nfca fastpitch delivery march 2015

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Fastpitch Delivery PAGE 1 MARCH 2015

Originally hoping for the baseball job when he and his wife, Joan, settled in the Trenton (Mich.) school district, former Michigan State All-American John Biedenbach instead took a job coaching the high school softball team.

Nearly 950 wins later, he’s still doing

it. This season will be Biedenbach’s 41st in the Trenton dugout.

He was recently voted the choice of the National Federation of State High School

Associations (NFHS) as its National Coach of the Year in softball.

“I’m very thankful and grateful,” Biedenbach said. “That’s kind of overwhelming. I know there’s a lot of deserving people. All I can say is thank you.”

The awards honor an elite group of 21 individuals from among the thousands of coaches leading high school squads in a wide array of sports

around the country. The NFHS works with state coaches associations to identify qualified state honorees that move on to sectional, and hopefully national consideration.

“I started out in baseball, but if you’re going to do something, jump in with

““We got better with our backs against the wall. We didn’t panic. We took care of the ball and found barrel on ball every time it seemed. Most of all, we had an All-American in the circle who basically said, ‘Enjoy the ride,’ and we did.”

Mendiola Has A Team That Doesn’t Know The Word Quit

COACH’S PROFILE PAGE 9DEAN SMITH,HALL OF FAME BASKETBALL COACH

MARCH 2015 VOLUME 20, NO. 3

NATIONAL FASTPITCH COACHES ASSOCIATION

WORDS TO COACH BY...“A leader’s job is to develop committed

followers. Bad leaders destroy their followers’ sense of commitment.”

Biedenbach Named National Coach Of Year

INSIDE

Longtime Trenton High (Mich.) Mentor Softball Selection By NFHS Voting Panel

Corvallis High assistant coach and noted speaker and author Will Keim explains how softball prepared him to fight cancer.

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Join Our StrikeOut Cancer TeamPartner with us in the fight against cancer by hosting a fundraiser this season.INSPIRATION PAGE 10

NCAA REPORT .................................. PAGE 4QUESTION OF THE MONTH ............. PAGE 7EDUCATION .............................PAGES 13-14SOFTBALL BY SMITTY ................... PAGE 16RULES CORNER .............................. PAGE 17VIEWPOINTS .................................. PAGE 18

Biedenbach

St. Mary’s coach Donna Fields addresses her team during Division II Leadoff. Photo by Brian Stanley.

St. Mary’s Captures DII LeadoffThe final day of the NFCA Division

II Leadoff Classic at Lincoln Park in Tucson, Ariz., provided the patrons with some exciting finishes and this year’s Gold Bracket titlist, St. Mary’s, played a part in that.

The Rattlers finished 6-0 for the three-day event after an dramatic 10-9 comeback victory over Central Oklahoma in the championship

game.The Rattlers

entered the bottom of the sixth trailing

7-2, but scored eight runs to grab a 10-7 advantage. The inning was highlighted by a two-run double by

NAIA Titlist Auburn Montgomery, Runner-Up William Carey ReturnTo Columbus For Leadoff Classic

The two teams that played for the NAIA national championship last May will return to the South Commons Complex in Columbus, Ga., topping the field for the NFCA’s NAIA Leadoff Classic slated for Feb. 27-March 1.

Reigning national champion Auburn Montgomery and 2014 runner-up William Carey each made some history at South Commons last season, Auburn Montgomery (44-7) winning its first NAIA title in just the program’s sixth year of existence, while William Carey (52-12) reached its first-ever title game.

The Warhawks won six of their final seven games, with their lone

loss over that span coming to William Carey in the first of two title games

at the double-elimination NAIA championship. It was the 23rd NAIA crown for Auburn Montgomery, which has 22 national championships in tennis to go with its one softball crown.

Two other teams in the 20-team Leadoff field that have squared off for titles in the past year are two-time defending United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) champ Lindenwood-Belleville and two-time

SEE BIEDENBACH PAGE 19

SEE ST. MARY’S PAGE 19 SEE STRONG PAGE 4

By DAVE HINESEditor

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Fastpitch DeliveryPAGE 2 MARCH 2015

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OFFICIAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT

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The National Fastpitch Coaches Association is a multi-level coaching organization serving girls’ and women’s fastpitch coaches at all competitive levels of play. The NFCA strives to pro-mote and develop the sport, coaching knowledge and leadership through the services it offers.

Members of the NFCA receive 12 issues of Fastpitch Delivery, an annual calendar, discounts on various products and resource materials and the yearly NFCA Directory of Information.

The NFCA also represents its members in organizations such as the ASA and NCAA and awards programs are offered for coaching wins and high school and collegiate All-American and Scholar-Athlete honors. The NFCA also holds a national convention in December, com-bining business meetings, coaching seminars, exhibits of top equipment and plenty of social/networking opportunities. Members also receive discounts to NFCC courses.

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Published on a monthly basis (12 times a year) by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association, 2641 Grinstead Drive, Louisville, KY 40206; phone (502) 409-4600; fax (502) 409-4622; email [email protected]. Subscriptions come with membership in the NFCA. Address corrections requested — POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Fast-pitch Delivery, 2641 Grinstead Drive, Louisville, KY 40206. Periodicals postage is paid at Louisville, KY.

Articles for Fastpitch Delivery are solicited and edited under the guidance of the Education and Publications Committee of the NFCA and its Executive Director. To submit an article for the newspaper or receive informa-tion on membership, call (502) 409-4600 or visit the NFCA website at www.nfca.org. Lacy Lee Baker — Publisher — [email protected] Hines — Editor — [email protected]

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ASSESSMENTSOLUTION

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Based on pre-convention survey responses and through continued dialog with the membership, it is evident that much of the member-ship would prefer to receive our monthly newspaper, Fastpitch De-livery, in electronic form, rather than a physical copy mailed to their home address.

While many have expressed an interest in opting for the electronic format, which will help us be more environmentally

responsible and reduce production costs to enhance member benefits

in other areas, we understand that many of you still want to receive the newspaper in the traditional way each month.

Several surveys and emails have been sent to the membership re-questing you let us know your de-livery preference. For those who have already responded, thank you. We’ve updated your mem-bership accordingly, and you will begin receiving the paper via your preferred method in April.

If you have not responded to one of our surveys or emails yet, please contact Kelley Fisher at [email protected] or Katelyn Funchess at [email protected] as soon as pos-sible to indicate your newspaper delivery preference.

A final survey will be sent on March 18 to all members who have not yet indicated whether they’d like an electronic or hard copy of the newspaper.

Any member who does not spe-cifically indicate that he or she would like to continue receiving a printed copy of the newspaper, will begin receiving Fastpitch De-livery in only the electronic format beginning May 1.

Those members opting to con-tinue receiving a printed copy of the newspaper will continue to have the same online access to the electronic version of the newspa-per that you have now by signing into the My Coaches Box section of NFCA.org.

NFCA Seeks Newspaper Delivery PreferenceNEWS & NOTES

The NFCA recently added a weekly video feature, Tip Tuesday, to our list of regular items offered on our social media platforms.

The short weekly educational piece by a member coach or administrator is meant to make all of our members bet-ter by sharing knowledge in the spirit of our NFCA purpose, “To support fastpitch softball coaches in their quest for excellence, while uniting together to advance the sport we love.”

The video feature each Tuesday will

be hashtagged #TipTuesday on Twitter with a link to the video on YouTube and sometimes also include a separate link to an accompanying text description of what’s being done in the video. You can also access the video directly on our YouTube page or via the NFCA’s Instagram or Facebook pages.

If you have a Tip Tuesday item to share with your fellow members, please send an email with the brief vid-eo and any text description necessary to [email protected].

Tip Tuesday Added To NFCA Offerings

Member Deadline To Choose Electronic Or Printed Version of Fastpitch Delivery Looms

FEATURED TWEET

Denison University head coach Tiffany Ozbun provides one of the recent Tip Tuesday items.

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runner-up Ave Maria. Lindenwood-Belleville (35-23-1)

beat the (30-30) Gyrenes, 3-2, to claim last year’s USCAA crown.

Georgia-Gwinnett (39-10-1) was one of only two teams to defeat Lindenwood-Belleville in the 2014 postseason, topping the Lady Lynx in the Association of Independent Institutions tournament.

Olivet Nazarene (49-5-1) had by far the longest stretch of dominance

among Leadoff teams, going unbeaten for 46 straight games. The Tigers won 43 in a row, tied one and then won two more. Consecutive shutout losses to William Carey and the College of Idaho at the NAIA championship ended their season.

Belhaven (44-17) lost to William Carey in the Southern States Athletic Conference tournament and beat fellow Leadoff participant Bellevue (36-17) twice in NAIA opening round games. Bellevue put together three win streaks of five or more games last season.

Central Methodist (43-8) lost in the NAIA opening round tournament after winning its fourth-straight Heart

of America Athletic Conference title, while Lindsey Wilson (50-11) made its deepest NAIA tourney run in school history, tying for fifth nationally.

South Carolina-Beaufort (39-11) lost an one-run game to St. Thomas in the Sun Conference final one day after winning three games to stay alive in the tournament. One of those wins eliminated fellow Leadoff team Thomas (24-23) from Sun contention.

Campbellsville (44-21) used a 14-game win streak to amass the most victories in a season in school history, while Oklahoma Baptist (45-17) was shut out twice by William Carey in the NAIA opening round after claiming

the Sooner Athletic Conference title. Reinhardt (46-10) suffered a

similar fate, falling twice to Auburn Montgomery in the NAIA postseason.

After knocking fellow Leadoff school Park (37-11) out of the American Midwest Conference tournament en route to the crown, William Woods (40-17) fell in the NAIA opening round. LSU-Alexandria (35-3) lost only three times all season, but twice at the NAIA championship, while Friends (35-16) fell in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament and Corban (26-20) scored a doubleheader sweep on the final day to finish fifth in the Cascade Collegiate Conference.

STRONG FIELD ASSEMBLED FOR NAIA LEADOFF CLASSICCONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Cost Of Attendance Approved At NCAA ConventionNEWS & NOTES

For NCAA Division I schools, the 2015 NCAA Convention marked an historic point in intercollegiate athletics since it was approved for schools to be able to give their athletes the full cost of attendance as part of a full athletics scholarship.

The autonomy group – comprised of five participating conferences, the At-lantic Coast, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and Southeastern – adopted the rules during the first-ever autonomy busi-ness session under the new Division I governance structure.

Those schools now have the flexibil-ity to propose and adopt rules within a set of specific categories as part of the new Division I governance structure. Schools in the other Division I confer-ences are able to apply the same rules if they choose.

In the autonomy conferences, a full scholarship will now include expenses that meet the federal definition of “cost of attendance.” Now, in addition to tu-ition, fees, books and room and board, the scholarship will also include ex-penses such as academic-related sup-plies, transportation and other similar items.

The value of those benefits can dif-fer from campus to campus. Schools will be able to give their athletes the full cost of attendance as part of a full athletics scholarship beginning Aug. 1, and those scholarships cannot be re-

voked for athletics reasons.

Other action by the autonomy schools were:

• Voted to adhere to more stringent concussion manage-ment requirements and will submit their concussion protocols to a new Concussion Safety Protocol Commit-tee for approval.

• Decided that college athletes might borrow against their future earnings potential to purchase loss-of-value in-surance, a measure that drew little con-versation but unanimous approval.

• Outlined their vision for the future of college sports, and used them to set their priorities through a resolution. On the horizon for consideration include concepts such as opportunities for for-mer student-athletes who left school without a degree to return on scholar-ship and comprehensive medical and academic support for college athletes.

In joint division I action (autonomy schools and other Division I mem-bers), it was decided that all Division I schools will continue to have the same access to championships as they cur-rently receive.

Division IIDivision II schools voted strongly in

favor of allowing schools to provide student-athletes with unlimited meals and snacks as well as team entertain-

ment incidental to their athletics par-ticipation. The two proposals – meals and entertainment – were voted on sep-arately, but 92 percent of voters gave their approval each time. The legisla-tion will take effect Aug. 1.

Division IIIThe biggest concern for Division III

softball coaches going into the conven-tion was a proposal to reduce the maxi-mum number of contests and dates of competition in select sports by as much as 10. After debate, however, 68 per-cent of delegates voted to refer the pro-posal after the Division III Presidents Council made a motion to do so.

Three of the four proposals crafted by the Division III Recruiting Work-ing Group were adopted. The working group proposals that passed are:

• The proposal that permits contact with recruits after their sophomore year of high school garnered an overwhelm-ing majority of the vote;

• Seventy-two percent of members voted to permit recruits to sign an ath-letics non-binding standardized cel-ebratory form;

• Coaches will now be permitted to contact recruits on each day of com-petition at multi-day events, such as camps and tournaments, after they have finished competing each day. The rule was amended from the original proposal put forward by the working group that would have allowed coach-

es to contact recruits before or after they competed.

The lone working group proposal that was defeated would have permit-ted on-campus evaluations of prospec-tive students. Nearly 80 percent of del-egates voted in opposition.

The only piece of recruiting legis-lation that did not originate from the working group – permitting recruits to make an official campus visit as of Jan. 1 of their junior year – was also adopt-ed after 91 percent of delegates voted in favor of the proposal.

The membership voted to establish the concept of nullification – a quanti-tative method that affects win percent-age and strength of schedule – to ad-dress ineligible student-athletes related to the selection of at-large teams for national championships and lower the minimum allowable fine for all sec-ondary violations. The proposal carried 82 percent of the vote after a motion to refer the proposal back to the Division III Championships Committee was narrowly defeated.

Division III student-athletes will now be permitted to participate in coopera-tive educational work experiences that are not required for their degree (e.g. internships) without an impact on eli-gibility. The proposal passed with 90 percent of the vote.

This report was put together from re-ports generated by the NCAA.

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Are you a softball coach who enjoys public speaking and wants to share your messages and expand your network?

The NFCA is creating a Speakers Bureau via our website (www.nfca.org). We receive many requests throughout the year for speakers at coaches’ clinics, softball seminars, motivational forums and various other events.

With the creation of an NFCA Speakers Bureau, we can direct

interested parties to our website and they can browse various speakers, their topics and other information.

If you would like to be added

to the NFCA Speakers Bureau, please send your name, school/travel ball team name, speaking topics of choice, email address, and bio (either a link to your website

biography or attach a written bio) to NFCA Associate Executive Director Carol Bruggeman at [email protected].

The NFCA only asks one thing in return as we assist you in obtaining speaking engagements. We ask for a sincere mention of the NFCA and all its benefits during your speaking presentation and ask you to encourage attendees to browse our website and to consider joining the NFCA.

Partner With The NFCA To Strike Out CancerNEWS & NOTES

We hope your school or team is planning to partner with the NFCA this season during its annual Strike-Out Cancer campaign.

The StrikeOut Cancer initiative is a program through the NFCA to help raise funds and awareness to fight cancer.

The program leverages the per-sonal experiences, community leadership and professional excel-lence of fastpitch softball coaches nationwide to help increase cancer education and promote healthy liv-ing through awareness efforts and fundraising activities.

It’s easy to get involved. Simply

choose a game to dedicate to Strike-Out Cancer and then plan ways to raise donations and awareness to do your part to make a difference.

In order to participate, a coach from your school or team must be a current NFCA member. Go the NFCA.org and click on the Strike-Out Cancer logo on the homepage.

Choose the “Event Information Packet” link to get ideas about ob-taining sponsors and fundraising. Then, make sure you click on the “Register Here!” link so we can add

you to our roster of participating programs this season.

Teams that sign up at least two weeks prior to their game will re-ceive a StrikeOut Cancer package, which will include StrikeOut Can-cer eye black from EyeBlack.com and customized helmet stickers from Bright Ideas Pro.

We’re pleased to announce that Louisville Slugger has generously donated personalized pink bats for the top fundraisers in each division this season.

Since starting the StrikeOut Can-cer initiative more than a decade ago, the NFCA has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to support the fight against cancer.

These monetary donations allow cancer organizations to continue their efforts to fight and prevent cancer, save lives and diminish suffering from the disease through research, education, advocacy and service.

For more information, or to share your press releases, stories and pho-tos, please contact Alyssa Voelm-le at [email protected] or Katelyn Funchess at [email protected].

NFCA Establishing A Speaker’s Bureau

Georgia Southern University is offering a completely online master’s degree program with a coaching emphasis that is designed to meet the needs of busy individuals preparing for or already in the coaching field.

The 14-month program leads to a M.S. in Kinesiology-Coaching Behavior. It can be taken on your own schedule and is taught by full-time Georgia Southern faculty with coaching experience.

Classes cover a variety of topics related to coaching, including athletic training, coaching administration and effectiveness as well as performance enhancement. The program follows National Coaching Standards for Level 5 Coaching Status (high school, college and elite levels).

The program does not provide teaching certification, plus does meet state requirements and provide certified health and physical education teachers in the state of Georgia with a salary increase. Applications are being accepted for review until April 15, with the program starting in May. The total cost is approximately $16,000.

For more information, visit http://bit.ly/1vNq8BD

Georgia Southern Offering Online Coaching Masters

Great Britain Seeking Players For Its National Softball TeamsGreat Britain is looking for women

and girls with British heritage to try out for its national teams at the Senior, Under-19 Junior, Under-16 and Under-13 levels. They are particularly looking for pitchers, but will consider players at any position.

Because female fastpitch softball is a small, but growing, sport in the United Kingdom, its national teams are composed of a mixture of players born and raised in Great Britain and passport-holding or passport-eligible players who have grown up and learned their softball in other parts of the world.

The Senior national team has

played in the last four ISF World Championsh ips and has been ranked among the top five teams in

Europe for over a decade, while the Under-19 Junior national team will be playing at the ISF Junior World Championships this summer after finishing ninth in the world at the event in 2013.

To be eligible for British citizenship and a British passport, a player must have been born in Great Britain herself or have at least one parent who was born in Great Britain as a British citizen. Players

with British grandparents or great-grandparents aren’t qualified to compete as a member of the Great Britain national team.

Any qualified fastpitch players with British heritage who are interested in playing international softball for Great Britain should contact Bob Fromer for more information at [email protected].

They should provide as much information as possible about their softball background. Links to video footage are welcome. Players will be contacted by coaches from the appropriate Great Britain age-group team to exchange more information and discuss the selection process.

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Washington College’s Lister Gets CAC HonorNEWS & NOTES

It’s been nearly nine years since Washington (Md.) College head softball coach Lacey Lister completed her outstanding collegiate career at Salisbury University, but the former NFCA All-America pitcher picked up another honor recognizing her playing prowess recently.

The Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) Silver Anniversary Softball Team, recognized Lister among the top 25 softball players in that conference’s 25-year history.

Lister was the CAC Rookie of the Year in 2003 and then won three consecutive CAC Player of the Year awards.

A four-time NFCA All-American, Lister earned first-team honors as a senior, and was also a four-time NFCA All-Region and All-CAC first-team selection.

Her 1,096 career strikeouts and 108 career victories are among the best

marks by a pitcher in NCAA Division III history. During her playing career, the Sea Gulls played in four NCAA tournaments and won four straight CAC Championships.

Heading into her seventh season at the helm of the Shorewomen, Lister has proven to be equally adept at coaching. She was named the Centennial Conference Coach of the Year in 2011 and 2012 and guided the Shorewomen to their first-ever Centennial Conference championship

and an NCAA tournament berth in 2013.

Washington College achieved its first-ever NFCA national ranking during the 2014 season, when it compiled a 26-13-1 mark, and the Shorewomen have qualified for the Centennial Conference Tournament in each of the past four years, after reaching the postseason just once prior to Lister’s arrival in Chestertown.

—Courtesy Washington College Sports Information

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2014 NFCA NATIONAL CONVENTION CLINIC DVD ORDER FORM If you couldn’t attend the convention or you just want to review a session that you attended in Las Vegas, you can purchase a DVD of many of the topics. DVDs are $20 for members/$25 for non-members (plus shipping and handling). Each features the speaker as shot in his/her presentation at the convention. All recordings are approximately 45 minutes in length.

DVDS (@ $20/$25 EACH) # $ SHIPPING ($6 FIRST DVD; $1 EACH EXTRA) $ TOTAL $

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RETURN TO NFCA, 2641 GRINSTEAD DRIVE, LOUISVILLE, KY 40206, FAX TO (502) 409-4622, CALL (502) 409-4600 OR PURCHASE ONLINE AT WWW.NFCA.ORG.

DVDS NOW AVAILABLE! DVD NAME & SPEAKER

“THE MIND MATTERS: WHY YOU SHOULD FULLY COMMIT TO TRAINING YOUR ATHLETES’ MENTAL GAME AS PART OF REGULAR PREPARATION & HOW TO DO IT”Tori Nyberg, Founder & Owner, Elevate Performance Counseling

“DRILLS, DRILLS, DRILLS”Mike Lambros, Head Coach, North Davidson High School; Kristine Himes, Associate Head Coach, University of Kentucky; Kelly Ford, Head Coach, Cal State-Fullerton

“SHOW AND GO: AN INSIDE LOOK AT MANAGING PLAYER AND STAFF PERSONALITIES”Lonni Alameda, Head Coach, Florida State University

“A CATCHER’S GRIND: MOLDING THE DEFENSIVE DIFFERENCE MAKER”Jen Schroeder, Former UCLA Catcher & Owner of Jen Schro Catching

“CREATIVE TEACHING: THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX”Randy Schneider, Associate Head Coach, University of Wisconsin

“THREE KEYS TO ELITE HITTING”Matt Lisle, Assistant Coach, Santa Clara University

“CHAMPIONSHIP DEFENSE: GETTING GAME READY”Chris Steiner-Wilcoxson, Head Coach, Alabama State University

“POLISHING AN ATHLETE: COMPLEX TRAINING OF POWER & SPEED STRENGTH”Michelle Martin-Diltz, Strength & Conditioning Coach, University of Alabama

“PREPARING YOUR TEAM FOR THE POSTSEASON”Kevin Blaskowski, Head Coach, West Texas A&M University

“PITCHING PERFORMANCE MEASURES”Rick Pauly, Pitching Coach, University of Georgia

“EPIDEMIC OF OVERUSE INJURIES IN SOFTBALL”Dr. Chris Mazoue, Orthopedic Surgeon, University of South Carolina

“HALL OF FAME PANEL”Dr. JoAnne Graf, Bill Edwards, Margie Wright, Dr. Gerry Pinkston

NEW! Check out our “Extra Innings,” “Cover the Bases” and “Grand Slam” DVD packages available at our NFCA.org store.

Lister

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Clyde Washburne (former Eastern Connecticut State coach and an NFCA Hall of Famer) sent me a letter after coaching against our team.

The following year took me fishing at the national tournament after both our teams were eliminated. He told me to never think I had arrived, and not to take myself too seriously. Have been trying to pass it on ever since.

George WaresCentral College

(Longtime Hofstra coach and NFCA Hall of Famer) Bill Edwards is my coaching mentor and has been for over 20 years. He is a teacher first,

and that is what makes him so great. Coach Edwards blends the perfect mix of teaching, fundamentals, strategy and motivation. He makes average players great and great players All-Americans. He always had a solution and an answer for everything. I respect how much he has given back to the game, and I take that lesson with me the most from my time with him. And his loyalty to Hofstra University is another quality that makes him great.

Natalie KozlowskiUniversity of North Texas

Two people have had the most influence that made me want to become a coach. The first person is my high school baseball coach Bill

Bromberg. His attention to detail and meticulous practices are still used by me today 32 years later. The second is my father. His astute knowledge of picking out an opponent’s weakness and exploiting it are second to none. He taught me how a certain team can gain an advantage on another just by its personnel.

Anthony LaRezzaImmaculate Heart (N.J.) Academy

My coaching mentor has been my dad, Tony Ciccarello (Fredonia). He had such an impact on me and and my passion for the game since I

was a little girl. I would go watch his practices and games from a very young age, and from there I learned the right way to coach — with pride, dignity, respect and passion. He is someone I look up to and go to with any questions I have. I hope one day I can be half the coach and mentor he is.

Gabrielle CiccarelloUtica College

I was extremely fortunate to have connected with Ron Bouldin, a former pitching coach at the University of Arizona. Ron was a retired

Air Force Colonel when he was coaching with Mike Candrea at the U of A. He had pitched men’s fastpitch at a high level in the early days of the International Softball Congress. Ron was a true gentleman who was admired

by every young lady he gave lessons to. When I met Ron he had been retired from active college coaching, and as he put it “I just do lessons in the park.” These consisted of three group lessons on Saturdays in various parks in Phoenix, Ariz. Just show up if you want to. Nothing formal or fancy, just real solid instruction and a great following of kids and parents. Ron’s clinic customer base was not necessarily in the high-income sections of Phoenix and he always made sure that every kid/parent could afford to attend. Can you imagine a two-hour clinic from a former University of Arizona pitching coach with several national titles for $10? And if you had a sister, she was in for free. Talk about giving back. He wrote the book. Each season, he would take two or three high-potential girls and do a weekly mini clinic with them — free of charge. You could not pay him. Luckily, my daughter Sarah was asked to join one of his mini clinic groups and flourished because of it. I was the “bucket dad” and was able to soak in everything he said. I still use lots of his neat descriptions and ways of describing what was needed to make a pitch effective.

Rick PaulyUniversity of Georgia

I have been fortunate enough to work for two Hall of Famers in JoAnne Graf and Margo Jonker. These mentors taught me that if you

take care of people and you take care of the game, everything else will fall in to place. The key lessons I have learned and continue to learn from them are to stay humble, play with class, respect the game and, above all else, take pride in your work. Our profession needs more coaches like these two extraordinary women.

Joanna LaneCentral Michigan University

I am so grateful for my coaching mentors. These four men have had a major impact on my life and I am blessed to know them. Steve Hanks

taught the game while being an incredibly respectful man and father figure in our lives. He got his point across without anger or frustration and he made us want to learn and get it right more than any coach. Mike Lehning made the game fun, intense and competitive no matter what we were doing. He wanted success for us so badly and was passionate about it. He definitely got the most out of us. Coach Dick Smith spent so much time teaching us the little things of the game and also answering all of our questions, all while teaching me life lessons along the way. He’s a very honest man, even if it wasn’t what people wanted to hear. Ritchie Richardson commanded excellence in the way he coached us. He never had to yell, we just wanted to do so well for him because we respected him so greatly and did not want

Who is your coaching mentor and why did that person have such an impact on your coaching?

Have a Question or an Answer?

Here is your chance to give input in a very simple manner – we need ideas for questions you would like to see answered in a future edition, so please feel free to share those ideas.

Respond by emailing Dave Hines at [email protected].

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to disappoint him. He also is an amazing strategist and mind.Anna WelshSoutheastern University

There is no doubt that (NFCA Hall of Famer) Kathy Veroni has had the greatest impact on my coaching career. It is not the obvious metrics

that we use to define a successful coach, but more about how she invests in people. She respects the game, the players and has always made time for everyone. Kathy is classy, dynamic, selfless, motivational, passionate and has a heart of gold that has room for all. I became a much better coach when she opened my eyes to what matters most about the game of softball — the players, relationships developed and staying true to yourself. Yes, you must win to keep your job, but she managed to balance it all with grace and compassion. Too many of us get caught up in ourselves when times get rough and she is a wonderful reminder that the game is much bigger than any one person. She coached with intensity, yet maintained a sense of humor. I have never met anyone like her and I am so grateful for the impact she has had on me, as I am sure she has had on countless others.

Roanna BrazierOn The Rise Fastpitch

My coaching mentor is NFCA Hall of Famer Julie Lenhart from Cortland. Lenhart helped me to see the positive side of every situation

and to be able to turn a situation most people would be negative about into a positive and many times good learning experience.

Larry MillerFramingham State College

My coaching mentor was my first Athletic Director, Dean Kinley. I was in my first year as an assistant girls varsity basketball coach and head softball

coach. He was constantly offering advice and putting things into perspective. I thought the most important thing was to win. I remember him stating “Wins and losses are not important here, treating our athletes the right way and preparing them for life after school is.” I guess that’s been my coaching philosophy for the last 27 years. I’ve always tried to coach in a way that my athletes knew I cared about them more as a person than how well they could dribble a basketball or hit a softball. I have had successes and some failures. I’ve tried to learn from my shortfalls, while crediting my successes to our athletes. I still remember him every time my team takes the field.

Richard WojcikCleveland (Ohio) Central Catholic High School

My high school basketball coach, Bernard Gideon. I was the manager of the high school basketball team and he was always honest to his players

and kept everything in perspective. (Plus) his style of building a team and not individuals. He did not let one player dominate the team.

Dennis Joe CoxRiverton Parke (Ind.) High School

I have learned a lot from successful coaches in other sports, but my biggest mentors have come from personal experience. Playing for

Sheliah Gulas at Ashland University taught me a lot about enthusiasm for the game and the job and really introduced me to the idea of being a servant leader. I was very fortunate when I began my coaching career to study under

Jan Forsty at Bethany College (W.Va.). The legacy and family atmosphere she has created at Bethany was such an incredible thing to be a part of. I am so thankful to have had both of these leaders in my life. They taught me so many invaluable things that I try to bring to my program every day.

Kristen McGaugheyClarkson University

(NFCA Hall of Famer) Joan Joyce hands down. Coach’s confidence, desire to be the best in everything she does and competitive drive

has been the essence of who I try to be to my players. Not only has Coach been my mentor, but more importantly she has been my role model. She is my shoulder to lean on when I need her, my voice of reason in the middle of season, and my problem solver when I need a new rock to look under. Joan Joyce leaves a positive impact on every player she coaches. She is an inspiration to me to become the best coach possible every day.

Christina SutcliffeNorthern Illinois University

My mentor pre-college was my father, he played men’s fastpitch most of his adult life and took me to all of his games. He taught me about the

game, and I admired his love and passion for men’s softball as well as youth softball. In college, I played for one of the most knowledable coaches in the softball world in the early 1980s at Louisiana Tech University. (NFCA Hall of Famer) Bill Galloway had an amazing knowledge of the game and knew how to get the most out of his players. I consider myself lucky to have had both of these men in my life with their knowledge of the game of softball. Now, in my adult life, I listen to many successful softball coaches and try new things all the time. I feel fortunate that we have so many great people in the game today.

Laneigh ClarkPearland (Texas) High School

I would not be coaching without the mentors that have taken time to invest in me. I have had so many different coaches that have pushed

me to be better and taken me under their wing to help me become the best coach and person I can be. My college coach, Bill Higley of Baptist Bible College, pushed me to pursue my desire to coach at the collegiate level. Bob Fitzsimmons of Marywood University has literally walked through each season with me and talked me through ups and downs of every day, game-to-game happenings. Kris Herman of Williams College has helped me to develop core values that our team is founded on and take things beyond just the field to help my student-athletes not only perform on the field, but also become more equipped to excel in life. The most recent would be (NFCA Hall of Fame coaches Gayle) Blevins, (Cindy) Bristow and (Rhonda) Revelle in the NFCC Course I took in December. Revelle particularly invested in me personally, and we talked a lot about working with staff. I have seen a huge change already in how our staff is functioning.

Renee BarrowsKeystone College

My coaching mentor is Kevin Shelton. I was very fortunate to have met Kevin very early on in my coaching career. His tenacity for

understanding all aspects of the game of fastpitch softball has made a huge influence on how I approach coaching. He has passed on a lot of great values that I have in turn passed on to many who have worked with me. I’ve had an opportunity to work with some of the most respected coaches and players in the game, but it was really Kevin that influenced the foundation.

Mike MillerTexas Glory

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Coming off a hard-fought berth in the NAIA championship with a veteran squad led by NFCA All-America pitcher Nickayla Skinner, College of Idaho head coach Al Mendiola wasn’t quite sure what to expect from his 2015 version, which looked good in practice, but hadn’t seen game action.

“I told people at the college the team is (at least) a championship W i f f l e b a l l team,” Mendiola joked, with his players confined to the campus gymnasium due to weather in the lead-up to game action. “We have some new faces, but we have an experienced pitching staff and we have the potential.”

That potential showed itself in the Yotes’ first three games — all victories. Now he has a better sense of how they’ll perform when the lights are on.

Last year, it was easy to gauge things. “We had an experienced team,”

Mendiola said. “We knew what we were getting from our pitcher.”

But that didn’t mean it was easy. The Yotes got run-ruled by Oregon

Tech, 10-2 in six innings, in the first game of the double-elimination NAIA opening round, before rebounding

to roll past Dickinson State, 7-2, and Cal State-San Marcos, 10-2, with no margin for error left in their season.

Mendiola was so focused on softball that he didn’t even think about it being his birthday until players came up to congratulate him afterward.

When the Yotes defeated Oregon Tech, 2-1, the following day to force a second winner-take-all game for a

berth in the NAIA championship, it was Mendiola’s 250th coaching triumph. Again, t h a t w a s t h e farthest thing in his mind, with more work to be done. Idaho gave him a

little time to reflect in the finale, rolling past the Owls, 10-0 in five innings.

“We got better with our backs against the wall,” Mendiola said. “We didn’t panic. We took care of the ball and found barrel on ball every time it seemed. Most of all, we had an All-American in the circle who basically said, ‘Enjoy the ride,’ and we did.

“I don’t ever want to be in that situation, but boy did they step up and feed off of each other.”

The Yotes won two of three games in the NAIA championship, before falling to eventual national runner-up William Carey, 6-5 in nine innings, to end their season.

Mendiola Has Team That Doesn’t Know Quit

Al Mendiola got his 250th win last season. Photo courtesy of College of Idaho Sports Information.

College Of Idaho’s Remarkable Run In NAIA Championship Has Coach Excited For 2015By DAVE HINES

Editor

COACH’S PROFILE

IN THE PRESS BOX WITH AL MENDIOLA1) How has the game changed in the time you’ve

been coaching?“Pitching is down. I’m having a hard time signing

power pitchers with movement. This is the first time I’ve had six slappers. There’s not the power hitters. It’s going back to speed. Players all want to be Division I, but there’s great softball at all levels. They’re limiting their options.”

2) What are some problems coaches now face that are different from when you started coaching?

“Commitment. You get a commitment and then you

hear they’re visiting other places. You need to make a verbal and honor it.”

3) If you knew then what you know now, how would your coaching have been different?

“Definitely how I approach the girls. I would change the way I coach. Guys are OK with “My way or the highway.” (Women) need to know what their role is. I would have the same expectations, but I would ap-proach it a different way.”

4) Is there a secret to success in coaching?“(Laughs) If there was, I’d bottle it and sell it. The one

thing championship coaches always say is chemistry. If you don’t have chemistry, you can’t get players to play (together).”

5) What would your ideal season be like?“I think if we give these girls an opportunity to

win that championship by doing things the right way — in the classroom, in the community, on the field — even if we don’t win a championship, that’s a successful season. Seeing these girls go on and graduate and have families and be successful is what it’s about.”

“I don’t ever want to be in that situation, but boy did they step up and feed off of each other.”

—Al Mendiola

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My life changed last July 16 when Dr. Peter Hudson said, “You have cancer.” It is not a phrase anyone hopes to hear.

In the room were my wife, Donna, and three of my children, Sami, JJ and Hannah. Soft weeping began to be heard behind me as our family friend and doctor explained it was advanced melanoma. As strange as this may sound, I immediately began to think of what this would mean to my softball coaching position.

MY DAUGHTER Sami was a 2011 NCAA Division III champion in softball at Linfield College in Oregon. Graduating in three years, she became an elementary school teacher at Lincoln School and head softball coach at Corvallis High School. I became her assistant coach.

It gave me an excuse to spend three hours a day with my daughter on the dirt. Softball had been so good to her and she wanted to give something back. She had played for Gerry Orlando of the Oregon Panthers and then Jackson Vaughan at Linfield. She had seen in person what great character-driven coaches can do for a player’s development as a human being and a softball player. She wanted to do that for young women at the high school level.

WE WERE 24-24 the first two years and had our breakout season last year, going 17-9 and winning our first playoff game since Sami had played on the team. We lost to the eventual state champion, Pendleton, and in one week during the season, we beat the three perennial powerhouses — West Albany, Silverton and Dallas — for the first time in school history.

We had seven seniors named first team Academic All Americans by the NFCA. Two of them will play for Claremont-Mudd-Scripps for Betsy Hipple and one for Jackson Vaughan

at Linfield. With the assistance of our Principal Matt Boring, and our Athletic Director Bob Holt, we put the first fence around our field, a scoreboard behind it and dugouts for the softball team for the first time in school history.

THEN THE cancer announcement. What would we do, Sami and I, about our team, about the program we had taken from cellar dweller to competitive status? More about that later. For now, I want to share with you from my heart the seven ways that softball prepared me for my “negotiation” with cancer.

I call it a negotiation rather than a fight, because there is enough fighting in the world. I am a pretty good persuader, and while cancer wants to

be a large part of my life, its role in my mind needs to be much smaller. So, what did softball teach me?

1. Do Your Best To Be PositiveWhen we had no fence, no scoreboard,

no dugouts, no drainage system and a team that was used to losing badly, it was hard to stay hopeful and positive. Yet, I watched my daughter ‘coach ‘em up’ and my five to six hours on our quagmire-like field each day taught me patience and to keep my eyes on the prize.

Once when we had NFCA Hall of Famer Cindy Bristow come to work with the team on positive attitudes and softball skills, she rolled up her pant legs, took off her shoes and began to

sweep water off the tarp so we could pull it. She told our girls, “You do more before practice in order to practice than most teams do at practice. Stay positive and your efforts will be rewarded.” Our positive attitude was rewarded. Softball taught me this.

2. Be Present In The MomentLike in softball, if you sit back and try

to entertain the whole concept, cancer is overwhelming. There are so many things that have to happen in order to have a game and compete.

All of you coaches who have people who prepare your field should thank God and be happy. You have to stay focused on the matter at hand. Softball taught me to be present in each moment, to celebrate each accomplishment, to not worry about tomorrow’s challenges today.

Cancer demands your attention, and it is best to take it one day at a time...much like it is best to take the game one pitch at a time. One inning at a time. Softball taught me this.

3. Forget Failure QuicklyTaking a strikeout out to the field

usually results in a missed defensive opportunity. Taking an error in the field into the batter’s box does not provide any better results offensively. With cancer, you must celebrate the rising of your hemoglobin score, a small shrinkage of the tumor, a chemo treatment without terrible side effects. Right now and right here.

Trying to take on an entire game or season all at once is futile. Cancer does not provide much good news, but there are moments when a glimmer of hope gets you through the night. We must forget failure quickly in order to go on. Softball taught me this.

4. Together Everyone Accomplishes More: TEAM Above Self

I sit down during my lectures now to save energy and stay focused on my students. I ask every audience how

By WILL KEIM, Ph.DAsst. Coach, Corvallis High School

Will Keim has spoken to three million students on 3,000 campuses in all 50 U.S. states. He has keynoted the U.S. Air Force Academy National Symposium on Character and Leadership, and the National Forum on Character in Washington, D.C. He has written 14 books including “Keys To Success In College & Life,” and “Welcome To The Time Of Your Life!”

He is the Assistant Softball Coach at Corvallis High School in Corvallis, Ore., and was a four-year Division I letterwinner in baseball at the University of the Pacific. Keim is a member of the NFCA and the proud father of an NCAA national champion in softball. Learn more about him at willkeim.com

How Softball Prepared Me To Fight CancerINSPIRATION

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many of them have had cancer in their immediate families and 80 percent of the hands go up every time. Hundreds of students have approached me after my speech with stories about their families and themselves and the cancers that have challenged them. They have offered prayers, good wishes and great comfort to me.

ONE STUDENT-ATHLETE from Alabama told me, “My dad lived 19 years after his diagnosis, Dr. Keim. Don’t give up.” A swimmer from Claremont-Mudd-Scripps said, “I was diagnosed with melanoma at 11 years old. I am 20. I have had chemo and 11 biopsies since then. You can live with this.”

Dr. Matt Taylor, my oncologist at the Oregon Health Sciences University’s Knight Cancer Center said, “There are three new treatments being approved

as we speak. You have options.” No one does anything worthwhile

in life or softball without the help of others. My team consists of my family, my doctors, the researchers, the infusionists, the nurses and my friends and students who offer me up in prayer in traditions including Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Taoism and Secular Humanism.

Softball taught me that in order to accomplish anything worthwhile, it takes a team committed to each other and the cause. If I am to live as long as possible, it will be a team effort, much in the same way that every championship and success falls on the shoulders of many, not one.

5. It Ain’t Over ‘Til It’s Over: Believe in Miracles

It has often been said when a team beats a superior opponent, “That’s why we play the game,” or “Any given day.” The game and the players who play it are growing in strength and abilities each year. The thought three years ago that our Corvallis Spartans could beat

the three best teams in our league in a one-week period was unthinkable. Last year, an NAIA team beat a Division I team.

In softball, we believe in working hard and in miracles. No game is over until the last out is in the book. Softball has taught me to believe in miracles. To ask, believe and receive.

No game in softball, or life, is over ‘til it’s over. I play on in hopes that in some lab somewhere or in the mind of one of my students, the horrible mystery of cancer will be solved. If a cancer has a 99 percent morality rate, I intend on being the one percent. A great man once said, “Never ever give up.” He was a coach too!

6. The Dirt is Sacred and So Is Life.One of the last sermons I preached

was entitled, “The Church of Softball.” You are free to substitute Synagogue or Mosque, depending on your beliefs. I told the congregation that if churches knew how much ministry took place on the dirt, they would all sponsor teams and leagues.

The Roman Catholics have known about this in sports and youth for years. Softball taught me that every step onto the dirt is sacred, because I might witness a miracle today. A hit, an insight, a pitch, a dive or something that defied explanation and was outside the norm.

Life is sacred, and I wish all coaches and players would think big picture and not let an error, strikeout or loss define even that day. Softball is the vehicle that drives us into deeper understandings of ourselves and our need for others. Cancer has reinforced what I learned from softball: Today is a new day, this is a new at bat, and I am blessed to get another chance.

We must treat the game — and life — as a sacred experience ripe with possibilities to grow, develop and achieve. Neither the game, the season nor life will go on forever. Carpe Diem. Seize the day.

7. Encourage Each Person To Give What They Can And Accept That

I have developed special relationships with some of the teams I have worked with over the years. Patrick Murphy’s Alabama team presented me with a get well card last spring when I was on campus that contained some of the

most profound thoughts on healing and being positive that I have ever read. Each young woman shook my hand and offered their care and prayers. It was very touching.

My high school team emailed and visited with their thanks for playing for Sami and I and their good wishes for my journey. Vaughan’s Linfield team sent a card with statements of love and care.

I RECEIVED an Easton bat at the end of the season last year from the Texas Longhorns signed with well wishes from the players and coaches. Coaches Connie Clark and Corrie Hill told me to make sure to read the inscription the girls had chosen: “A little something to envision beating the hell outta cancer.” It now resides in my study placed on the wall next to my 1970 Colt League World Champions bat.

Softball taught me that everyone brings something unique to the game. The key to good coaching is to find out what that is and set up a set of circumstances in which the player can give what she has to give for the betterment of the team. The exciting thing I think about coaching is to help players expand their own understanding and belief in what they can bring to the team to make it better.

I HAVE SPENT my life trying to give. I would rather be the visitor in the hospital than the one being visited.

But this is my time to receive. To allow each of my friends and students to give what they can to my recovery. Softball taught me that. The joy is in giving, and no one gets to give without someone else being willing to receive.

Like a good softball game, I do not know how my story will end. But I do know that my life has been so greatly and positively impacted by softball and the people who coach it and play it. When my daughter Sami and I went in to resign due to my illness and my daughter’s master’s program, our principal said, “I do not accept your resignation. I am giving you a one-year sabbatical to finish the MA and get well.” That’s what he had to give and it gave me hope. And the most amazing gift of hope I have received so

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There is a belief that being good enough is settling for less than your full potential. I say that is not entirely true.

While there are many moments in my life where I desired more, I found myself constantly feeling like I wasn’t there yet. I started to wish for things to be better than they were. I began sentences with “I can’t wait for …” and the ending was always about big life moments, not just a dinner party with friends coming up on the calendar.

INSTEAD OF loving the moments I was in, I found myself longing for the moments that may happen years from now, with different circumstances, and perhaps other people and places.

But what happens when we wish away the present in order to find more of what we don’t have? We actually miss out on the things we have now. We think our lives will be better “someday.”

That’s the same “someday” that we talk about when we think about losing the weight or getting back to the gym or going back to school or falling in love or landing the job of our dreams. And then we start in with “I can’t, I am too …,” “I am not … enough.” Fill in the blanks.

I am sure, like me, you have said all of this. There comes a time to just

stop saying it.I was working with a very strong

Junior Olympic swimmer not too long ago. I wanted to get a feel for where she was in her mind as a swimmer.

I HAVE SEEN her swim and I knew her potential, as did everyone else around her. I was wondering if she had a clue how good she really was. I asked her what her goals were and where she wanted to go in the next few years.

She laughed. Then she shook her head. “No, no … you aren’t getting me to commit to something I am not sure of.”

I smiled and asked what she meant by that.

“I know that I need to have something to reach for — a goal of some sort. But if I set a goal and achieve it, then I just have to change it anyway,” she said. “Or if I don’t achieve it, then I am disappointed.

“AND WHAT if I am better than I think I am? I set a goal that is too small and I end up limiting myself to that, because that’s all I think I am good enough for. What then?”

I asked her back, “Ok Sam. You tell me. What then?”

She looked at me again and said, “Well, how about this. How about I just go out every day and give my 100 percent? Because that is really the only thing I control anyway.

“You always tell me, if I take care

of the process, the outcome will take care of itself. So if I just focus on today, this moment, I think I have that covered.”

In that moment I realized she got it. We worry too much, too often,

about not getting it right. We focus on the wrong things, setting goals that maybe don’t serve us, setting them too high or setting them way too low to devalue our abilities.

We send the wrong message; to ourselves and those around us. We say it’s OK to settle because everyone does it. Or we say it doesn’t matter.

WE CAN adjust. The goal or the disappointment, or the fear or the joy. We can change our viewpoint or the idea of success we have been told is what we need to live for.

We can teach others about the bar we set and whether it’s too high or too low. We adjust it constantly. We help others do the same.

And as the idea of our self-limiting beliefs now become our story, we buy into it and we live it out. And it’s all we know.

So then what? We constantly look for those around us to validate our failures and pick us up and dust us off when needed, hoping that in those moments they don’t judge where we are and who we have become. And we worry about what just happened or what may happen.

We focus in the wrong places. Or we constantly look around for those

to cheer for us when we do succeed or to give us the pat on the back when we need to feel worthy.

AND THEN what? Nothing really changes. We still go on and set new goals or lower ones we already had.

Instead, perhaps we should just listen to Sam and be present. In the right here and now.

Because the truth is, no matter where you set the goal, you are always enough. Always.

THE MENTAL GAME

Jen Croneberger is a mental game coach who speaks at clinics, team workshops and corporate seminars. She has been inter-viewed on ABC News (Philadelphia affiliate) on many occasions about the mental game, consulted by MTV’s MADE as a fear coach and was the 2009 Female Business Leader of the Year for Chester County, Pa. She works with many organizations and sports teams from professionals to youth and is formerly the head softball coach at Ursinus College. Follow her on Twitter at @JenCroneberger and find her on Facebook at Jennifer Lynne Croneberger. Her blogs and more informa-tion on her programs can be found on www.thefivewords.com.

Because You Are Always EnoughBy JEN CRONEBERGER

President, JLynne Consulting Group

far? Sami, who has been named Coach of The Year in our conference two of the three years she has coached. I knew I would miss my time with her and being on the dirt.

Her Christmas present to me was two tickets to the 2015 Women’s College

World Series in Oklahoma City. I’ve always wanted to go, but we have been coaching. I know it will be emotional, because the one time I was there, it was to watch Sami and the Oregon Panthers play in the nationals.

I WATCHED Sami take the championship field and wept like a baby. For all of you players who might be reading this, she was never the best

player on any team she played on. She just worked the hardest and maximized the gifts God had given her. She was a champion long before the NCAA made it official.

If you see us there, please say hello. Sami will be looking like a coach and walking confidently, knowing she has always given every team she has played on or coached her very best, and I’ll be the six-foot-five guy with misty eyes hoping I will live long

enough to give back to the game one half of what it has given me.

I MIGHT JUST bring my yellow “beating the hell outta cancer” Easton bat to remind me, and you, of what an amazing family — the softball family — we belong to. We are blessed by our association with the game and should manifest gratitude for each day that we get to play on the dirt.

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We all have our weaknesses. You know, the things in life you spend too much money and time doing, but you just can’t help yourself.

Well, mine is travel. I will pinch pennies and save vacation days just so I can travel. My obsession is not just long trips. You give me a few free hours on a recruiting trip and I am off to see the sights.

I even love finding neat things to go see near where I live. What can I say, this is my weakness. Well, one of them.

So what does all this travel talk have to do with softball? Well, in addition to traveling to as many places as possible, I also love to learn things about the places I go.

While I am traveling I am almost always up for a good tour, especially walking tours. This gives you the best way to see things and really learn about where you are and all the interesting things that have taken place there. But one other thing I have learned from all my travel and touring is that as a coach I can learn a lot from a tour guide.

1. They know where they are going and their route is well planned.

No one in their right mind would take a tour that did not have a destination. As coaches, we all know where we want our teams to go, the progress we want them to make, and how we are

going to do all these things. The big question is, do our players?

Do your players know the plan? Do they know where we are going and how we are going to get there? Every tour guide gives you a map of the route in case you get lost.

Our players need a map of our plans. They need to know that we have purpose in what we do and that the season is a process of following a well thought-out plan.

The other thing guides do is tell you what is next. Our players need to know what the next stop is on this journey. An update of progress helps everyone feel like they are a part of something bigger than themselves, and helps them stay on board with the progress the group is making.

2. They have extensive knowledge and share it in fun and interesting ways.

As coaches, we have a lot of knowledge to share with our players. I love to find new ways to do the same thing. This keeps my players on their toes and helps them really learn the skills from many different angles. This also helps them adapt in games to many situations without feeling overwhelmed.

The other part to this is I love to have fun with my players. I tell them that on the first day. I love pitching, I love teaching pitching, and, as such, we are going to have fun while pitching.

We will work very hard, but who

says practice can’t be fun and exciting. So just like a tour guide, I like to find the most exciting way I can to teach them new things.

Some of my ideas are better than others, but if it doesn’t work, I just don’t do it twice. Showing my players that I am willing to try things helps them be willing to try new things as well.

3. They love random facts. Players, especially in college, have

heard the basic fundamentals so many times they can repeat them in their sleep.

Now, I am a firm believer in fundamentals and teach them every day. They are an essential part to any successful player. However, I have also found that you need a few random things to throw into a players skill set.

Teaching a player some of the finer points of their skill can give them the boost they need to get excited about practice.

It doesn’t have to be something big, just teaching a pitcher how to run a particular set-and-out sequence can add some excitement to their practice. When players come to practice excited to learn, great things can happen.

4. They make sure no one gets lost from the group.

One of the most important things a guide must do is not lose anyone along the way. As a coach, we sometimes lose players along the journey of a season.

Our attention tends to be focused on those at the front of the pack. We make sure they are on board and ready to go. However, those who are in the back and sometimes straggling along are just the ones who need us to circle back and bring them up to speed.

The more you keep the group together and on board, the more successful the journey will be.

How many times has an injury or other issue brought those from the back to the front? It is important when this happens that they are caught up and on board with the rest of the group.

5. They arrive at the final destination with the group better for the journey.

At the end of the season, have you reached your final destination? And, more importantly, are those who took your tour through a softball season better for the journey?

Did they learn the lessons taught along way? Did they have an exciting time? Would they recommend you to other travelers?

As I said, I love to travel. Over the years, I have had some really great tours and I have had a few not so good ones. As a coach, my goal is to be the guide that my players need in order to reach the final destination, but only reaching it after learning new and exciting things.

Hopefully they can say, “I am better for the journey.”

Megan Brown is an assistant coach at the University of Akron and the pitching coach for the Great Britain National team.

She earned her doctorate in kinesiology from Auburn University and was a three-time All-America pitcher at Florida Southern College, earning Hall of Fame induction for both her alma mater and the Sunshine State Conference.

Brown played in National Pro Fastpitch from 2007-09 and in Europe from 2010-13. She previ-ously coached at the University of Connecticut under longtime coach Karen Mullins.

Coaches Need To Be Tour Guides For PlayersEDUCATION

By MEGAN BROWN, Ph.DAsst. Coach, Univ. of Akron

NOW AVAILABLE! The NFCA’s 2015 Directory of Information is now available for members to download as a PDF file at www.nfca.org. If you’d prefer to have a printed copy of the directory, please call us at (502) 409-4600 and we’ll arrange for one to be mailed to you.

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Fastpitch is full of frustration and failure.

The best hitters in the world fail more often than they succeed at the plate. Few players complete the season and play errorless ball, and the most dominant pitchers on the planet give up home runs. There is nothing soft about it; we play a hard game.

IF ALL PLAYERS fail, how do the best set themselves apart? It is certainly not their ability to avoid all mistakes or difficult circumstances. Top performers (and top programs) do not succeed in spite of setbacks, but because of their resilience in overcoming obstacles.

At its core, resilience is toughness, the ability to recover quickly in the most trying of times.

With my athletes, I often refer to athletic scenarios to teach life lessons. The game provides an ideal arena for learning life skills. The better our players understand and practice fundamental principles on the field, the better equipped they can be to handle life.

Although true, the reciprocal is also compelling. When players improve their life skills, they are in turn more successful athletes. Consistency in character produces resilience both on and off the field. Developing consistency and resulting resilience begins with identifying consistency-killers.

DR. BRENE BROWN, a research professor at the University of Houston, has spent more than a decade studying vulnerability and courage, and she has uncovered one surprising source of inconsistency: Foreboding Joy.

Foreboding is similar to an evil omen or a bad sign, the complete opposite of joy. She describes Foreboding Joy as “the paradoxical dread that clamps down on momentary joyfulness.”

Simply stated, when we actually

experience moments of joy, we shrink back. We begin to think, “My job is going well” or “My kids are doing great” or “My marriage is awesome.” Then, we are all of a sudden fearful: “Oh crap, things are too good. Something bad is about to happen!” When we are joyful, suddenly there is something to lose.

Basically, she says if we cannot tolerate joy, we will start “dress rehearsing tragedy.” We unknowingly convince ourselves to never become too happy. What if our momentary joyfulness is too good to be true?

Foreboding Joy — we all do it, but no one talks about it. Managing our emotions and expectations in an effort to manipulate the future in some crazy way seems to make sense.

THROUGH Foreboding Joy, we somehow believe we can prepare ourselves for life’s worst-case scenarios. From recent experience, though, I can say with confidence that nothing can minimize the effects of real tragedy.

The birth of our first child in late 2014 was unexpectedly traumatic. As a result, our baby spent weeks in critical condition in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). No amount of worry or foreboding could have prepared me for those dark days. Nothing makes that experience easier. Nothing.

When we worry, we deny ourselves enjoyment in the present moment and we still feel the pain that comes when suffering and loss occur. If we keep our expectations low, we think we will never be disappointed. We are wrong.

Bottom line: If we live long enough, tough days will come and they will hurt, whether we waste time in advance fretting over them or not.

Day after day in the hospital I lived the true antidote to Foreboding Joy: Gratitude. In the face of tragedy, I had an unforeseen willingness to experience each day as it came, to take one step at a time and walk in the strength of the present.

The uncertainty of tomorrow or even of the next moment was too overwhelming to consider. So, I learned to truly live in thankfulness for each minute.

When we choose to be grateful despite difficulty, consistency thrives. If joy can exist in the toughest of times, we realize that with a heart of gratitude there really is nothing to dread. Circumstances, whether good or bad, have no power over who we are and how we respond, so with thanksgiving we just take the next step.

“FULL-BLOWN, no-holds-barred, vulnerable happiness is the best way to prepare for tragedy,” Brown says. “Those moments of love, adoration, and joy are filling up our stores of resilience, which will be sorely tested if tragedy strikes. And particularly if it does, we’ll wish we spent all those moments appreciating what we had, not perfectly predicting the future.”

Brown found those with a “profound capacity for joy” used joyful experience not “as a warning to start practicing disaster, but as a reminder to practice gratitude.”

The habit of gratitude, not foreboding, prepared me for the most difficult days of my life. Foreboding Joy escalates fear and robs us of today’s goodness. This irrational tendency certainly does not prepare us to cope with future struggles.

A LESSON from the NICU: We do not need tomorrow’s strength today. Be thankful for today. It may be all we have.

The doctors say it is a wonder our son survived delivery. For weeks he could not breathe or eat without the assistance of machines. During our picture-perfect pregnancy, it never occurred to me to be thankful for such fundamental necessities as breathing or eating.

Today, however, he is a vibrant, thriving little boy, and we do not take this for granted. I cannot even watch

him eat without immense gratitude for his ability to suck, swallow and breathe.

Even in my extreme situation, though, gratefulness is not always my go-to. In moments of frustration and fatigue I must remind myself to practice gratitude. It is a choice.

GRATITUDE IS the essence of true resilience, and it is more than just an attitude. The Attitude of Gratitude is misleading. We cannot will ourselves to feel grateful on the hard days, but with humility we can intentionally reject entitlement and choose to prize thanksgiving.

I choose to be thankful for each moment. I will embrace joy and run from the fear of “what if?” Ultimately, I refuse to spend energy worrying about the future, but remain thankful for the gifts of today.

Although my story is an extreme example, teaching our players to develop this personal resilience can

By CHARITY BUTLERFounder, Exceed Sports

Charity Butler is respected nationally & in-ternationally as a pro athlete, writer, speaker, collegiate coach, hitting instructor and Certi-fied Intrinsic Life Coach®.

As a Pro Speaker for Sports World, Inc, Butler travels the country speaking to more than 40,000 people annually. As a recognized ex-pert in confidence training, she also presents at various conferences, colleges & universities.

Butler is the founder of Exceed Sports, LLC (www.Exceed-Sports.com) and of the I HEART FASTPITCH Campaign (www.iheartfastpitch.com). Follow her on Twitter and Instagram at @CharityButler

Practicing Gratitude Increases ResilienceEDUCATION

SEE PRACTICING PAGE 19

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Great concentration and focus are behaviors that coaches ask for often. Unfortunately, strategies for improving these skills can be difficult to identify. Webster’s dictionary defines the act of concentrating as “directing attention toward a single objective, or to focus.” It is something that cannot be forced, but neither is it appropriate just to wait and hope for it to happen.

CONCENTRATION IS a skill, and skills improve with practice. The exercise at right provides a fun way to practice concentration — and infinite other opportunities also exist.

Every time an athlete knows she did something right, she did it with good concentration. If she has doubt, her concentration could improve. With practice, superb concentration can become a habit. Hall of Fame baseball pitcher Greg Maddux learned to concentrate exclusively on the next pitch so routinely that he said, “I can’t do it wrong anymore.”

Concentration and focus are similar in meaning, but it is possible to have great concentration and horrible focus on the task at hand, because the concentration is misguided. Concentrating on inappropriate stimuli has the expected effect of hindering performance. Thus, it is important to “know your job,” including what to focus on, before trying to “do your job.”

PERSPECTIVE can be explained as an overall set of priorities or a specific way of looking at things. The latter part refers to how closely an athlete is looking at something, and from what angle. A picture across the room appears much different than it is one foot away. It looks more different if the athlete is a part of the picture, looking at it from within the frame.

In performance, it is important for an athlete to know how closely to

look at the picture. When it is time to perform on the diamond, keep it small. The inability to zero-in on appropriate cues at the critical time of performance limits many performances.

PEAK PERFORMERS have “tunnel vision,” where the world all around the task at hand seems to fade out. It is still there, but it is not currently relevant, so it is not attended to. Great competitors train the brain to block out irrelevant information. Tunnel vision can cause the target to actually appear larger than normal and can make time seem to slow down, though, of course, it does not.

To direct attention appropriately, it is helpful to understand the four dimensions of attentional control. They come from width and locus. Width can be broad or narrow; locus is in relation to oneself, either internal or external.

THESE DIMENSIONS of focus are easily understood with examples. A broad-internal focus is thinking about a person’s internal state, meaning all details of her attitude and physiology. Attitude is a function of thoughts, while physiology is a function of many factors, led by body language. Consistent performers know their traffic light signals, remember to check them appropriately and are good at regaining self-control by gathering herself when she notices the yellow “warning” or red “stop” signals.

A narrow-internal focus means a person is thinking about a particular muscle group or rehearsing a specific mechanical objective. Examples include focused stretching, touching the ground with the glove, putting the elbows in their proper position, or staying palm-up/palm-down through

extension in the swing. Much of coaching is done with this type of focus in mind, and creating proper mechanics and muscle memory is a critical step of preparation. Leaders remember that at the time of performance, a narrow-internal focus is a significant distraction from an ideal narrow-external focus on the task at hand.

AN EXAMPLE of a broad-external focus is assessing the situation. Softball players assess by knowing the score, outs, situation, play call and their opponents’ positioning, setup or actions.

Leaders transition from a broad-external focus to a narrow-external one shortly before each pitch. This is often not an instantaneous transition. Rather,

By AARON WEINTRAUBMental Training Expert

Aaron Weintraub runs www.CoachTraub.com, a consulting business with the mis-sion of over-delivering value on goods and services designed to help you and yours win the mental side of the game. He also recently launched a blog called Smile Coach.

His website, www.smilenowcoach.com, is dedicated to inspiring you to inspire others with short articles and videos.

Weintraub holds a bachelor’s of arts de-gree from Emory University and a master’s of education degree from the University of Virginia. Before becoming a full-time mental skills coach, Weintraub served as an assistant baseball coach for 13 years at Emory, the University of Virginia, Presbyterian College, Brevard College and Cedar Valley College. He is married with four children and lives in The Colony, Texas.

Concentration, Focus Improve With PracticeTRAINING YOUR MIND

Concentration Game

SEE CONCENTRATION PAGE 19

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Mercurie Hitless is having trouble with hitting. She has been to several different hitting coaches, but nothing seems to work.

Perhaps there are too many coaches, along with the advice from railbirds and parents — the latter seemingly knowing all. Hitting articles don’t seem to help much, and her batting average remains so low that she is often at the tail end of the batting order, not expected to do much at the plate.

All kinds of encouragement or “constructive criticism” does not seem to help Mercurie overcome her problem. She is so frustrated that she is thinking of giving up the game she loves dearly.

SHE IS A right-handed batter and coaches have tried to turn her into a left-handed slap hitter, but that, too, has failed. What is she to do?

Since nothing seems to be wrong with Mercurie’s batting stance or position in the batter’s box, it must be something else. It’s not that she’s not a good athlete — for she is that and more, excelling in a couple of other sports. But softball is her first love.

Let’s look at Mercurie’s eyes.

What? Doctors say her vision is good. How could it be her eyes?

Well, a look at ball speed may help solve the problem. An object travelling at 60 miles an hour travels at 88 feet per second. College and many high school and travel league pitchers begin their deliveries at 43 feet these days, but their release point may be around 40 feet or less, meaning that a 60-mph pitch will reach a batter in less than half a second.

THIS MEANS that a batter must see a pitch, decide whether to swing the bat and then actually do it in a wee fraction of a second. Seems almost impossible when one considers the speed of a 60-mph pitch. But it’s not.

This “impossible” feat is routinely done by batters who are fundamentally prepared to do it.

Backing up a bit, the eyes of a human being are like radar. The brain is a computer. The muscles of a batter are like some kind of force used to launch something. That something here is a bat.

So, the radar sees a pitch and sends signals to the brain at the speed of light, which in turn sends signals to the muscles, which will or will not launch the bat depending upon

the signals from the brain. All this takes place in this wee fraction of a second.

ACCORDINGLY, a good hitter’s bat will not move to make contact with a pitch until the ball is more or less about six feet from home plate. Less adroit hitters will move some part — or all — of their bodies before this distance, resulting in less effective, if any, contact with the ball.

It follows that to be a good hitter one must have eye contact with a pitch from the moment of release until the actual swing. If this eye contact does not occur, the radar will be unable to communicate correct information to the computer (the brain), which may well cause the swing of a batter to be either late or early.

Will good eye contact with a pitch translate into a solidly hit ball or a base hit? Certainly not always, but the odds are far better with this correct fundamental of hitting.

Hall of Fame slugger Ted Williams was arguably the best hitter ever in Major League Baseball. He had tremendous eyesight, which, coupled with his intelligence and athletic ability, made this possible. Not everyone is blessed with such

qualities. There could be other reasons why

Mercurie’s hitting has not been successful, but one must be aware of the role played by the eyes in this endeavor. Assuming she has the correct stance, grip and other correct fundamentals, there may be pressures, problems at home or other factors weighing on her condition. These can be examined along with correct eye contact.

This coaching gig is not always tranquil, so be prepared for some failures along the way.

Dick Smith is the former head coach at the University of St. Francis and previously coached at Valparaiso University.

Want to argue, cuss or discuss? Email Smitty at [email protected].

SOFTBALL BY SMITTY

There’s More To Hitting Than Meets The EyeBy DICK SMITH

Relaxation is another key to good hitting. One must not be all tensed up, if success is desired. A batter’s job is to hit a pitch down and hard. So it is essential that no pressure be applied during a time at bat by parents, coaches or railbirds, for such can lead to poor results. It matters not who the opponent is, the score or the importance of the game. The job remains the same. Try it. You’ll like it.

SMITTY’S TIP

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In past articles I have touched on a rule that might give a competitive advantage to a team if it knows the rule and acts appropriately.

That rule was appeal plays, including batting out of order. There are other situations on the field for which a good understanding of the appropriate rule may give a team a competitive advantage.

Two runners are standing on the same base. Which do you tag?

This does not happen often, but when it does, confusion usually reigns. The Brooklyn Dodgers actually ended up with three runners on third base many years ago. So what is the proper order of applying tags to these runners standing on the same base?

A runner is entitled to a base until (1) she is forced to advance or (2) she legally touches the next base.

Example 1: Runners on second base (R2) and third base (R3) with one out. On a grounder to the shortstop, R3 starts to advance to the plate as R2, with her head down, races to third. R3 stops advancing and returns to third, where R2 is already standing.

A fielder near the base decides to tag both of them. Who is out? Since R3 was not forced to advance and has not touched the next base (home), R3 legally can claim third base. When R2 is tagged, she is out, even if she is standing on a base.

Example 2: Same play, but while R2 is being tagged out, R3 gets confused and steps off the base. The defense should tag her and get another

out on the play.Example 3: Runner on first base

(R1) when the batter hits a ball that skips into the glove of the shortstop. R1 starts to advance to second base, but, thinking the ball has been caught before it touched the ground, she retreats to first, where the batter-runner (BR) is now standing.

Since R1 is forced to advance on the batted ball, which is not caught, the base belongs to the BR. When R1 is tagged the umpire calls her out, even if she seems to be safely standing on first base.

Example 4: Runners on first (R1) and second (R2) and the batter gets a base hit to right field. R1 continues to run, not realizing that R2 has stopped at third base. Since R2 is not forced to advance to the plate, tag R1 and she is out.

There have often been occasions where both runners standing on the base are confused and they both may step off the base. As you can see from the above examples, the defense should tag both runners on the base to ensure that one of them is out, and then tag any runner who steps off the base.

I have seen one defensive team continue to tag runners as they were standing on the base, then stepped off the base, then stepped back on the base. I was applauding them (but only in mind) as I called both runners out.

Advantage: Defense, keep tagging runners until the umpire calls time and sorts out the situation.

Timing play

A timing play is a play on which the third out is made on a play which is

not a force play. Any runner who has touched the plate before the third out is made will have their run count.

So watch carefully for the location of the runner advancing to the plate as the out is being made on another runner. The umpire should signal and verbally declare whether the run counts or not.

Example: With a runner at second base (R2), the batter gets a hit, but is thrown out at second as she tries to stretch the hit into a double. R2 is one step from touching the plate when the batter-runner is tagged out.

The competitive advantage: If you know the leading runner did not touch the plate before the other runner was tagged out for the third out, confirm with the plate umpire that the run does not count.

A pitched ball goes out of play

It is not often that a pitched ball is so erratic that it not only gets past the catcher, but it bounces or rolls so far that it goes into the dugout or other out-of-play area.

I saw this happen in a major league baseball game, and, because Mike Scioscia, the catcher for the Dodgers at the time, knew this rule, he prevented a runner from advancing two bases.

Here is why. When a pitched ball goes out of play, it is a one-base award. Any runner attempting to advance on a wild pitch can continue running while the ball is live.

But as soon as the ball goes out of play, the umpire calls an immediate dead ball and awards all base runners one base from the base occupied at the time of the pitch.

As Scioscia was chasing down the

erratic pitch rolling toward the dugout, he glanced at the runner who started at first base and was stealing on the pitch.

Scioscia realized that if he fielded the ball before it rolled into the dugout the runner would easily reach third base. So he intentionally let the ball roll into the dugout.

The offensive coach insisted the runner should be allowed to stay at third base. The umpires were correct in putting the runner back to second base, as the rule for major league baseball is the same as the rule for all codes of softball: One base award on a non-contacted pitch which goes out of play.

Advantage: Explain this rule to your catcher so if this happens when your team is on defense, you may prevent a runner from advancing two bases.

John Bennett has 26 years of umpiring experi-ence in fastpitch softball, working high school, travel and college games.

He umpired at the NAIA National Champion-ship Series from 1998-2003, and has umpired in National Pro Fastpitch, dating back to when it was known as Women’s Pro Fastpitch and the Women’s Professional Softball League.

Bennett has umpired Pac-12 and Big West conference contests for many years, earning standing as a crew chief, and has worked many Division I Regional and Super Regional games. The last two years he worked at the Division II National Championship Series in Virginia.

He recently finished his term as the Active Official for the NCAA Softball Rules Committee.

RULES CORNER

Using Rules To Gain A Competitive EdgeBy JOHN BENNETT

Longtime Umpire

Do you know something Fastpitch Delivery should be writing about? Would you like to write articles for Fastpitch Delivery? Just have a question? Email your ideas, questions and suggestions to Dave Hines at [email protected] FD

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“You will never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine.”

— John Maxwell

Greatness is desired by many but obtained by few.

Many seek greatness or perfection, but don’t actually realize what it takes to be great. One can flounder along in search of greatness for years and years and never obtain that feeling or result.

If I possessed the ingredients for greatness would you ask for the recipe? Would you seek out the ingredients and mix them up in your daily life to reach that goal?

JUST LIKE making a great dinner, there are ingredients necessary to reach greatness. To identify some key characteristics, it takes patience, preparation, desire, passion, opportunity and faith. Coaches can provide the ingredients, and some parents — if they have the correct commitment — can assist along the way.

However, true greatness comes from the athlete — not the coach, and not the parent. Coaches are guides along the path through the forest. “Don’t step there,” “Be careful,” “Watch out” and “Try it this way.”

True greatness comes from the inner desire to want that achievement and crowning result. There must be a fire inside that you ignite and push to keep burning. Coaches cannot keep the fire on. Parents cannot keep the fire on. Only self-awareness and a personal desire to reach great heights can maintain that fire.

Let’s first talk about faith and patience. In order to be great, one must have faith in the process. One must have faith in the hard work, knowing that it will pay off over time.

Faith in the deliberate conditioned response to adversity will enable you

to push forward. Believing and having faith that things will work out as they should is crucial to this greatness mindset.

Don’t mistake this statement and allow mindless behavior and inaction, with the theory that “it all worked out as it should.”

If you do not surrender to the faith of the process and yourself, the mind will wander. The mind will be susceptible to different conclusions. When this happens, a deviation from the goal and from greatness occurs, preventing us from achieving it.

WITH FAITH comes patience. This ingredient goes hand in hand with faith, and is a critical component to greatness. Perhaps this is a cultural phenomenon due to social media and the need for instant gratification. Quite often, I find that athletes are not patient.

For that matter, many coaches are not patient. And when you mix in the parents, it’s a recipe for disaster.

I have heard many athletes and people overall say, “I have been doing this for a while and nothing is happening.” They want results now, and if they do not get it, they surrender and convince themselves that this will not work.

This results in a step backward. You could have been so close to a defining moment in your greatness search, but you will never know, because you lost faith and were not patient. Instead, be patient, consistent and faith-based.

UNDERSTAND THAT we cannot solve a problem in the same way it was created. If you are making the same mistake over and over and cannot get a handle on correcting it, then maybe you need to change your approach to the problem. In doing so, you will open yourself up to different options and possibly find a solution. This patient approach will provide results if you have faith.

Next, let’s talk about passion and desire. These ingredients are very

similar. Athletes tell me all the time they want to be great players, but when questioned it’s clear to me they merely want a result and not necessarily the work that is involved in achieving the result.

While some are more gifted than others, there can be no doubt that hard work and preparation will pay generous dividends. In doing so, the athlete must have self-awareness.

CAN YOU LOOK yourself in the mirror and with truthful conviction tell yourself that you practice enough, eat right, maintain a healthy mind and body, and provide 100 percent effort to your tasks? These are important questions when understanding passion and desire.

Passion and desire are critical recipe items toward being great. Without these ingredients, greatness will not be achieved.

The dictionary defines passion as “an intense desire or enthusiasm for something.” Desire is defined as “a strong feeling of wanting to have something or wishing for something to happen.” Using the two principles together, desire is the goal you set and passion is the approach you take.

SOME TALK about what they want, but are not willing to do what is necessary. Without this, greatness cannot be achieved. A simple quote to understand this is “Actions speak louder than words.” You have heard it countless times, but how many times have you implemented the words into your daily behavior? Next time, instead of telling your coach everything you are going to do, simply do it.

The last ingredients are preparation and opportunity. I believe preparation leads to opportunity. While opportunities will be presented without preparation, if you are not prepared or recognize the opportunity, it will come less frequently.

When you are prepared and recognize it, there can be no doubt that greatness can occur. In preparation, I often

teach that proper planning prevents poor performance. This is simple, yet profound on many levels.

HOW MANY TIMES were you thoroughly prepared and did not succeed? Now, reverse the query and ask yourself how many times you were not prepared and succeeded. There can be no doubt that the latter rarely, if ever, occurs.

The last component is opportunity. I believe implementing the ingredients outlined in this article will undoubtedly provide opportunity.

I have seen it over and over again. Opportunity finds a prepared, passionate, patient athlete who has a burning desire and faith that things will work out the way they should.

The shame of it would be if an opportunity found you and a lack of preparation caused it to be wasted. Therefore, be ready for greatness. It may just be right around the corner for you.

Preparation + Opportunity = Success.

By JOSEPH MANISCALCONY BlueFire Fastpitch

Joseph Maniscalco is the founder of the NY BlueFire Fastpitch travel ball program and coaches the organization’s 18-and-under gold team. He is a frequent lecturer and writer about softball and performance-related is-sues topics and regularly conducts mental training seminars.

The former All-America pitcher at Ford-ham University, where he still ranks among the leaders on the baseball team’s all-time list, Maniscalco has been an NFCA member since 2006.

Learn more about NY BlueFire Fastpitch by visiting www.bluefiresoftball.com.

Keep The Fire Burning To Achieve GreatnessVIEWPOINTS

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Hannah Michel followed by a two-run home run by Taylor Vidrine.

CENTRAL OKLAHOMA, who scored five runs to take the lead in the fifth, did not go down quietly. Following a leadoff double, Morgan Heard hit her second homer in as many at bats, to cut the lead to one. Then, with two outs, a pair of walks put the tying and go-ahead runs on base, but a line drive hit the runner advancing to second to end the contest and allow St. Mary’s to escape.

Rattlers pitcher Vianna Gutierrez was named the tournament’s Most

Valuable Player after a tremendous tournament, including propelling St. Mary’s into the final by holding the high-powered defending national champion West Texas A&M offense to just two hits and a run in a 7-1 semifinal triumph.

Central Oklahoma reached the title clash in dramatic fashion. Heading into the seventh inning trailing 1-0 after being retired 18 straight times by Dixie State pitcher Aryn Feickert (13 strikeouts) since a leadoff walk in the first, the Bronchos got another leadoff walk. Following a strikeout, Brook Zukerman launched a two-run homer for the only Central Oklahoma hit of the game and a 2-1 edge.

The Bronchos then got out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the bottom half to score an unlikely victory.

Central Oklahoma’s Nicole Brady did her part before the offense found an opening, holding a Dixie State team that had scored 39 runs in its first four games to one run on no walks and nine manageable hits.

IN A MATCHUP of two of the top three teams in the country, No. 1 West Texas A&M topped No. 3 Dixie State, 5-4 in eight innings, in the Gold Bracket third-place game. A walk-off RBI double by Allie Smith capped a two-run eighth for the Lady Buffs.

Meanwhile, in an all-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference final four for the Silver Bracket crown, Metro

State defeated rival Fort Lewis, 8-4, in the championship game after defeating another conference foe, Regis, 9-8, in the semifinals. Fort Lewis dispatched Colorado State-Pueblo, 4-3, to punch its ticket to the final.

Joining Gutierrez on the All-Tournament team were St. Mary’s teammate Vidrine, Central Oklahoma’s Heard and Zukerman, Dixie State’s Feikert, West Texas A&M’s Lacey Taylor, Regis’ Nicole Aviles, Missouri-St-Louis’ Brianna Butler, Colorado Mesa’s Makayla Kovac, Southeastern Oklahoma’s Jessica Simmons, Fort Lewis’ Myndee Thompson, Metro State’s Mary Towner and Midwestern State’s Katelyn Vinson.

both feet,” he said. “Either I’m crazy or it’s fun. It’s been a fun experience.”

When you compile a record of 949-422 over 39 seasons, there’s a lot of fun. He wouldn’t have been able to do it all these years, though, without the support of his players and his family.

“My wife has been very tolerant,” Biedenbach said. “I have very understanding kids. There’d be many times I’d glance down at the baseball field, because we were playing the same time (as my sons).”

HIS PLAYERS’ support has endured. Several of them pushed for Trenton’s home field to be named “John Biedenbach Softball Field,” which happened during the season last year.

Not one to make himself the center of attention, Biedenbach joked that he would have just as well disappeared during the dedication ceremony.

I’m not in it for any recognition,” he said. “I get more enjoyment out of seeing them play in college than something done for me.”

Biedenbach also coached basketball at Trenton, but gave

that up because he felt his softball players “needed to get away from me for a while.”

He said his outlook can be summed up by a slogan for the Gillette Razor Company in the 1950s, which said “Look sharp. Feel sharp. Be sharp.”

“WE ALWAYS tried to work on the basic fundamentals,” Biedenbach said. “We’ve had some good players and good parents. We’ve had a good philosophy and had them buy-in.”

“We’ve had good players, but it’s always nice to see those players on the fringe become good players (through hard work). I say we need ordinary players to do extraordinary things.”

Now in his 70s, he may be moving a bit slower than he once did, but he’s in good health and still enthusiastic about coaching. “If it’s raining outside now, I’m going to get wet,” Biedenbach quipped.

He still enjoys being around the players — his second family for so much of his life. And he’s still having plenty of success on the field, so why stop? He re-evaluates things after each season.

“Each year is year-by-year now,” Biedenbach said. “My grandkids are doing things. There are things my wife and I want to do.”

BIEDENBACH SELECTED NFHS COACH OF THE YEARCONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

ST. MARY’S WINS DIVISION II LEADOFF CLASSICCONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

it can be thought of as a narrowing process ending with a laser-like intense focus on the ball or target.

A narrow-external focus is looking at something small. This is where athletes often want to be when it is time to perform.

Tasks such as pitching and hitting are performed better with this singular focus. Leaders have a consistent goal of being focused in this way any time they are within

“sacred space.”In a softball player’s routine for a

pitch, the steps are often a guide for having the correct type of attentional focus at the correct time.

Everyone’s routine is different, but a typical checklist would begin with a broad-internal focus to create an ideal state. Then it would go to a broad-external focus to formulate a plan of attack. Finally, the athlete enters “sacred space,” her trust mode. She is narrowed in and seeing the target big.

She is present to the game. Nothing else exists in her consciousness at that sacred moment.

CONCENTRATION, FOCUS IMPROVE WITH PRACTICECONTINUED FROM PAGE 15

yield amazing on-field results. When strikeouts, errors or home runs given up are not feared, foreboding loses its power. When the thought, “What if I screw it up?” is eliminated, players succeed more consistently.

Choosing gratitude in the face of failures provides the freedom necessary for peak performance. Being thankful for each opportunity to compete and grateful for the ability

to learn from mistakes fuels the eagerness to try again. This allows players to perform with joy instead of fear.

We play a hard game that inevitably includes tough days. Tom Hanks (as Jimmy Dugan in “A League of Their Own”) said it best: “It’s supposed to be hard. If it wasn’t hard, everyone would do it. The hard is what makes it great.”

The practice of gratitude cultivates character and increases resilience. Players will grow their capacity to overcome adversity and become better people and players as a result.

PRACTICING GRATITUDE INCREASES RESILIENCECONTINUED FROM PAGE 14

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