How You Changed "Life as We Know It"

As we approach the year-mark when the CoVid-19 pandemic blew the top off of “life as we know it,” I’ve taken some time to reflect on how this unimaginable situation has impacted our sport – and more specifically – the pitchers that I coach within this sport: you.

Remarkable events at the national and global level impact more than just the history books. They create pivotal turning points for the people who experience them at the deepest level. They create identities within the generations that endure them. Just take a look at the last 100 years: Major Wars (I, II, Cold, Korean, Vietnam), the Great Depression, the Civil Rights Movement, Iconic Leader Assassinations (MLK, Martin Luther King Jr.), Landing on the Moon, the AIDS epidemic, School Shootings (Columbine, Sandy Hook, VA Tech), 9/11, and now the global CoVid-19 pandemic.

Sociologists examine these critical events that affect a generation’s collective identity in order to define a generational cohort. For sociologists, cohorts are bound together by a shared coming of age process, where major political, social and/or economic events create a common history and connection with others of the same age. These life-defining events are profound because they occur at time when a generation is young enough to be malleable and psychologically influenced. In general, it is believed that an event will most strongly affect those who are coming of age at the time it happens (Adwoa K. Buahene and Giselle Kovary, n-gen People Performance Inc. 2003).

Therefore, I go back to my original reflection about you and how this pandemic has shaped you already, is shaping you now, and will ultimately impact you within our sport of softball -and within your future as a pitcher. And though there are so many truly unfortunate parts of this pandemic, I believe that your identities as pitchers will find unique fortune.

So what advantages will the budding pitchers of today have over the generations who came before and after you? The experience of PERSPECTIVE, SELF-DISCIPLINE, FORCED ADAPTABILITY, GRATITUDE, and DELAYED-GRATIFICATION. These are not just concepts to be learned and applied from an abstract story or motivational speech, book, or movie for you. They are your living, working realities. All of you are already 12 months deep into your practical application of these five life-altering character traits.

PERSPECTIVE: You have lived through real life “hard.” Understanding true pain, suffering, and austerity will lend itself to emotional stability within athletic competition. Perspective gives way to poise under pressure. For what does a 3-2 count with the bases loaded have on real life during a global pandemic?

SELF-DISCIPLINE: You have lived through a lack of facilities, competitions canceled, seasons postponed, lockdowns, and a changing landscape within our sport. You have been given every opportunity to say no to practice and be justified & understood for doing so. Giving up pitching during this pandemic would have been the easy thing to do. Yet you persevered. You zoom-learned. You found new spaces. You developed new plans to practice, work out, and grow within the game. You didn’t give excuses; you found a way. This skill is life-changing. You have lived in relentless pursuit of your ultimate goals. What could deter you in the future when you’ve lived through these challenges?

FORCED ADAPTABILITY: Words like pivot, unprecedented, and adaptable are coined phrases of 2020. They describe every twist and turn to our last 12 months. To continue to play softball, to find places to practice, and to continue to go to pitching school took an unusual amount of commitment and adaptability on your part. You have lived through a year-long curve ball that hasn’t stopped breaking yet. Dealing with an umpire’s inconsistent zone or imperfect weather conditions will be a walk in the park.

GRATITUDE: You know life “without”: life without regular access to family and friends, life without certainty of health, life without softball, life without access to facilities, and life without in-person schooling. The petty drama within teams that can easily rear its ugly head will have no place amongst you and your teammates who can easily distinguish between the trivial and the significant. You will possess true gratitude for the opportunity to compete, shake hands, give hugs, cheer loudly and have fans. Therefore, the relationships you develop with your coaches and teammates within your sport will be stronger, more positive, and longer-lasting.

DELAYED-GRATIFICATION: This one I saved for last because it has been the “knock” on the current generation. The age of the internet and technology has allowed immediate information at our fingertips. No one needs to wait for anything anymore. Doing something now that you won’t see the results of for months into the future takes patience and mental endurance. It embeds you in the process, focusing minimally on the result. It allows you to revel in the journey. It teaches perseverance and persistence. And it allows you to focus on fundamentals that will lead to uncomfortable change and possibly worsening outcomes of speed or accuracy for a temporary time frame.

However, it will give way to more probable fulfillment of your maximum potential. Having the ability to work hard in the now to create a greatness in the far-reaching future is unique to the current youth of America. But this will not ever be unique to you again.

CoVid-19 is not to be thanked or revered, but I believe the people who are growing up right now amidst the hardships of this pandemic have the potential to be pivotal icons of greatness for the generations to come. You are learning to thrive in an unpredictable and ever-changing future.

Therefore, your athletic careers have the unique opportunity to outdo the careers of your predecessors and successors. And after all we’ve been through over the last 12 months, I am filled with hope and excitement as your teacher. Let’s rise above – together. See you soon in the gym, on the field, or even over zoom.