First Weekend of Fall

Last year at this time so many things were different.  This first weekend of fall ball was the first time that I would play with the Danes. I can remember being so nervous and worried about how things would go. Driving up to Hudson this year was completely different.  I was still nervous but it was excited nervous, the way you get before you step into the box for your first at-bat of the day. I felt completely comfortable and was excited to continue learning and improving. 

Another huge difference was in the way I played. Looking back over the year I see how much the Danes have shaped me already anf how much I have improved.  Coming into the fall season when I hit, I didnt even stride. I was a squash the bug kid! After my first day in hudson I can remeber thinking man these guys are crazy! They want me to change the way I hit and do all these weird things! But I decided that for the fall I would try it. Try to do something new and if it didnt work out we can always go back to where we were. Back in those days I was actually the crazy one. Once I was exposed to the different ways the danes hit, field, and communicate I never went back. Its incredible that in one year I have learned so much and come so far. But I know I can keep improving so much more.

We kicked off the first weekend of fall ball with 8 games in two days! The first day was in Hudson Wisconsin.  It was a great day to meet all of the new players and start to step up as one of the leaders on the team. It is a lot of teaching which is very good for us because as you teach something you also relearn it. We saw a ton of progress on the first day and had me excited for the next day. Our second day was in Shoreview Minnesota.  We haf another four games which left me wiped after the weekend. But it was definitely worth it. You learn a lot ehen your body is fatigued and especially that you really can keep going even when you think your tank is empty. It always suprises me how I learn in just one weekend of playing even though ive been playing for what feels like my whole life. It was a great weekend and definitely a step in thr right direction for not only my teammates but for myself.

Playing with the Danes a huge part of the message is not only to learn about softball but to also apply it to your life as well. One thing I learned was that when you do things the right way, you will get the results you want. I learned this from one at-bat. During the day I have been struggling with pulling my shoulder off the ball and needed to stay more linear. So in one at-bat Tim says do reverse top hand.  I try it once and foul a ball straight back. Then I go back to hitting normal. I pull it foul once again, so back to reverse top hand. On the next pitch I connect and hit the ball over the fence. Doing my mechanics the right way gave me the result that I wanted.

The biggest lesson I learned was to appreciate all the things people do for us. Our coaches take their own time to help us learn and get better, our teachers give us extra help outside of class when we don't understand, and our parents.  Our parents take care of us, bring us everywhere. Not everyone has the benefit of having two parents like I do. I won't ever take my parents for granted again. Make sure you tell your parents that you love them, im sure it means the world to them that you care almost as much as they care about you.

The Fall Begins

This past week I recieved a very inspiring email talking about starting to write your own story.  It got me thinking about all the things that have happened to me over the last few years and how the next chapter of my life will turn out. Ever since I was little I have been chasing my dream to become a very good softball player, that has dominated my storyline so far.  Each day with all the hard work that I put in, I feel like I get closer to my overall goal. This fall I have 3 main goals. 1. Continue to clean up the mechanics of my swing and become more consistent with proper mechanics.  2. Polish up my glove work. 3. Figure out what I want in a college and what to major in.

Many people have told me yes you are talented and have potential but you are still raw. By focusing and working hard I want to reach that potential and become a polished athlete.

1. To clean up my mechanics I am hoing back to the basics. I am focusing a ton on tee drills as well as front toss to put everything together.  I have also increased the amount of days a week I go to the field to work on hitting.

2. To polish up my glove work and increase my range we have set up full workouts based just on fielding.  Last fall that was not a common thing. People say the difference between me and a girl from California is 10,000 ground balls. Well hete is my chance to make up the difference.  I may be at a weather advantage but I will just work harder to get my reps in. I hope to be faster and smoother on defense along with working on my release time.

3. College. I am nearing that age where college is only two years ahead and approching very quickly.  By doing visits and touring campuses I will get a feel for what I really like. The other part of college besides for athletics is school. I am going to look deeper into what I really want to do for a career. I love science and the human body so currently I am leaning towards the health sciences field. (Kinesiology, physical therapy)

There are so many other things along with these goals that I want to accomplish this fall, but most of all I want to comtinue to try and get better every day.

Three Weeks of Craziness

The past three weeks of my life have been absolutely crazy! I managed to spend only 4 nights at my own house! In the past weeks I have played in three consecutive national tournaments the first in Kansas City, Kansas, second in Rochester, MN, and the third in Sterling, Virginia.

The first two weeks I was playing 16u with my Rochester Royals team. The last week was 18u with the Danes. As I have talked about before, there is a big difference between the two levels. I was forced to adjust very quickly in order to succeed at a higher level.

 During these three weeks my family has put close to 4,000 miles on our car. The drive to Kansas City was about 6 hours while the drive to Virginia was just over 18. It gave us lots of family bonding time, even when that wasn't such a good thing. Since the drive from Sterling was so long we decided to break it up by making a stop in Louisville and also spending a day at Noah's Ark in the Wisconsin Dells.

Since the past month of my life has been focused on all softball all the time I feel that I have learned a ton not only as a hitter but also on defense. On offense I learned how aggressive you need to be early especially when facing good pitchers. Once they give you a pitch to hit, you aren't going to see another one. On defense I learned that I need to play lower and always be moving through the ball. Using these mechanics I saw improvement on my range and my reaction time.

Reflecting on those three weeks, they were my favorite of the summer. I got to do what I love every day, I got to stay at a hotel with my teammates, and I had so many chances for improvement. I can't thank my parents enough for carting my butt all over the country this summer. They have given me the opportunity to play this game all the time and give me full support, what else can you ask for? Even though I tell them every day, thank you guys, I love you so much :)

Perspective

After our loss today we had an amazing opportunity, to help someone learn. The people we got to teach were players from the Bahamas who also were in the tournament and did not win a single game.  As a person who hasn't ever experienced anything like this before it was a great life experience.

Last year the Danes ran a full day clinic to help teach the Bahamians, which I did not attend. This year we did not have a full day, only a matter of 30 minutes to help them with pitching.  All of the girls were so eager to learn to pitch.  My partner was Diva, and man could she throw heat once she had the slightest amount of instruction. We went threw simple drills like the power drive, progressive pitching, pitching with your eyes closed, and pitching from one knee. The girls did great and blossomed under the attention and help of our pitchers. I cant wait to see how much they have improved next year when they see them at this tournament.  

While we were teaching the Bahamians to pitch they were also teaching me. The difference between us and the Bahamians is how eager they are to work hard and learn, how extremely grateful they are, and how much fun they have.

Most kids from the states playing sports work hard for a couple reasons, but the big ones being money and the payoff at the end. The kids from the Bahamas want to work hard simply because they want to get better and don't know any different.  There isn't a big payoff at the end for them, most won't even go to college. 

Second, they are extremely grateful for everything that they have and are given.  That may come from them not having a lot but still. At the end of our clinic they couldn't express how grateful they were. But the huge smiles on their faces were all the thanks that I needed. 

If you watch the Bahamas play you will notice how much fun they have while playing this game because that is exactly what this is to them, a game. The have the perspective that so many of us lack.  They see that not everyone gets the chance to play this game, but they do. They enjoy every opportunity. 

Working them made me gain a better perspective of our whole week.  I realized that yes you can be upset about losing because it is not the result that you wanted. But it is inspiration to keep working hard and getting better. It also reminds me of how grateful I should be. I have a very blessed life that others do not, for that I am extremely thankful. 

I learn tons about softball from the Danes.  But the biggest thing I have learned are life lessons. Lessons that teach me to be a better person, and how I can impact the world in a positive way. 

2013 Pony Nationals in Virginia

As soon as we finished packing Saturday morning (after the Royals had lost out Friday) we began the road trip to Virginia for the 18u PONY Nationals with the Danes. It took us two full days of driving just to get there! But the car ride was just the beginning to this weeks adventure. 

The first day of play we started out with four of our five pool games. The first game was super close in which we lost to the bombers 1-0. Our second game was vs. SE Mass Extreme. It was a tight 2-0 win. Our third game was vs. Ashburn Stars. Before the game we had internet scouted (watched their recruiting video) some of the players on the team and were prepared for a very tight game. The game ended 6-3 in our favor. Our last game of the day was vs. Team Canada. As Tim said, "We are not playing for ourselves, our teammates, or our families, but for our country!! Now kick those maple syrup loving peoples butt!" And that we did! We won for merica in a hard fought 7-3 game!

The next day we only had one game in which we faced the PA Intensity. For my returning teammates it was redemption because the Intensity had knocked them out of the tournament last year. We won the game 10-0  in 5 innings, it was a very good win for our veterans. After we went back to the hotel and took a team nap. I can't tell you how much I have grown to love naps! As soon as everyone was ready to go we headed down to the train station to go to a Nationals game! I finally got to see Bryce Harper in action and he hit a homerun and made a diving catch to top it off! The Braves also hit Harper and almost started a bench clearing brawl. You know it was serious because even the bullpens were cleared haha ;)

In the morning bracket play finally started and we faced Team Mizuno first and won 5-1. We then played the green devils and lost 7-2 and were done for the day. We had a team steak dinner and then headed back to the fields for a light practice. We went through our throwing progression, then worked all defense to stay sharp for tomorrows game, and get lots of reps in doing things the right way. Most teams arrive for warm-ups about an hour before the game. Our warm-up is two hours long. A lot of the time we will have completed dynamic warm-up and have already been hitting for over a half an hour. We get so many more reps than other teams during warm-ups, and that really benefits us when it comes to game time. 

Our first game on Thursday was vs. the Bahamians. We won 10-0 in 5 innings and were on to the next game, a rematch vs. Team Mizuno.  It was 0-0 through the 5th inning when they scored a run. They also scored one in the sixth, but we never had an answer for them. The ending score was 2-0 and we were out of the tournament. Losing to Team Mizuno was very disappointing but especially because of how they acted. They did not play hard, and didn't even seem to want to be there. Their attitudes were all very negative. They could have been a very good team but because of their attitudes, they became average. 

During a whole week tournament you have so much time to learn with as many games as you play and all of the practice time available. Playing next to Megan Champion, a sub for the week, I learned a lot about the little things and how much they count. I also learned to communicate even more when playing next to someone new. Through my failures and successes this week I learned how well I can do but also have to incentive to keep working hard to fix my failures. A huge emphasis this week was how to recover from failure. You have to be able to think about what you should have done, learn from it, and then move on. Because, in our game you are going to get many more opportunities to do it right and if you have not reset yourself mentally, you will probably make another mistake. Even though I was having mechanical issues throughout the tournament, I was still able to put the ball in play to help my team. I had a blast this week doing what I love and cannot wait for our fall season to start in two weeks!

Diving catch on a bunt turned into a double play