What Are the Youth Challenges and Why Do They Matter?
/*As Published in Fastpitch Magazine.
Logistics makes college softball pitching abundantly easier than high school or travel ball. If as a young player you are able to navigate time management and dependence on others, finding someone to catch for you, and getting a good pitching coach, your chances of success increase exponentially. If you are able to form good habits around practice despite your parent's schedules and your friends' demands for time, then one of the most difficult aspect of college - getting accepted- will be easier than you might expect.
As a young pitcher you are faced with many logistical roadblocks that college pitchers don't face. You must find someone to drive you to practice or save up enough money for a new glove. You have the challenge of forming habits when many factors are out of your control, for example, not having enough time to warm up for a game because high school schedules are tight.
These are only a few of the challenges pitchers face from first grade through twelfth. If you are able to overcome all of these obstacles and get to college, your improvement will be swift upon arrival. Malcolm Gladwell in his book, The Outliers, said that “people are not only the product of their inner desires but of those factors that surround them and the opportunities presented them.”
In college your practice location, times, dates, instruction, and physical training are all laid out for you. All you have to do is show up ready to work. You are handed opportunities that you've never had before and might not ever again your life. Universities aim to take away all of the logistical obstacles and use those as selling points. Many promote winter practice facilities and large coaching staffs, all forms of exceptional logistics.
Pitching at the highest levels of softball is like being a big-time company CEO who earns a million dollars per year. Logistically, great CEOs who work for great companies have all the tools needed to get her job done: a great office, a driver to get her to places, and employees who help.
Many times, the most difficult part of being a CEO is getting into that position. It takes many years of working twelve hour days, playing politics, and doing menial tasks to slowly work her way up to the top. It takes incredible discipline to get something out of jobs she doesn’t like or get credit for a job well done along the way. It takes persistence to sell just one last widget by the end of the day. Once an executive is rewarded with a high-ranking position, she has the most influence over her fate. To stay at the top, she simply has to maintain the commitment it took to get there. The resources to maintain high level output are much more plentiful. Therefore, the fun and enjoyment should also increase exponentially.
Think about the success of consumer products that make goals easier to achieve. Uber made traveling easier. Weight watchers makes weight loss easier. Facebook made social connection easier. Starbucks and it's many locations made getting a cup of coffee easier. Pitching instructors make understanding the pitching motion easier.
As a young player you need to understand and follow these steps to succeed in your challenging environment. 1) Put yourself in a place with many opportunities to practice and play 2) Fervently take every opportunity to practice presented to you, 3) Change those practice opportunities into a habit and keep on going!
I remember during the cold Chicago winters during my high school years my dad would drive me thirty minutes to pitching lessons once per week. Other than that I only practiced if my travel coach rented a facility for our team. I did not set up a net in my basement, my parents didn’t rent a batting cage for me to practice in, and my teammates would complain if I asked them to catch for me. Perhaps if I had a practice facility a block from my house or if just one more person in my life, including me, took a tiny bit more initiative things would have been different. The two hours of winter practice time per week was not enough and it reflected in my performances that spring and summer.
Sometimes the fact that there is a logistics barrier on the road to excellence can be a good thing. It filters out uncommitted players and leaves room for you to excel quickly. As you know, if it was easy, everyone would do it! Only a small percentage of pitchers put in the appropriate amount of practice it takes to hit spots and throw movement pitches. Will you be one of them? If so, when you get to college, you will experience the fruits of your labor and enjoy your time more than ever before.
2016 Illinois State Champion shortstop Maeve Nelson had a great chance to succeed growing up. Her dad owned a batting cage facility and she made the decision to take that opportunity and make hitting "an everyday thing. I would hit after breakfast and after lunch." She made it into a habit. Maeve had a great logistical opportunity growing up; she chose to spend time at the facility and she hit every day, twice a day. This year she had the game-tying RBI in the bottom of seventh, two outs, two strikes in the state championship game. She also has a scholarship to Northwestern University. Having talent and having opportunity are two important ingredients. But having the gumption to work hard every day is the recipe. Pitching in college, well that’s the dish!
What I would like high school and travel ball pitchers to get from this is to understand that you must be smart and observant in creating logistical opportunities for yourself. Use what you have , even if it's just a net in your backyard, and create a habit around those logistics. You are doing something very difficult with many obstacles and distractions. Give yourself a pat on the back and think about how far you have come. But don't forget it's imperative that you take every single opportunity presented to you at this time in your life. The next time your dad says, "hey let's go have a catch", think about how saying "sure, I'd love to" could lead to play in that beautiful college facility, just like the CEO sits in the corner office with a view.
