What, Me Worry?

Why on Earth would I be worried? It's not like I've never coached a softball game before. It's not like I haven't spent the last 8 months training with my 16s for this. Most importantly, it's not like this is the biggest tournament of my or the team's careers.

Still, we've got 3 more days to go and my insides are starting to knot up. I've never given a pre-game pep-talk before. I've never been a real third base coach (with signs and strategy) before. I wasn't there at this Sunday's practice to see all the girls one last time before we all get together for warm-ups on Saturday morning.

Oh, sure, the list goes on but in times like these I always go back to that first list: the things I can do. And I just repeat it to myself (sometimes out loud) until I believe that I actually can do it all.

My high school math teacher used to always say, "If you're stuck on a problem, don't think about what you DON'T know. Just think about all the things you DO know and put those pieces together." If anything, it got you partial points for working through the problem and it did help calm you down so you could think straight. Usually, though, it helped you realize that you can figure out what you don't know in order to solve the problem.

So, here's everything (well, an abbreviated list...see "Softball 101" for more) that I do know.

• I know all my girls. I know their strengths and weaknesses. I know their smiles and their laughs. I know their frustrations and their "tude" problems. I've even seen some of their tears.
• I know all my assistant coaches. And I know they're behind me 100%. I know they're willing to help. I know they're great at what they do.
• I know my co-head coach will be there to help me whenever and however I need it. I know I can trust her with even the stupidest of questions. I know she'll step in even if I'm too stupid to ask for help.
• I know my book-keeper/score-keeper. Enough said, right?
• I know "umpires." I've seen every call that could ever be possibly called on every play possible. I know how to talk to umpires. I know when to talk to umpires. I know how to pull other coaches away from umpires :)
• I know the parents. I know they're supportive. I know they know the rules about not talking to the girls and staying away from the dug-out during games.
• I know how to play a tournament. I know what food to bring. (Mental note: just got back from a 4-day cruise; ate entire contents of refrigerator prior to the trip; must go to the grocery store.) I know how much water to bring. I know that suntan lotion, sunglasses and a hat are always the first things you put in your bag.
• I know how to do laundry during a tournament...and since I just got back from a cruise, I should probably do some!
• I know how to sleep before a game. I've only done it about 3 million times, which means I've made this list about 2,999,999 times before.

And on that note, I think I'm finally calm enough again to go relax, do some reading and get a good night's sleep. :-D

By the way, I'm reading "Coaching Fastpitch Softball Successfully" by Kathy Veroni and Roanna Brazier right now. I got some strange looks when I was reading it pool-side on the cruise ship, but I highly recommend it. And if any of you who read this blog have read that book, I'd love to hear your comments on it!