How Cat Osterman Became an Expert at Pitching

When I went to the NFCA conference I listened to a panel discussion featuring Cat Osterman (Olympic Gold and Silver Medalist, 1000 Career NCAA strikeouts, ERA under 1.0) and she said something about hard work that I found interesting.

She talked about how much she practiced in a matter-of-fact way. You know, almost sheltered, not realizing that other people practice WAY less than she did. She said the best thing her dad ever did for her as a pitcher was that he gave her time off from pitching from Thanksgiving to January. (Ok, one month. Seems reasonable.)

Other than the one month, she never took more than one day off from pitching because she would lose her "feel." (Hm, sounds like what they tell you about forming habits like diet and exercise , too.)

One time her dad told her to take two entire weeks off of pitching and she gave the crazy eye-roll look to him and said "ok but I won't know where my pitches are going to go after that, but I guess I'll do it." ( That was not a sarcastic comment on her part, by the way.)

I know Cat Osterman is the best of the best, and maybe you think that's not where you want to be or your daughter wants to be, you are just doing it to have a little fun. But ask yourself as you stand on the mound not sure where the ball is going to go, or as you give a half-effort during team practices, as you watch the women play on ESPN....

Don't you wish sometimes that hard work was the norm for you? Don't you wish you had great habits? Don't you wish it was hard for you to stop repeating something fun, as opposed to the other way around?