I came across a really powerful Instagram post from @dr3fastpitch and didn’t want it to get lost in the scroll—so I’m sharing it here as a blog. It’s worth taking a moment to read and showing your daughter.

When a teammate makes an error, I often ask pitchers, “What should you do as a pitcher in that moment?” Most of the time, they’ll say something like, “I’ll tell the first basemen that it’s okay, you’ll get it next time.” That’s supportive—but there’s an even more powerful response I learned as a college pitcher.

My coach taught me to respond with, “Don’t worry, I’ve got you. I’ll strike the next girl out for you.” And then go out and do it.

With the NCAA Women’s College World Series kicking off yesterday, I wanted to share a special story that was sent to us by Brad Albers, dad of Elisabeth Albers from Hamlin Park Lions 10U team. Elisabeth’s grandmother, Cindy Albers, has an incredible softball legacy—she played in the very first Women’s College World Series in 1969!

Her hometown newspaper featured a great article in 2022 about her journey and her role as a pioneer in a tournament that’s now watched by over 1.1 million people. It’s wild to think how far the game has come—and how women like Cindy helped lay the foundation.

A few things stood out to me from the article. Her attitude was truly inspiring.

In the last 10 years, only one team in the DI WCWS had pitchers from Illinois on it. As far as high school competition, the IHSA used to have a state bracket in which the winner of the city tournament went directly downstate. Unfortunately, the city schools lost too many games by too much of a margin, so they began to mix the city conference with the near suburbs to make the championships more competitive. The city's conference is improving though, with Marist winning 3 state championships since 2010 and a few schools sending players to university with softball scholarships.

11. “My daughter will reach her full potential by playing in local travel tournaments and on a city high school team. Illinois competition is enough to elevate her to the NCAA or the state finals.”