Why Practice Pro Is Your Key to College Prep with Erica Hanrahan

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Hello Again!

Last week my cousin Abby introduced me to all of you; thank you to those who read about my journey into becoming the pitcher and the coach I have grown into over these last 35 years.

Today, I am so grateful to be part of this Practice Pro team, because that is exactly what you are here at Practice Pro: a team. What makes me the most excited about joining your ranks (other than getting to work with my amazing cousin, Abby) is that my specialty is pitching, but my passion is building teams. Here at Practice Pro, I get to do both with you - how perfect!

Pitching school is a genius idea, and it is one that I suggest committing to throughout the entirety of your high school journey. Here is the reason why: College pitching staffs are growing larger and larger, and that trend is not going to subside anytime soon; in fact, it has just begun to grow in popularity. Did you know that many top DI schools have almost doubled their scholarship opportunities as of this year, and due to this increase, many universities will use those dollars to expand their pitching staffs? You can not be the best team in the conference, region, or country without great pitching in the circle.

This change at the college level is in contrast to many, if not most, of the teams on which you are currently participating. High schools and travel teams by and large do not and can not operate with large pitching staffs for many reasons. So how can you learn to be a happy and productive member of a larger pitching staff (which you almost certainly will be part of if you choose to play in college) when you aren’t able to practice that skill on your current teams? The answer is right here: Practice Pro!

If you lean into the healthy competition of fellow pitching school “teammates,” then you can learn how to become part of a staff who works together to beat the opposition without envy of your own teammates. Through Practice Pro Pitching School, you will gain two necessary qualities to finding greater happiness at the next level:

BECOMING A GREAT TEAMMATE through possessing the genuine ability to root for someone else in the same position (self-immersion into a cohesive pitching staff).

BECOMING A BETTER PITCHER YOURSELF through objectively observing and competing with the pitcher(s) beside you, using each other’s strengths to enhance your own skills and abilities.

You will know you will have reached the pinnacle of being a great teammate when your fellow pitcher’s success becomes your own inner-joy: MUDITA (vicariously experiencing delight through the achievements of someone else, as if they were your own accomplishments).

This is what I have spent the last two decades building toward: creating pitching staffs that are complementary of each other’s talents and who love one another and root for each other to win in every moment.

Learning how to embrace the role you earn and become the best for your team among the women on your staff who have their own unique roles is imperative for team success. It is easier when you are earning the time and the role you hope for, but what about when that role is different and not in alignment with your original goals? How can you be best for your teammates and pitching sisters on staff then? How do you continue to work toward lofty individual goals while simultaneously embracing a role that the coach has determined is best for the team (and maybe different from what you’re working to achieve)?

This is what college coaches are looking for: a pitcher who wants to be part of a team’s success, even if that means she isn’t the primary star. This takes practice, and that practice is in the mental preparedness to be that type of a teammate. You must train to execute this behavior when you don’t think or feel this way at first. Once you rehearse this skill after learning about it, writing about it, and deciding your action plan to live it, you get to prepare in class through the Practice Pro model. THAT is why I believe in pitching school so profoundly. And THAT is also why Abby and I are deeply motivated to start an elite level class for pitchers who want to be everything they can be in college:

  • For themselves

  • For their coaches

  • For their fellow pitchers

  • For their teammates alike

We hope this will lead to experiencing the most joy a pitcher can feel, regardless of the college home she selects as her ideal final destination, and without dependence on the role she earns along the way. Luckily, your New Recruits, Junior Varsity, and Movement pitching classes have created this foundation.

Please consider signing up for an evaluation of your skills on October 27th or October 28th so that you can be eligible for this College-Prep class in January - March of 2025. If you didn’t see the email on October 8th that tells you all about it, you can read it here now! We are 50% full for evaluations already, so please don’t miss this opportunity to join us.

I look forward to meeting you in person soon!

Yours in Softball and Beyond,

Erica