First Practice as a "Big Girl"

Growing up, I always played softball with older girls. I was just too awesome for my own age bracket. ;)

What happens when you have one girl playing with girls that are two (and even sometimes three years) older is not necessarily good. Sure I learned a lot and was a better player for it, but I was allowed some priveleges the others weren't. For example, I was allowed to lose my head (i.e., temper) because I was just "little Stephanie." And, while the other girls did other things their age like dating and driving, I always fell behind. So, I fell into a rut, always wondering when I'd be "all old and mature" like the girls who were naturally 2-3 steps ahead of me. In a way, it kept me young. But in a way, it kept me looking up to someone else instead of myself.

And okay, I was a captain of the JV and Varsity sports I played, but in high school that's like being "head counter of the stretching circle." It's not much of a real leadership position.

That all changed when I went to college and walked on to the NCAA-DI softball team. I was a lowly freshman--and a walk-on--so I didn't get much time or attention from the other girls and coaches. I wasn't a starter and I wasn't even in the rotation; I was a bull-pen catcher, pitch-tracker and equipment manager. I learned quickly that if I wanted batting practice, I had to make time to do it before or after practice (since I pretty much only caught during practice). And if I wanted to really learn anything or hone a specific skill, I had to reach out and ask for that help. Luckily, we had a great pitching coach who worked with all the catchers with scouting and pitch-calling. Because the bull-pen catchers were responsible for not only tracking our own pitchers but the opposing team's pitchers during the games, we spend hours in the coach's office or in the locker room reviewing scouting tape after scouting tape and discussing the opposing team's weaknesses. I think that was the first time I really started thinking for myself in the "big picture" idea of softball.

Sure I'd called my own pitches before college; and I knew HOW to call pitches based on the hitter's swing, stance, history, number of outs, pitch count, etc. But when we did the scouting reports in college, I started thinking about calling pitches based on my own team's strengths and weaknesses. We talked about which pitchers to throw to which teams, and being a bull-pen catcher it was my job to know how each pitcher was throwing at all times. It was kind of like being an assistant coach's assistant coach. I got to say "No, don't throw her, her drop-change isn't working today; throw her instead because her knuckle ball is definitely working today." I had a say in the line-up.

And my dad used to ask my opinion when he helped put together line-ups for my summer ball team as a kid. That was always fun for me. We discussed who should bat where and why. But, really, it was just fun. It wasn't like I was actively managing the team's game decisions.

Now I have that opportunity. I am co-head coach of a 16U travel ball team. I'll be making the line-ups. I'll be giving the signals on third base (well maybe not yet) and behind the plate. I'll decide who plays where and when. I'll plan the practices and stations. And I'll have to be able to multi-task in order to do it all.

Today was my first practice as THE coach of the team. Today, I realized when I got home, I was a Big Girl. And it went alright, I think. It could have gone better, but it could have been a lot worse. Mainly, I still need to work on timing of stations. I also need to work on keeping the girls focused and on their A game. A lot of the girls on my team don't focus if it's not their turn, and most will give up if they start messing up. These will be our biggest two challenges overall. And it's tough to balance the two. I want the girls to have FUN when they play, but I don't want them goofing off and distracting themselves or others. I also want the girls to keep at it and have fun, even if they miss a grounder or make an over throw. At the level of 16U, there's little room for these errors and I know that these two mental errors (lack of focus and giving up) are what cause the physical errors. I've been through it all, so I know.

And today was my first day as the Big Girl, showing them how it gets done. I don't have the full respect of all the girls yet, but I'm hoping that won't take long. I just need to keep doing my job as the leader.

As for line-ups and signals and all that other coaching stuff, I still have some time to wrap my head around it all.

Communication in a Modern Age

I'm no novice in the modern age. I field emails from my BlackBerry wherever I am (which I did all this weekend), tweet, text, blog and use Facebook for a variety of "networking" purposes. Earlier this year, my phone died on a Friday night when I'd left my charger at work and my parents showed up at my apartment on Sunday morning to make sure I hadn't been left for dead in some alley (since they couldn't get through to me all weekend). Eight years ago, when my travel softball career was coming to a close, none of this was even fathomable. The cell phone I had was for emergencies, the "blog" I had was a typical teenager's diary that shouldn't have been published for the world to see, I didn't text, and neither Twitter nor Facebook existed. Today, though, it feels as if I can't survive without any of these tools. (Side note: two other things I didn't have eight years ago that seem to be with me everywhere I go now are Pandora and my iPod.)

I work for a technologically-advanced company. We work on Twitter and Facebook and email (and more, of course); so I've used these tools for business and pleasure. (Another side note: making the transition from using Facebook for pleasure as a college student to using Facebook as a professional was one of the most difficult in my life. LOL.)

But what has surprised me in the recent past (as in the last few months) is that the girls on my softball teams use these "new media" tools as a means of communication with their coaches. Sure, I'll text my boss to let her know when I'm running a few minutes late for work--because it's less confrontational than a phone call, haha--but I'd never really use these tools to communcate with my colleagues for work purposes. That is, I'd never send someone a Facebook message or Tweet to remind them of an upcoming deadline. So my online interaction with the girls I coach has surprised me, if nothing else.

I never would have texted--or even called--a coach in the past just to "shoot the shit." Then again, saying that I "never would have" is a bit presumptious. I never could have. Hell, I didn't even call my teammates in the off season--we called ourselves "Summer Sisters" because we were SO close during the tournament season, and only during the tournament season. But I suppose if I'd had the means to be my teammates and coaches' "friends" on Facebook, I would have. I would have uploaded pictures of us from tournaments; I would've complained online about how boring practice was. :-D

These tools really open up a whole new means of connecting with others through sharing of information; and I know I shouldn't be scared of it. I'm already "friends" with my clients on social networking tools like Facebook and Twitter. What's the difference between them and the girls on my team? I still have to watch my language, monitor (and sometimes censor) the pictures of me that are posted and, generally speaking, "keep it clean."

I guess my big fear is that the internet cannot replace real, face-to-face, human interaction. Everything is seen only as it's written and most things are seen after they're already done. Everything's left up for interpretation and when that happens, things can be misconstrued very easily. Recently, one of the coaches brought to our attention some "unsavory" social media posts from girls on the team. They're teenagers, so it's to be expected to a certain degree. And, whereas we'll have to have a little talk about the permanence and visibility of what you write on the internet with the girls, I absolutely know that I'll also have to keep a close eye on what I write out there.

It's a strange world compared to what it was eight years ago. I look forward to becoming closer with the girls I coach and I don't want these lines (of communcation) to get in the way. For now, though, I'll tread lightly until I get a better feel for how thin the ice really is.

Softball vs. Work

I work hard on pretty much everything I do. Sleep is pretty much the only exception. "So what's the problem," you ask?

I apparently spent a little to much "work" on watching the Olympics and preparing for softball this weekend. Instead of getting caught up on real work -- the kind I get paid for, you know -- I used my weekend for weekend things. (How dare I?!)

Anyway, the point is that I'd love to update this with more information on how practice went on Sunday and all the lovely valentines I got from the girls, but I can't. I have to get back to work because it's not like I haven't already worked for 12 hours today...

Back to the Gym

After a two-week, forced hiatus -- thank you, Mother Nature, for all the snow -- we're going back to the gym today. And, I'll tell you, I'm a little afraid for the focus level.

I grew up in the suburbs between DC and Baltimore, but my family moved Richmond when I went to college. These past few weeks have brought winter storm after winter storm of nightmarish proportions to my little hometown in Maryland. And needless to say, the majority of my friends from home have been in and out of work for nearly a month. In fact, the majority of my friends from home are teachers and haven't been work at all in nearly a month. Whereas I can't say that I don't envy them, I do feel bad for them from time to time. How do you deal with a class-full of kids who can't remember the what they were working on before the break, let alone the day that they last went to school?

Now today, I'm facing the same troubles of all my teacher friends: How do I get the girls back on track when we finally get back into the gym? (So maybe that's why I feel so empathetic towards my friends who just had a month-long surprise vacation while I continued to work?)

I've got both teams before we break up into offense and defense; and today's a 14s day on offense. I spent all week trying to figure out how I can keep a gym-full of 13/14-year-olds on track and I'll admit my plan's not genius. I'm not even sure it will work. But it's short and it's all that I've got right now: introduce a new skill. Of course, we'll run them to start and then we'll break up into O/D groups. Then, the 14s on offense today get to sit with yours truly and talk about..."the short game" of softball. What's on the agenda, more specifically?

• How is softball different from baseball?
• What is "the short game?"
• What is bunting?
• Why do we bunt?
• How do we bunt?
• When do we bunt?
• What is drag bunting?
• Why do we drag bunt?
• When do we drag bunt?
• What is slapping?
• Why do we slap?
• When do we slap?
• What is drag slapping?
• Why do we drag slap?
• When do we drag slap?
• What is swinging away?
• Why do we swing away?
• When do we swing away?
• Why & when do we we:
• Hit and run?
• Bunt and run?
• Slap and run?

Of course, I only have 20 minutes scheduled to cover all that -- so we may not get through it all. I'd at least like to get to a point where the girls understand when and why to bunt and slap. And if our "pitching" coach (he doesn't coach the pitchers but he can pitch to batters better than the rest of us) agrees, I'd like the girls to start at least slapping in his live hitting station.

Other than that, the plan's pretty much the same. A few tee stations, soft-toss stations and bunting off the machine.

So, we'll see... Wish us luck.

And happy Valentine's Day, by the way. I almost forgot. ;)

Introductory Rites

First, let me say, "WELCOME!" Whether this is your first time here or your last, welcome.

Why are you here? Well, I'm not sure. I'm not you. Chances are you already know me and stumbled upon this through Google's new "Buzz" or maybe you follow me on Twitter.

Either way, you're here. So let me tell you what you're in for.

When I was playing softball as a young(er) girl, my father and I shared a joke about softball games on Sunday mornings. While we attended church for the majority of the year, we never attended on Sundays during the summer. Why? Because of softball.

Softball tournaments were always Saturday through Sunday; if not Friday night through Sunday. Even if you finished last in the round-robin brackets you played on Sunday morning. It wasn't long 'til we started considering Sunday morning games as "attending Our Lady of the Diamond," since we both chose softball over church.

Now nearly 25 years old, I'm a new coach. I've coached a 10U slowpitch softball team and now I'm also coaching 2 travel fastpitch teams: a 14U and a 16U.

And to be honest, I wrote a long blog about who I am, my history and all that jazz, and then Blogger--for some reason or another--lost it all. So I'll spare you all that goodness tonight.

What I hope to do with this blog, though, is to track the progress of my girls (who will remain anonymous), our league, our trips and my coaching. I hope you'll stick with me through it all.