Starting from scratch, despite the occassional gas

Alternative (serious) title: "Learning softball & coaching for the first time...again"

We had our first 12U fastpitch practice tonight and most of the girls were able to come, which was awesome. Only two of the girls have played fastpitch before, which is two more than I expected. :) But we've got a handful of girls that have never ever played softball before! Needless to say, I'm shakin' in my boots...err, cleats.

I definitely didn't expect to need Softball 101 tonight. My practice plans included a lot of Fastpitch 101, since I THOUGHT that most of the girls played on the 10U slowpitch team with me last year; so I planned to talk about all the similarities and differences of slowpitch vs. fastpitch, as well as reviewing throwing techniques. We did some throwing techniques, which leaves a lot to be desired from some of the new-to-softball girls, but spent the majority of practice just walking around the field and talking about every position. Literally, I have girls that didn't know how many players are on a softball field.

On the other hand, I've got a few girls that really know and love softball. It's going to be hard for me to give them the amount of time they deserve so they can learn and excel, considering the amount of time I'll need to spend with the new girls, teaching them the basics so they can actually play in a game. Games start in exactly one month. Will it be enough time to prepare the team? We'll practice twice a week until games start, and I think we can get it done. But that's really only like 16 practices. I wonder if anyone's done a study on the amount of time it takes a kid to learn a new sport...

What I find funniest about this situation is the mental leap I have to make, turning from my 16s to my 12s. With my 16s, we're basically just honing the skills and knowledge they've already developed. With my 12s, I have to figure out ways to properly explain "how to step and throw." I feel like I'm learning how to coach all over again, starting from scratch. I'll just keep telling myself that it's for the best, that it'll make me a good coach. Maybe it will help me communicate better with my 16s?

And as funny as that mental leap may be right now (when I'm sleep deprived from work and a little too much fun on St. Patrick's Day), it scares the bejeesus out of me. Having to tone down the mental game from when I work with the 16s for when I work with the 10s will be difficult. I had a lot of fun with the 10s last year and was able to leave a lot of the "seriousness" off the field--it was 10U rec slowpitch, after all... But I wasn't working with a travel team then; I didn't have serious softball in my life at that time. Now that I have my 16s, I'm back in the swing of "play to win," "play to get into college" and the general fierceness of competition. I expect a lot from my 16s, so I'm afraid if I can't turn it off at the 12s practices, it will just lead to my own disappointment. Luckily, I'll have nearly a whole week to transition from the 16s (who practice on Sundays) to the 12s (who practice on Thursdays and Saturdays). Maybe that physical gap in time will help establish my mental gap between the two teams.

The other half of my worries is: What if I can't turn off the "play to have fun!" and "let's be silly and play TV tag for rest of practice" mentality when I go into work with the 16s? Practice with the 16s isn't fun, it's work. It's supposed to be! Those girls have a lot to do in order to accomplish their goals and compete in the space. So, the games we play involve skills and knowledge...and they always end with the losers doing conditioning. I've heard gossip from the girls that some of the girls think of me as a "pain in the rear" (my words, not theirs haha); maybe this is why! Anyway, that's a blog for a different day, I guess. But, that's what it takes to play in college and to even compete at that age in travel ball; it's not about "just chillin" and lounging under the team's canopy on a hot weekend day anymore!

Regardless, I know I'll make it work. And the 12U will be a fun team to play with and a great experience for me. Point in case: When I asked, "Who knows what the worst part about catching is?" One of the girls responded, "the occassional gas." Looking back at the 9 years I spent wearing 15 pounds of plastic and padding in 100+ degree heat, the 1,500-count bottles of ibuprofen I needed for my knees to make it through a season and all the crap I got from pitchers and umpires...I realize now that the occasional gas (from the batters) should've made my list of "reasons I secretly hated catching." Needless to say, it is now officially on my list of "reasons I really love coatching."

What we do in the meantime is usually stupid...

I've come to realize (over the nearly-25 years of my life) that what we do, if it isn't sleep, in the "meantime" is usually stupid. For example, you take a night off and end up either dancing until the wee hours of the morning or wasting away on the couch watching movies. And unless you're a professional dancer or a film critic, neither of these will help you excel in life. Sure, they may give you that extra pep in your step for a day or two, but will they really help you do and feel better in the longer run of your life?

I sit here tonight faced with a conundrum. I know I should've said no, my better judgment PLEADED for me to say no; but I said yes when another team asked me to coach. Granted, I didn't make a full committment, but I did say that I'd help out as much and as long as I can.

What's the problem, you wonder? Why should have I have said no?

I billed 100 hours in the last two weeks at work. And that's not "on the clock," that's just work that we can charge our clients.

So what, you say? ...You billed 120 hours last week alone? Awesome. I hope you have a law degree or a doctorate in medicine. I don't. I'm just a lowly English major on a starting salary with a small company. Now don't get me wrong, I love my job (especially because I know that my boss knows about this blog lol), but I've got a lot on my plate and adding another softball team to the meal is like pushing the apple into the stuffed pig's mouth.

To make things worse, it's 12U team that's going into fastpitch for the first time ever! I've played fastpitch since I was their age, but I've only coached it for approximately 4 months now! Lord have mercy on my soul. :-D

Honestly, it's going to be a lot of fun and I know that I'm sure as hell going to learn a lot about myself as a coach. I can't remember the last time I had to think about things as natural as sliding, but now I have to somehow remind myself of what you're supposed to think when you "just know to" slide. I'm really looking forward to it, but I'm not looking forward to losing 2 more nights and one more day of my week. Between writing the practice plans (because I'm the only coach on the team with experience), holding practice and then having games on Saturdays, I might just lose my mind. I'll tell you, my 16s may not be happy to see my on Sundays for their practice.

Then I think about it a little more and I think about what I want to do with my life. I probably won't ever coach an olympic team (har har, right?) and I'll probably never coach a college team, but I know I like coaching and I know I want to keep doing it. Probably becuase, even at my age, it feels kind of weird not to be out on the softball diamond on summer weekends. So, I guess it's not really something stupid that I did here. Sure it's going to make me a little more busy and a hell of a lot more tired, but it'll be worth it. 100% worth it.

Now: I'm going to write up the plan for Thursday's first 12U fastpitch practice and then I'm going to sleep...because God knows I'll need both. In the meantime, someone go get me a beer--or would that be stupid? ;)