impacts your teammates so make sure you play to support your team instead of to argue with an umpire.
- Learn & Move On – When you find yourself letting a bad call take you out of a game then know you’re human – but quickly move on. Pressure gets the better of everyone once-in-a-while, just make sure you quickly get over it and get back to being a contributing teammate.
Wednesday, January 9
Jan 9 2013
January Player Tip of the Month!
Player’s Page
6 Ways to Succeed at Tryouts
By: Cindy Bristow
As a player, tryouts can be a stressful situation, but not if you know what to expect. Put yourself in position to make your team by knowing 6 Ways to Succeed at Tryouts.
Whether this is your first tryout or you’re a veteran player, tryouts represent a lot of pressure and stress. Help improve your chances by knowing 6 ways to be prepared and ready to have a successful tryout.
It’s normal to be nervous for things like tryouts and showcases. But nerves don’t have to hurt you if you can turn those feelings of anxiety into action. As many of you in the warmer states get ready for softball tryouts the following 6 tips are meant to help you feel prepared, less nervous and ultimately make the team!
So before your tryouts start get yourself into shape, make sure you’ve put in your softball work and follow these 6 steps to help relax your nerves and build up your confidence:
- Do Whatever It Takes – Know that your tryout starts the moment you step on the field. That means be willing to go play outfield, or 3rd base, or bunt, or catch down in the bullpen or whatever you’re asked to do – do it! And do it like its the most important skill in the world, and that by doing so, you’re making your team better! Coaches are not only rating your ability but they’re also rating your willingness. Remember there’s nothing a coach loves more than a player with a great attitude.
- Out Hustle Everyone – It doesn’t take skill or size or speed or strength to hustle, so out hustle everyone!!! Run everywhere you’re going instead of walk, and show the coach just how badly you want to make the team by how much you hustle during tryouts.
- Make Sure You’re Prepared – This means practice ahead of time. Put in the extra time and the extra work BEFORE you get to tryouts. The more prepared you are the confident you’ll be and the more confident you are the better you’ll play. Don’t depend on other people to practice with you, go out and pitch to a wall, jog around your neighborhood, or hit at the local field. The sooner you can put in the work the more prepared and confident you’ll be!
- Be a Team Player – Remember that you’re trying out for a team, not for an individual sport, so be a team player during tryouts. Support the other players trying out, encourage players that are struggling and acknowledge others that make good plays. Just because somebody makes a good play doesn’t mean you can’t also make one – there’s enough good plays to go around, they aren’t limited to only a couple per tryouts. Imagine if everyone was verbally or vocally supportive of each other, how much better tryouts would be. Through this, you’re already taking a critical step in becoming a “team” that’s supportive of each other. Coaches value verbal skills. Be supportive and encouraging of the other players trying out.
- Don’t Assume You’ll Make the Team – Don’t stop competing. Because you might be a returning player doesn’t mean that you can take it easy at tryouts. While you might know you’re going to make the team, can you work harder to start at your position, or be the leader on your team? Returning players can set the bar for how hard the new players need to work in order to be a part of this team. If you’re one of the top players on your team, then by working hard you make those around you better and ultimately, that makes your team better!
- Believe You Belong – Always, always, always believe that you belong!! No matter what level of team you’re trying out for, if you’ve put in the work ahead of time always believe that you deserve to tryout and that you belong there!
Sunday, December 23
DECEMBER PLAYER TIP
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What Do Softball and Christmas Have in Common?
By: Cindy Bristow
With the holiday season upon us and the Christmas break just around the corner; do you know all the things that Softball has in common with Christmas, or the Holidays?
· It’s About the Family/Team – Both the Holiday season and softball are about a very close group of people you care about. It’s your family when it comes to the holidays, and it’s your team when it comes to softball. We spend a ton of time around both of these groups but that doesn’t mean we are good at letting them know we care about them. The Christmas season kind of forces us to show the people around us that we care about them, that we’re glad they’re in our life, and how much they mean to us. Christmas is NOT about getting – the Christmas season is all about GIVING. If you want to help yourself feel fantastic then make a list of the people in your life that really mean a lot to you. They can be your parents, your brothers and sisters, your teachers, your coaches, your teammates and/or your friends – and do something special for all of them. You don’t have to spend money on them if you don’t have any. Simply write them a note telling them how much they mean to you, or bake them some cookies, or take them to lunch, or get them a gift card to their favorite store (maybe a Softball Excellence gift certificate?). It REALLY is the thought and effort that makes them feel special, and not the size of the gift. Remember my story about our house growing up? I still remember all the silly handmade stuff we used as decorations and not the fancy stuff we bought from stores. You ARE Special, and so are the people that matter to you in your life. So let them know that by doing something special for them!
· Take Action for Others – I know it’s tough being a young softball player and trying to live up to your own standards as well as those of your parents and coaches. That’s a lot of pressure throughout the year. So let the holidays be the time you turn the tables. Instead of spending all your energy worrying about yourself, spend your efforts on others. Take action for others. Give your teammates little gifts that are special to each of them. Again, they don’t have to be big or expensive; they just have to be sincere. Teams are built off the field as much as they are on the field. Use the holiday season to help strengthen your team, and, to strengthen yourself as a teammate. Treat your teammates the way you wish they would treat you. Show concern for them, take action for them and show them thanks. No matter what you might think about them, every single one of your teammates really does care. They want to be a good player, person and teammate so give them a holiday boost!
· Have Your Traditions – Families have traditions (ours were plastic donkeys in the nativity set and paper Santa heads on the mantle) and all great teams have traditions too. Celebrate the traditions your family has, and work to celebrate traditions your team has. Maybe start a Team Holiday party and do some fun, weird games that everyone will love. Things like that not only help everyone relax, but also bring everyone together. Great teams are groups of people who put the group ahead of themselves and NOT a group of people who put themselves ahead of the group! Take a lesson from my Mom and get out the colored construction paper and start making holiday softball Santa heads at your team holiday party!
· Be Grateful – And finally, the biggest thing to me that softball and the holidays have in common is that they should both cause us to be grateful! You are so VERY fortunate to be able to play softball! I don’t care if you’re a starter or not, simply being healthy enough to run around the bases should be enough to make you grateful. Be grateful you have adults that care enough to make time to coach, instead of gripping about the way they coach. Be grateful to your parents for buying all your expensive equipment, and making it possible for you to go to all the games and practices and tournaments. Softball costs money, lots of money, and not everybody is as fortunate as you are to be able to afford to play softball. Be grateful – and show the people in your life how grateful you are. Christmas isn’t about thinking of all the things you want, it’s about thinking of all the things you can do and get for others! The more you give the more you get – it’s that way on the softball field and it’s certainly that way during the holidays!
I’ll end with a little story that happened to me recently that really helped me be grateful. Even though I’m writing this article about gratitude and thanks, I’m human, so I can complain and whine just like everyone else. Last week I was at a big convention with tons of softball people and my knee was killing me. I have a pretty bad knee that gets worse the more I stand and walk on it. Well, my job requires me to stand and walk all day. So on this one particular day my knee was killing me, or so I thought. And right when I was starting to feel sorry for myself, a coach walks by on crutches – with 1 leg! He had a big smile on his face and was obviously excited to be at this convention able to learn and share and talk softball for days. That’s all it took for me to change my mindset and become grateful for what I have!
We can all apply holiday lessons to our softball lives, and take time out to thank those very special people in our lives. I hope you, your family and your teammates have a wonderful holiday season full of gratitude, thanks, traditions and fun!
Wednesday, November 14
November Tip of the Month
Player’s Page
Checklist for Sustainable Success
By: Cindy Bristow
Have you ever had a great couple of at-bats where you’re hitting awesome, driving in runs and then suddenly you can’t hit? If so, you aren’t alone. It happens to everyone so find out how to fix it.
Pitchers face this problem when they get the 1-5 hitters out and then struggle with the 7,8,9 batters. Knowing how to manage your mind and your success is crucial for any athlete.
I’ve had players write and tell me they had back to back outstanding games. That they were getting on base every at bat, generating RBI’s for their team, even hitting grand slams. And then suddenly they couldn’t hit anything.
Or from a pitching point of view, many pitchers tell me they will get the best hitters on the other team out; only to let the 7, 8, and 9 hitters get on base.
If any of this sounds familiar then you’re not alone; it happens to every player, at every level. And you’ll be glad to know the solution isn’t as difficult as you might think. Both of the scenarios I just mentioned have one thing in common; success followed by struggle. Both the hitter who did great on her first few at-bats only to struggle on her last one, and the pitcher who was able to get the really good hitters out only to let batters 7, 8 & 9 get on base had the same issue and that was “I was successful but now suddenly I’m not. What happened?”
Well, what happened was a switch you made mentally more than anything you did physically. Both the hitter and the pitcher in our example changed their focus. Whenever we have success in a game we often make the mistake of trying to have our next effort be even better than our last one. Instead of simply trying to have another good at-bat, the hitter that just hit the grand slam changed her focus and tried to hit another home run. That’s a lot of pressure she put on herself so it’s no wonder she didn’t do as well.
And the pitcher who got the other team’s best hitters out only to struggle with their 7,8 and 9 hitters – well her problem was she let up on her focus. Instead of keeping her focus the same as it was when she faced their better hitters, our pitcher probably lightened up a little on her focus thinking she was facing their weaker hitters.
Whenever we change our focus by either making it too strong or too weak, we change our comfort zone. We either start pressing or we start relaxing too much – either way we take ourselves to a place where we don’t go very often so of course we aren’t comfortable there, and as a result, we don’t play as well.
Both players in my example struggled after having had some success, not because they weren’t trying, or because they didn’t care. They struggled because they both tried differently than they had tried before. As a player, whenever you find yourself in a tough or stressful situation, fight the temptation to try harder and instead, simply try the same way you always do. As players, you’re always trying your best and working your hardest, so to suddenly tell yourself to try even harder makes you tense and takes you out of your best performance zone.
Likewise, if you face a player or an opponent that you already think is weaker than you, it’s common to feel like you don’t have to give your best effort and again, this takes you out of your best performance zone. Always respect every team you play and every player you face – and talk to yourself in a way that helps you by keeping your effort and performance the same.
Here’s a Self-Talk Checklist for Players to download and use as a guide the next time you find yourself in a tough spot in a game. Laminate it and keep it in your ball bag so you can refer to it during a game whenever you need a little help.
GO TO HANDOUT PAGE FOR SELF TALK CHECKLIST!!!!
Wednesday, October 3
October Tip of the Month
Player’s Page
How’s Your Confidence Meter?
Posted By Cindy Bristow On September 18, 2012 @ 5:05 am In All, Miscellaneous | No Comments
Confidence is a crazy thing. When we need it the least we usually have it the most and the opposite is true as well. Find out what you can do to have more of it and to control your confidence.
If you had an internal meter that would register your confidence on a daily basis, what would it say? Sure, that depends on what you’re doing. If you’re brushing your teeth it would probably read pretty high, but what about in the middle of a game with the bases loaded – what would it read then?
Most of us struggle with our confidence, no matter who we are. The thing about confidence is that it comes and it goes. Very few people have a solid level of confidence throughout the day no matter what they’re doing. In fact, you might be surprised to learn that the most insecure people on the planet are the world’s most elite athletes. Just because you can hit a softball really well doesn’t mean you always believe in yourself.
So having a certain lack of confidence is normal. Most people feel better about themselves at certain times than at others. For instance, I have a lot of confidence that I can help a pitcher, or any softball player improve her or his skill. So when I’m working with a player my confidence is high since I believe in my skills. That doesn’t mean that I’m arrogant or cocky, it just means I believe my skills will be there and help me when I need them.
But, I’m also going to avoid walking in front of the bleachers at a ball field since I don’t have a ton of personal confidence – even though the bleachers are at a softball field where I feel my most comfortable and confident. Weird, huh?! That’s the thing about confidence, it isn’t always logical
Confidence is simply your belief in yourself. You believe you can brush your teeth so confidence really isn’t an issue – that is unless you’re 3 and just learning how. Now, flash to the softball field, in the middle of an important game in a big situation. How’s your confidence now? I’ll bet if you were honest, it changed a bit from when you thought about brushing your teeth. You probably haven’t blown it brushing your teeth so that skill isn’t surrounded by bad memories, unlike the softball field. There are a lot of strong emotions that live at the ballfield – some good and some bad – and it’s those emotions that can play havoc with our confidence.
In fact, that’s why a lot of pitchers feel great and do great in the bullpen warming up, and then don’t pitch so good when they go into the game. There aren’t a lot of bad memories and emotions in the bullpen so your confidence is higher and you usually perform better.
Before we look at something we can do to improve and control our confidence let’s look at the recent Olympics that were just held in London and see if confidence was an issue. When I watched the Olympics, no matter what sport, I saw lots of Olympians suffering from a lack of confidence. In fact, in gymnastics, the announcers mentioned that one of the gymnast’s biggest problems was her confidence. And yet here she was an Olympian and one of the very best gymnasts in the world!
I also saw a lot of the Olympic coaches telling their world class athletes that they could do it, to believe in themselves and everything would be ok. At the Olympics!! Doesn’t it seem like these athletes should already believe in themselves and shouldn’t need their coaches talking to them like they’re kids. And yet, I saw it all the time.
So everybody, at every level, has to deal with their confidence. If you feel that yours might be a little shaky just know that you aren’t the only one who feels this way.
But, what can you do about it? Fortunately, there is something you can do to help improve your confidence and improve the way you think during those stressful times when you need your confidence to be at its best.
Sports psychologists, in order to help their players deal with the nerves of a huge stage like the Olympic Games will tell their players to focus on one part of their skill instead of thinking about a million different things. And while this is great advice, let’s get even more specific and find out how to control our thoughts in an effort to control our confidence.
You confidence is highest when you believe you can do something. The smaller, or more specific you think about that thing you’re doing the less chance you have of thinking about all the things that could go wrong. In other words, you’re thinking about ACTIONS you should take instead of the CONSEQUENCES that might result. Action thoughts help you stay calm and focused which help you play better. All of this leads to better results which help lead to more confidence. But, if you spend your time thinking about what happens if you blow it, or what will your coaches say, or how are your parents going to react, then those are all thoughts about the consequences of failing – so that’s probably what you’ll do is fail. Failing doesn’t do much for our confidence.
So, if you want to start raising your confidence level during those big moments in life – or in a softball game – start thinking about the small parts of whatever you’re doing that you can take action on instead of worrying about the consequences of what can happen if you blow it.
Small, action thoughts help keep your mind focused on making those thoughts happen, and when they do, you play better. On the other hand, thinking about the consequences or results if you blow it takes your brain to an entirely different place. It starts pilling a lot of pressure on you, distracts your brain so it can’t help your body perform and gets you ready for failure – so it’s no surprise when you actually do fail.
Your brain is a very powerful thing so let it help you play better by staying focused on small thoughts about things you should do in order to succeed – like explode at my release, nothing above my hands, nail her at the plate…those are all action thoughts and keep your mind focused on succeeding.
On the other hand, consequence thoughts sound like this; don’t throw a ball, what does coach think about me, why’d he call that a ball. Those are all thoughts about the results of the play, or consequences instead of about the action you need to take.
Stay small and action-oriented with your thoughts and watch your confidence and performance improve!
Tuesday, August 21
Player Tip of the Month September!
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Speeds and Times are Important – How do you stack up?Posted By Cindy Bristow On August 21, 2012 @ 5:05 am In order to get better it’s helpful to be specific about exactly what you’re trying to improve on. Instead of just trying to get faster know exactly how much faster you need to be. College coaches are always looking for players that run fast, pitch fast, throw fast and hit it hard. While we all have a certain speed that we’re capable of, here’s a list to make sure you know where your speed falls, and then how much more you might need to improve. Before looking at the following speeds, keep in mind that college coaches also want to find players that are smart, work hard, follow directions and are great teammates – not simply fast ones!Baserunning Speeds(times are from a standing start at home – not a swing – if you use a swing it will be about .5 seconds slower)
| Home to 1st/ Righty(Seconds) | Home to 1st/ Lefty(Seconds) | 2nd to Home (Seconds) | 1st to 2nd (Seconds) |
Home to Home (Seconds) | |
| Slow | 3.1+ | 3.0+ | 6+ | 3.30 | 12.5+ |
| Average | 3.0 | 2.7 – 2.8 | 5.75 sec | 11.50 – 12.00 | |
| Good | 2.8 | 2.5 – 2.6 | 5.3 – 5.5 | 2.99 | 11.00 – 11.3 |
| Great | 2.7 | 2.3 – 2.4 | 5.2 or lower | 10.8 or lower |
| Hitting Speeds | |
| Level | Speed |
| Average | 50-64 mph |
| Very Good | 60-75 mph |
| Exceptional | 65-80 mph |
| Throwing Speeds | |
| Level | Speed |
| Average | 48-62 mph |
| Very Good | 58-74 mph |
| Exceptional | 64-78 mph (Crystal Bustos throws 78 mph) |
| Pitching Speeds | |
| Level | Speed |
| Average | 54-62 mph |
| Very Good: | 60-64 mph |
| Exceptional | 65-73 mph |
| Catcher Pop Times | |
| Level | Speed |
| Slow | 2.1 seconds or above |
| Average | 2.0 seconds |
| Good | 1.9 seconds |
| Exceptional | 1.8 seconds |
| Catcher Release Times | |
| Level | Speed |
| Slow | +1.00 seconds |
| Average | 1.00 seconds |
| Very Good | .7 seconds |
| Exceptional | .6 seconds |
Saturday, July 14
Player’s Page
Watch this page for tips to improve your game, I will update monthly.
A Simple Drill to Help with the Groundball Yips
By: Cindy Bristow
The next time you have an infielder that struggles fielding groundballs try this simple, yet effective drill that’s designed to cure the groundball yips.
The yips can happen to anyone no matter what the skill level, and when they do, players suddenly can’t field simple groundballs. The next time it happens to you make sure you know what to do. I’ve seen Olympians and Major Leaguers suddenly become unable to field groundballs when they obviously have the skill as well as the desire. Suddenly is pretty much how quickly it can happen to a player – one day you look fantastic as an infielder and then suddenly you can’t even field the simplest of grounders. Why this happens is beyond me, although I’ve got to believe that a large part of it involves confidence and belief. Bobble one groundball and it’s an error, bobble two and you’ve got a problem on your hands. Once you think you’ve got a problem that’s all you’ll think about and all you’ll hear from everyone around you. And one thing is sure – you are what you think about. Why the yips happen isn’t as important as knowing how to fix them. The best drill I know of to fix the yips will also help your young infielders overcome the fear of getting hit by grounders. The drill is called “Counting Bounces” and works like this:
Grab your glove and stand out in your regular position, and have a coach with a bat and a bunch of balls at or near homeplate.
The coach hits you a grounder – And you need to COUNT THE NUMBER OF BOUNCES OUTLOUD!
That’s it. It’s simple and yet very effective. Don’t be surprised when you don’t count very loud at first, that’s normal. But do your best to try to count the bounces as loud as possible. Once you can effectively count the bounces using a regulation softball then have your coach hit you Zip Balls® and count those Outload! The smaller size of the Zip Ball® will really force you to narrow your focus on the ball and take your mind off missing the ball. The whole idea of counting bounces is to force you to focus on the ball instead of thinking about bobbling the ball. The correction won’t happen immediately but within a few days the yips will be gone and you will be back to your usual fielding skill level.
