The Hidden Difference Between Division I and Power-4 Athletes

I was recently listening to one of my favorite podcasts, The Tim Ferriss Show, hosted by Tim Ferriss, a business author and entrepreneur known for interviewing top-performing people across sports, business, and life. His goal is to “deconstruct world-class performers,” and his recent interview with NFL great Steve Young was amazing. I’m not much of a football fan, and to be honest, I didn’t know who Steve Young was—but I surely do now! I now know why he was so successful after listening to this interview. I thought so much of it applied to softball and pitching that I wanted to pass this along.

Steve Young was one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history, known for combining elite accuracy, intelligence, and athleticism in a way that redefined the position. After succeeding Joe Montana with the San Francisco 49ers, he won two Super Bowls, earned Super Bowl XXIX MVP honors, and was named NFL MVP twice. A six-time league leader in passer rating, Young retired with the highest career passer rating in NFL history at the time and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2005.

The first thing I found super interesting was what separates a player in the NFL versus college. Young and Ferriss mused about why players who excel in the NCAA don’t necessarily do well in the NFL. There seems to be a disconnect—why is that?

First, Young thinks there is a difference in athleticism. The players in the NFL are the top in the world. Second, the error margins were so much smaller. In college football, receivers are often open. In the NFL, no one is open. 

I’ve actually heard professional golfers say the same thing, or those who didn’t quite make it to the tour but were close. My old golf instructor didn’t make the tour, but his friend did. He said everything was the same, but the other guy wouldn’t miss that one last short putt—he’d miss it one more time than him. Less room for error, smaller margins.

In football, the quarterback has to throw the ball before the opening actually exists and trust that it will be there by the time the ball arrives. They are there in the NFL. His explanation of adrenaline stood out too. For most people, when adrenaline kicks in, the brain narrows. Vision shrinks. Decision-making tightens. But elite quarterbacks are different. Their brains expand under pressure. They see more, not less. That ability, he said, is partly genetic, but it’s also what separates the best from everyone else.

That concept translates to pitching. At DI 1 levels, pitchers have exceptional control, speed, change of speed, and movement. But athleticism becomes the next separator when we get to Power 4 schools. From my experience, the most athletic young pitchers tend to play multiple sports, enjoy lifting (they might even ask for weights for Christmas), and seek out strength and agility work outside of their regular softball training. Some athletes have natural advantages like height or fast-twitch muscle fibers, and at the very top, those genetic gifts often show up alongside years of work. Athletes seem to be able to connect cues to action because of their body awareness. They have the ability to hear a verbal cue and immediately turn it into action.

In college, on the occasion we got to play DI schools (we were DIII), I noticed their hitters never swung at bad pitches. Plus, any pitches anywhere close to the red or yellow zone of the plate were hit HARD. Top hitters make less mistakes.

Pitching is unforgiving. No amount of athleticism replaces repetition, feel, and ownership of the release point. Even the most gifted athletes cannot fake reps. Eventually, the question becomes whether a pitcher can execute when it matters. Can she do it in a game? Can she do it when adrenaline hits? Does pressure sharpen her focus, or does it pull her mechanics apart? That’s where the top level lives.

Another moment from the interview that really stuck with me was Steve Young’s relationship with Stephen Covey, the author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Coincidentally, Young went to school with Covey’s kids, so they were neighbors.

During one of the lowest points of his career, Young was convinced he was failing his team and that his future as a starter was slipping away. He was sulking. Covey asked him a simple but terrifying question: Are you willing to take the chance to find out how good you really are? Steve said yes. Covey looked at him with a suspicious look - he was onto him and his pouting. Then he said, “Then be about it.” At that moment, Steve realized that the hole he thought everyone else had dug for him was one he had dug himself. He had slipped into a victim mindset, waiting for support, validation, or perfect conditions before performing. Once he took full ownership, his performance changed dramatically, and so did his mental health.

This resonated deeply because we see a victim mindset show up in pitching all the time. Young pitchers (and their parents) often blame umpires, defensive errors, or a lack of support, feeling as though things are happening to them rather than recognizing what they can actively control. Even when circumstances truly are unfair—and that definitely happens—the only way to continue performing at a high level is to reframe those situations into elements the athlete can own and influence.

Champions use unfairness or adversity to their advantage. “I remember running up to Troy Aikman and we were warming up, and he’s a friend and he’s a quarterback for the Cowboys. I said, ‘Troy, it’s so great that you’re here, man, because I’m on this quest to see how good I can get, and I can only find out against the best, so I’m so glad that you’re here.’ And I remember Troy looked at me like, ‘Freaking weirdo. What’s wrong with you?’ But that’s what I was about.”

One of the most effective reframes we use is very simple. After a game, we ask the pitcher if she did her job. Did she hit her spots? Did she respond well after adversity? Did she compete with a positive attitude? If the answer is yes, then it was a successful day, regardless of a win or loss. That mindset builds ownership instead of excuses, confidence instead of tenuousness.

Steve Young was one of the most talented quarterbacks to ever play the game, but talent wasn’t what almost derailed him. Mindset was. The same is true in softball pitching. At the highest levels, everyone is athletic, skilled, and prepared—but they also have the right mindset. Their brains respond differently when the game speeds up and pressure arrives. If you truly want to find out how good you can be, you can’t wait for perfect conditions. You have to be about it.