So Cal Sliderz: Cool Stuff!
Cool Stuff to Read and Think about! | |
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Girls Just Wanna Have Fun by Cyndi Lauper
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1. The Law of the Catalyst.....
Winning teams have the players who can make things happen.
2. The Law of the Edge.....
The difference between two equally talented teams is leadership.
3. The Law of Preparation.....
Teams win championships by doing the little things well, all the time.
4. The Law of the Poker Face.....
Great teams do not show the effects of a punch landed by an opponent.
5. The Law of the Chain.....
The strength of the team is impacted by it's weakest link.
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1. Getting picked off a base
2. Not sliding
3. Not knowing how many outs there are
4. Missing a signal or not executing at advancing a runner
5. Throwing to the wrong base or behind the advancing runner
6. Not throwing to the cutoff from the outfield
7. Not being able to get a sacrifice bunt down
8. Not backing up the play
9. Not calling for a fly ball
10. Taking a called third strike
11. Not getting the sure out
12. Not hustling all the time
13. Not being mentally prepared to play
An Athlete's Pride"
"....... I'm a team player. I play with my friends and with some of my enemies, but I respect everyone when it comes to my sport. I know I'm not going to get a multi-million dollar contract to play professionally. I know I may not even get my name in the paper
. I play for love of the game. For the pride and honor, for the blood, sweat and tears it takes to make the team, to earn the spot, to win the game.
I play because I can, I play because I know that my life would be empty without the sport I play. I would have a lack of everything my sport gives me... integrity, courage, talent, fearlessness, pride, strength, stamina, will, and the heart of a champion. If I didn't play, I would lose a part of me. I'm an athlete. I'm a girl. I'm a champion, not because my team always wins, but because when we don't, we learn from our mistakes. We try to fix them, and most of all because we have fun. I have built lifelong friendships and memories because of my being an athlete.
I leave everything on the field
or court and continue to push myself. I am never happy with second place, but I have learned to accept it. I have learned to get over and through my anger and be the athlete and player I have always dreamed of being.
I don't play for my parents, for my family, for my friends;
..... I play for myself but when I'm playing I represent them. It isn't about winning or losing, but I hate to lose. I won't settle for a tie, and I am not satisfied with 100%.
To play, you have to sacrifice everything, your body, your time, your sweat, blood, and tears, everything... for your team.
I am a player, and athlete and a champion, not because I know what it is like to win, but because I know what it is like to lose. I know what it is like to feel the anger and pain that comes along with "second best." I have been that girl with tears in her eyes, walking out to recieve the second place trophy and clapping as the other team, my opponents, receive the first place one. I know what it is like to lose, to win, to want to quit, to want to cry, to not want to get up. I know what it is like to hear the cheers and yells for you. I know what it is like to feel the pressure of everyone on your shoulders, and I know what it is like to choke under that pressure.
I know what it means to be an athlete, a true player, and that is why I play. I AM AN ATHLETE, A CHAMPION, A TRUE PLAYER."
---"An Athlete's Pride"
Heads Up Softball! Good Advice!
1) Take responsibility for your thoughts and actions
2) Be on a mission; Know why you play softball,What character traits you want to posess and what you want to accomplish in the game.
3) Play one pitch at a time; confident and focused on each pitch as it is played with disregard for past or future pitches.
4)Make your daily actions consistent with your mission.
5) realize that you cannot control what happens around you but you can control your response to it, and that you be in control of yourself before you can control your performance.
6) Develop your mental skills so you constantly perform near the best of your ability and you have "something to go to" when adversity strikes.
7) Practice what you are going to do in the game
8) Focus on the process of playing the game rather than the outcomes of your performance
9) Learn each day
10) Keep it simple!
When your in the middle of a softball game you should only be focusing on softball. "How do I do that," you ask.
When your on defense, in the field:
1. First and foremost expect every ball to be hit to you.
2. Clear you mind of any distractions.Before each pitch/batter ask yourself a series of questions:
3. How many outs are there? What's the count?
4. Are there any base runners? Where? How fast?
5. How does this batter usually hit? (pull it, grounder right side, long fly ball, etc..) Do I need to adjust where I'm playing?
6. Based on the outs and base runners, when the ball comes to you what are you going to do with it? (decide before the pitch so that when the ball gets hit to you you don't have to think, just react)
7. Take a big breath and get ready to field the ball.
Note: you need to do these steps before every batter / pitch. Eventually you will do it automatically without even thinking about it.
When your team is up to bat:
1. Pay attention. (Watch and see who the weaker fielders are, which outfielders have cannons for arms and which don't, etc..)
2. Know how many outs. (This seems so obvious, but we've all seen it time after time where the base runner forgets how many outs there are)
3. Watch the pitcher.
by Bill Bruce
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Don't try to call the Typical Softball Coaches house between 7-11 PM because he is already on the phone and has someone else on call-waiting. You'll get a busy signal. Softball is the only subject that one man will talk to another for 2 1/2 hours on the telephone. The coach spends about $32.50 per month on long distance calls related to team business. If the phone rings one time: hang-up! It means that the coach is: A) At practice B) At a game C) At a league meeting D) At the sporting goods store.
The Typical Softball Coach lets his wife do all the grocery shopping. This is not because he is a chauvinist pig, it is because he can't! You see, the coaches car is the mobile team equipment vehicle. Bats, balls, pitching machine in the trunk. Spare uniforms, first-aid kit, scorebooks etc. in the back seat. He may get the groceries, but only if he has a roof rack!
The Typical Softball Coach always is full of great expectations for his team. Even when the team record is 3-23. He also usually has that innate ability to find those four examples of how the team performed admirably during a 17-2 shellacking! Next years team always has a shot at Nationals. Sadly, but thankfully, he believes the aforementioned.
The Typical Softball Coach never says: "We're gonna suck next year. We are 3-23 and we're lucky we're not 0-26! If we didn't get to play so-and-so when half their team went to the wrong field, and if we didn't get that early season forfeit, we'd be 1-25". He never says we got beat 17-2 because we stink, and our best player couldn't sit on their bench. You'll never hear the Typical Softball Coach say: "Next year I think we have a shot at going 10-40!" Sadly, but thankfully, the Typical Softball Coach has an overactive sub-conscious that eliminates all fear of having the worst team in the league.
The Typical Softball Coach shows up at the field 2 1/2 hours before game time, because it rained earlier and he wants to make sure the field is playable. Of course he told his secretary that he was going to visit a prospective account. On average the Typical Coach probably gives 20-40 hours per week nine months out of the year to his team. And to think he has the nerve to play his daughter in front of mine, when my daughter is better than his.
The Typical Softball Coach is: A) Harder on his daughter than any other player. B) Softer on his daughter than any other player. (It's 50-50) The Typical Daughter of a Softball Coach is: A) Fortunate to spend so much quality time with her dad. B) Likely to shoot him before her player eligibility runs out. :)
The Typical Softball Coach usually is the first to arrive and last to leave. This includes practices, games, tournaments, team functions and probably wedding receptions.
The Typical Softball Coach passes all his experience(s) from playing baseball to all the girls on his team. This mean that A) Your daughter is being coached by a guy that hit .182 in Little League and never played anywhere but right field, or B) those fortunate enough to truly have exceptional coaching built on years of successful diamond sports experience. Note: See team record! :)
In all seriousness: The Typical Softball Coach is not rated as much on his personal success as a baseball player, but more on his acquired knowledge of the game, his communication skills and management ability etc. (His ability to get the most out of every player and the team!)
The Typical Softball Coach will: A) Teach your daughter many lessons far surpassing the game of softball and truly have an impact on her growth and future. B) Be a living example of what kind of man is not marriage material. :)
Parents opinions of the Typical Softball Coach are: A) What a great guy, and good coach. B) What a great guy, but he doesn't know diddly. C) Maybe if I pretend that I like him, he will let my 260 lb. daughter play SS. D) He sucks! :)
The Typical Softball Coach is a stickler for time: you must be at the field one hour prior to game time. Be back here in one hour and 37 minutes. We will meet at our normal place and caravan to the tournament, if you are not there by 6:15 AM, we will leave without you. EXCEPTION: The Typical Softball Coach frequently says, "Post-game meeting behind the dug-out for five minutes. If your team won that means a 10 minute meeting, if you lost that means 10 minutes plus 1 minute for each run the other team scored more than you did. Add 5 minutes if your next game is out of town. Add 2 minutes for time to tell girls to listen. Add 2 minutes for scorekeeper to find schedule for next game. Well, let's make this easy ... all five minute meetings last 30 minutes, except late games when the meeting lasts until the parks crew shuts off the lights.
At the end of the season, the Typical Softball Coach gets a plaque and modest gift for his 100's of hours of effort. He probably doesn't get a Christmas or Birthday card. No letter of thanks. But rest assured, he will get a call from a disgruntled parent or two ... and it's part of the job. The best of the best coaches, eliminate this by getting kids playing time when they can, by keeping the player and parents informed of the girls status in advance, and by only keeping kids that are good enough to make his team!
When it's finally over, and this years team has played its last game, the Typical Softball Coach usually gives one final speech. And more often than not, as he scans his charges assembled as a team for the last time, his voice may crack, his eyes water up and you will finally know just how much the girls on the team meant to him.
The Typical Softball Coach is usually ... just a Dad, once in a while a Mom and that rarest of softball birds ... a non-parent.
Three Cheers to all you coaches out there ... good and bad!
Author: John T.
Taken from rec.sport.softball newsgroup
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Then I Became a Travelball Softball Parent ...
I used to have a regular(different) life. (Actually, many of my friends say that sentence should say, "I used to have a life", period.) It doesn't really seem that long ago. Then I became a Select Softball Parent.
I used to think anything over $40 was an exorbitant price for a softball bat or glove.
Now the contents of my daughter's equipment bag are worth more than everything else
in the house -- including clothes, jewelry, watches, and my laptop computer.
I used to be one of the leaders in my field of work. I still am (You have to keep
a good paycheck coming in if you want to support a select softball
habit!)
I used to think a double-header was a long day at the ball field. Now after two
games we're just getting warmed up.
I used to look for little restaurants that served seafood fresh off the boat. Now I'm the connoisseur of nachos and hot dogs and my kids rate a city by the quality of a tournament's snack bar!
Sunflower seeds used to be something I would see at a store and wonder who would eat those things? Now I don't feel comfortable leaving the house without a bag in my pocket.
My lawn used to be like a carpet. It was green, mowed, trimmed, fertilized and watered. Now I have two bare spots the simulated distance from pitching rubber to the catcher and dents in my garage door from using it as the backstop for the pitching machine!
My truck used to draw admiring looks and comments. It was clean and waxed and shined and Armor-Alld. Now it only draws attention when girls write "wash me" on the back window in the tournament parking lot.
I used to have a garage, now I have an indoor batting area.
My friends and I used to spend Monday mornings talking about a round of golf
or a movie we had just seen. Now I bore them to death with detailed play-by-play descriptions of five or six low-scoring ball games.
We used to sit and talk for hours. We still do -- however, now it's to keep the driver awake when we're headed home late Sunday evening after a tournament.
My summer casual wardrobe used to be made up of color-coordinated polo shirts, cool cottons in bright colors, and the occasional "aloha" shirt. Now I have a closet full of T-shirts that have tournament names on the front and competing teams on the back.
We used to spend our summer vacation relaxing on the beach or visiting family. Now we hit the road with 20 of our closest friends in a caravan that could rival some small town parades.
I used to be concerned that I would fall into the trap of living my life through my kid. Now I know I'm privileged to live my life WITH my kid !!!
Yes, I'm a Travelball Softball Parent, what could be better ?!
By Author Unknown
WHO DO YOU PLAY FOR?
Who do you play for? I mean really. Why do you play softball? When you are out there in a game, why are you there? Who are you playing for?
Do you play for your parents? Are they going to love you more if you get a home run? Are they going to leave you more in their will if you win a game? I don’t think so. Mom and Dad will always love you even if you never get a home run. And I seriously doubt your inheritance will grow if you win a game.
Don"t play for your parents.
Do you play for friends? Are you trying to impress them? Will they think you are cool if you do well? Will you suddenly become more popular than the cheerleaders if you get that out at first base? Probably not. Let’s face it…how many of those people do you see hanging around the ballpark anyway? And so what if they find out how great you are and actually do think you are cool? If they love you only because you are a good ball player, they are not worth having as friends.
Don't play for friends.
Do you play for your teammates? Perhaps you could impress them? Maybe you don't want to let them down. You don’t want them to laugh at you or make fun of you. Is that why you play? You can catch every ball and hit like a rocket, and they love you. Next game you can't hit the broad side of a barn and nobody even talks to you. Teammates can be incredible, but teammates can let you down.
Don't play for your teammates.
Do you play for your coach? Want to win one for him? After all he has worked hard and he deserves it right? You want to impress him too don't you? Now, don't get me wrong. The coach loves what he does or he wouldn't be there. Remember they don't get paid for doing this! However, will the coach remember that fantastic play you made at home plate in five years? Will he remember your batting average when he is old and gray? Probably not.(maybe)
Don't play for your coach.
So, who do you play for? The fans thats right the fans! You want to look good for the fans. Forget them. Fans only love you when you are winning.
Don't play for the fans.
Who do you play for?
Play for YOU.
If you are playing for these other folks, you are playing for the wrong reasons. Play because you love the game. Play because you enjoy the challenge. Play because the crack of the bat is music to your ears. Play because you love the feel of the rubber under your feet as you pitch. Play because some of those friendships you develop will make you a better person. Play because hitting a homerun can motivate you for weeks. Play because catching a fly ball is one of the most incredible feelings in the world. Play because your favorite outfit is your uniform. Play because your glove is your favorite accessory. Play because a dirty uniform and mud on your face is a badge of honor. Play because safe is one of the most beautiful words you know. Play because your catcher's gear simply feels right. Play because winning is fun. Play because you actually can learn from losing. Play because the first out of the game makes your heart beat faster.
Play because the dugout feels like home.
Play because you LOVE the game! Play because it makes YOU happy.
Play for you and you will never have a bad game.
Play for you and you will always do your best.
Play your best and you can always be proud of your accomplishments.
Make memories, do your best. Play for YOU.
Tammy Hauser
Softball Mom