Our Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal!
How the Sessions are Different
Do you hate to lose more than you love to win?
As we are smack dab in the middle of the NCAA collegiate season here in 2021, I’m sure many of you have had occasion to watch some of the outstanding matchups in D1 softball on ESPN or maybe even the Big 10 Network.
Preliminarily, before I dive into the main topic at hand, I want to point out the fact that there are numerous games on television multiple times a week broadcasting softball on ESPN and individual conference networks. This in and of itself is an astronomical win for our sport.
A quality pitching staff is a key component of building a successful team. Some coaches make the mistake of ranking their pitchers individually—#1 pitcher, #2 pitcher, #3 pitcher. This can lead pitchers to think of themselves as “second best” or “third best,” without identifying their specific (and important) role on the team. Assigning a role to each pitcher helps them feel valued and excited to contribute. While ranking can sometimes be motivating, without clear explanations of why a player is in a certain position and how she can improve, it can lead to resentment and jealousy among teammates—and their parents. Defining roles provides that clarity.
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A few years ago, my cousin Erica was interviewed on a an NFCA podcast called The Dirt about pitching, and I wrote this blog to highlight some of her best insights. At the time, she was coaching at DePauw University—today, she’s brought that same high-level knowledge to Practice Pro, where she leads our Elite Pitching Classes.