“All coaching is, is taking a player where he can’t take himself.” – Bill McCartney
I used to believe that once I hung up my cleats for good I would take some time away from the game before starting my coaching career. An event I thought would occur at least 5 years from now actually came before I had even turned 21. Amid my junior season of Varsity Softball at Olivet College, I was asked to help coach a nearby 10-years-old and under girls’ travel softball team. I was ecstatic for the opportunity and am still so thankful I said yes.
Softball and I have always had a special relationship. I understand more than anyone that “you can always love the game but it doesn’t always love you back.” I have been playing softball for almost 13 years, and while there have been a lot of fun days, there have been a lot of times the game tested my physical and mental abilities. It has taken countless tears and sweat, a lot of blood and a number of sacrifices from me and my family to get me where I am. But if I got the chance to go back I know I’d do it all over again. And through my journey I knew one day I wanted to be a positive force in other girls’ journeys in softball. That day just came a lot sooner than anyone expected, before my playing career was over. Now, I am not going to lie to you, there were many times I contemplated quitting. But more time with family or friends, more time to work, better grades, and other opportunities have yet to fully pull me away from the game. Before I started coaching I was nearly about to give up on softball. My junior year, I was caught in a negative environment and was in a hitting slump nearly the entire season. I was no longer the player I knew I was and saw this as my sign that the game had finally given up on me. But coaching allowed me to fall in love with my sport all over again.
I am an assistant coach for a team of girls from ages 9 to 11, just starting their softball careers. Even though I have been around the game for so much longer than them they still manage to teach me as much as I teach them. Through attempting to teach them about the game and working to make them better players, I have become even more conscious of the same parts of my game. As a former catcher (my knees finally have had enough) I mostly work with catchers, and I am constantly trying to help my catchers do all the things I wished I was better at. Even though they are only 10 years old, I try to teach them lessons that they will use in high school and if they want to, college. I preach positivity, a characteristic I struggled with the most.
Aside from teaching young players, I have also learned lessons of my own that I will use for the remainder of my playing career. Most importantly, I have learned to have fun playing softball. The girls I coach are in the age when everything they do, they do because it is fun. As an adult I often forget how important having fun is. I always think of what I have to do instead of what I enjoy doing. Coaching has also made me more conscious of the holes in my own performance. After constantly reminding my team to stay low, focus on every pitch, and keep a positive attitude, I always notice when I contradict my own coaching advice. It will help me in my upcoming senior season because I will be more conscious of the fundamental aspects of the game I do not do well but I do well at teaching my players. I will have a better understanding of the holes in my game so that I can address those holes and fill them. It will also make me more conscious of how I represent myself because I have taught my girls how to appropriately look and act in front of various audiences. Finally, coaching has helped my communication skills. I am not only better at communicating with my young players, but their parents, other coaches, officials, and other people who are around the game.
So while I thought I would not be able to coach until I was much older, I have flourished in my opportunity. I have been able to see and achieve improvement with my players, while learning lessons of my own about coaching.
