No matter what your skill or experience level, YOU bring something special to your team. There IS at least ONE thing you do better than anyone else on your team. Make it a point to give whatever it is you have each and every day. If you don’t, who will?

Truth: After EVERY game you should know that you did something to help your team that day, whether you played every pitch or none at all. If you can’t think of anything you did to help then you didn’t do your job.

EVERYONE has something to contribute!

Posted by Toby on Facebook…

There is a girl on my daughter’s HS softball team, that has not gotten into any games, even the blow out games, who cheers on her teammates all the time. The other day my daughter Melanie told me that when she hears this specific girl yell out, “Sit her down Mel!” when she has a full count on a girl it gives her such a good feeling inside and it motivates her to strike out the batter…. You are so right about every teammate can give something to the team.

I have also seen this type of situation with my own eyes: players lacking in skills finding big ways to contribute to their team.

Find a way every day.

If they can do it so can you. No excuses!

I’m currently reading the book EntreLeadership
and I do believe that many of the principles shared in the book also applies to leading and running a softball team or program. One thing that struck me yesterday were the thoughts on vision. It’s not the first time I’ve thought of vision in relation to a team, but this book added some additional insight which got me thinking about it again.

Here’s what I picked up:

• First and foremost you need to actually have a vision for your team
• You must talk about your vision early and often
• You need to talk about your vision for your team 21 times before they really start “hearing” it
• You can’t talk about your vision “too much”
• Even after they “get it” you still need to restate it so that as your team or program grows and changes it continues to reflect that vision

With that said, do you have a vision for the team or program you lead?  Does your staff and your team know what that vision is?  Do they know what it means to be a part of the team?

Having a clear vision which is communicated to the team and coaching staff will ensure everyone understands:

• What it means to be a “insert your team nickname here”
• What is expected of team members and what they represent as part of the team
• What you are striving toward together
• Why your team chooses to do things the way we do
• That there is a bigger picture involved, not just decisions for “today”

The single biggest thing I realized after reading this part of the book was that most coaches don’t communicate or share their vision enough. They have it in their head.  They may mention it once or twice.  They may share it in bits and pieces, but in most cases they fail to saturate the team environment with it, then they wonder why team members don’t represent the team colors or the team name or the organization as a whole they feel it should be represented.

Most coaches don’t tie every job, biggest and smallest, to the team vision.  As a result, some things are seen as less important when they’re really not and team members fail to take pride in everything they do, they only do so in the things that feel important.

Having a vision is the start of influencing the “culture” or environment of your team. Sharing that vision is essential to cultivating that culture.  Mission statements clearly and succinctly communicate your vision to all team members.  However, mission statements are not something you can come up with in a matter of minutes or even within a few days.  The best mission statements are mulled over with input from the entire staff until it fully embodies your vision.  A good one will last for years and years and help keep you, your staff, and your program on track toward your ultimate goals.

If you watched the Mayweather/Ortiz fight this past weekend, you surely have an opinion about how it ended.  While many defend Mayweather saying his blow was not at all illegal and many fault Ortiz because one of the first things you learn as a boxer is “Defend Yourself at All Times” there are some of us who still think Mayweather’s shots were cheap.

Just as the fight ended there were a ton of facebook status updates about the subject.  Here’s what I posted…

The head butt may have been dirty but true champions don’t have to match dirt for dirt.

After all the talk of the fight and people bringing up that Ortiz’s headbutt was illegal and Mayweather’s knock out punches weren’t, something else came to my mind.  I posted that too.

I have a few thoughts on that type of mentality (it’s “okay” or there’s “nothing wrong with it” so long as it’s “legal”).  First of all, “right” and “wrong” are not always defined by rules or laws.  For example, just because you “can” cleat defenders when you slide into them doesn’t mean you should always intentionally do so.  Along those lines, here is another facebook post I made the night of the fight that came as a result of comments people made on the Mayweather/Ortiz fight…

When true athletes go into competition their goal is not just to be better than that opponent on that given day but to be the best THEY can be every single day.

Whether it’s training or competition, big stakes or no stakes, millions watching or with no one watching, under ideal circumstances or under adversity, there is no difference. True athletes strive for excellence in all they do.

What do you think? Do you agree or disagree? Leave a comment below and share your thoughts!

So, let’s hope this is the end of this ridiculous website problem era!

After all, we have better things to talk about, like softball.

That said, while the site was down, I was keeping communicate open via the All About Fastpitch Facebook Page. If you have taken a moment to stop by there, please do so and click the “Like” button. This will quickly and easily keep you up to date with the latest here at AAF right there through facebook.

If you’re already a facebook user, you probably spend more time there than here, so it’s a simple way for you to get your softball fix without having to visit lots of different places. If you’ve never been by the AAF FB page, go check it out now. You’ll see some great comments, quotes, and stories there since I haven’t been able to post here!

Plus, when I do post here, it shows up there too. Like I said, simple way to keep up with the latest and greatest stuff from AAF. Hope you “like” it!

Click to enlarge…

Most pitchers are constantly trying to improve their pitching and improve their pitching speed. Many pitchers practice pitching a lot to get better, but there are other ways to improve as a pitcher, especially when it comes to throwing more heat.

I’m talking about this because I was just browsing around on facebook when I saw this status update by the King of Core himself, Barry Lovelace…

Every time I hear testimonies from softball players that work with Barry (especially pitchers), one thing stands out is they all talk about how they see results FAST! Just about every one mentions that, after just a few sessions and workouts with Barry, they can already see and feel a difference in there softball performance.  What other kind of training does that?

Barry uses lots of core power training, functional training, and sport specific training when working with softball players.  He’s designed some great softball training programs that can help you (or your team) step up your game and do it quick! Best of all, you can do his Barry’s softball training programs during season or off season, any time you want or need it!

Learn more about how you can ramp up your softball performance quick and do it for far less than you’d spend for a personal softball trainer or gym membership => SoftballTeamTraining.com.

The Hawaii Bustos Bash is just two weeks away!

Please remember to share this information with anyone you think may be interested!

What to Expect at the Clinic

The Got Bustos? motto is: “See It, Feel It, Fix It”

This is something that Crystl and instructors take to heart. They let the players “see” what they are teaching, “feel” how their body should feel when doing the exercise and give the tools to “fix it” if they are not doing it correctly.

The Got Bustos? clinics started as “Weekend with Gold” back in 2005 with the help of Mary Ellen Bonner who is now our clinic coordinator. From that one clinic the response to Crystl and her method of teaching was tremendous, but more importantly reaching out to the players that weekend turned into Got Bustos? Sports Training, LLC.

Crystl’s goal has always been to give the players a lot of quality time and training with a limited number of players at a cost that is affordable. It’s always been quality, not quantity with Crystl. We set up our clinics with separate stations. We try to limit the stations to 4-6 players. Crystl and her instructors teach proper throwing and fielding mechanics, which all corresponds with hitting and the rest of the clinic Crystl instructs the players through her “Seven Steps of Hitting.”

Players of the same skill level are put together in stations. The clinics start out with Crystl and the instructors demonstrating a specific drill. The girls then return to their station to work on that drill with an instructor. As Crystl and/or Howard walk around they check to see if all the players understand that particular drill. If not she brings them back together and does another demo. Then back to their group. If there are still players who are struggling she will then put them individually with an instructor until they understand what she is teaching.

In each clinic Crystl always takes time at the end of the session to take pictures with each player (and she lets them wear her Olympic Medals in the picture) and autographs. I have never seen Crystl leave a session without making sure each player gets a picture and something signed. Sometimes that means she signs item after item for the same player.

Each player leaves a Got Bustos? clinic feeling not like they just had a workout with the best hitter on the planet but also made a new friend.

Education and training are both important to all of the Got Bustos? staff and Crystl takes time to talk to the players and explain what having good grades can mean. She also makes it known that she believes it takes a lot of hard work and you have to be willing to put in the time and effort in order to succeed.

Crystl’s motto is: “At the end of the day there is no one to blame but yourself for something you do or do not get”.

Crystl is working to help today’s young players, who will be our Olympic Softball Players should softball make it back to the Olympics, prepare to bring the Gold back to the USA!

Register now to see and work with Crystl in person => http://www.staciemahoe.com/bustos

• Three umpires knocked out of duty.
• Dozens sent to the hospital.
• Warnings of Pavement Explosions!

Whoa – it gets hot in Hawaii, but not like this!

At the state softball tournament in Fort Dodge, where the heat index reached 120 degrees, three umpires left in the middle of games to be treated for heat-related problems.

Each umpire had worked back-to-back games, and officials with the state girls’ athletic union said umpires will never again work consecutive games. The three were treated on site and did not require hospital visits.

Read more about this crazy hot softball tournament here

There is value in knowing general recommendations for specific situations, so I’m not saying to throw the “textbook” out altogether. However, sticking with what “should” be done in every situation every time gets a) very boring and b) very predictable.  Neither is what you’re striving for is it?

When people ask me what should I call in “this” situation, I really can’t give them an answer.  I can give a general answer given general guidelines, but there is so much more to consider than the number of outs, the score, the count, and so on.

Honestly, in my opinion, making coaching calls comes down to doing the best you can with the information you have and trusting your gut (not only your head). Yes you will make the wrong call from time to time, but that happens to every coach.  It’s highly unlikely you will make every right call every single time regardless of the decision making method you choose.  So why not make the one you feel strongest about?

In any given situation there are various calls that could possibly give you an outcome you desire. There’s more than one way to skin the cat you’re after, in other words.

However, as a coach, you can only choose one option and have only a limited amount of time to make that choice.  I believe, the more you make the call your gut tells you to (after evaluating the situation the best you can with the information you have), the more you learn and the better you get at it.

Sometimes, even with a great call, the ball still doesn’t bounce your way.  Other times you simply blow a call.  Then there are times you make a call you shouldn’t have and it all works out just fine, or better.

Regardless of how things shake out, the bottom line is you need to…

• Do YOUR best in that time and place to make a decision based upon the information you DO have
• Make the call you can stand behind even if it doesn’t work out (aka go with your gut)
• Learn from the situation regardless of the outcome

So yes, you can study to your heart’s content, but in the end, make the call that’s really tugging at you, jumping up and down, waving it’s hands in the air, and calling out to you.  If it goes great, file that piece of information away for the future.  If it goes terribly, file that piece of information away for the future.

It’s when you have no method to your madness and just try things just for the heck of it (and on top of that don’t bother to learn from the situation either way) that you never make any real progress or get better at making the best softball coaching decisions for your team.

The last thing you want to be saying after a game is, “I knew I should’ve done this, but the ‘right’ call is _____, so I went with that.” You’ll just keep beating yourself up because you had a feeling you should make a certain call, but since it’s not what most people would do, you played it safe and made the more traditional call that people would expect.  That way you don’t get blamed for making a “bad” call since you made the “right” decision coaches are “supposed to” make.

I’d rather be able to look back at a decision and say, “I made the best choice I could in that time and place and really believed it would work, but today it didn’t.  Now I know X, Y, and Z and will make a better decision in the future.”

Any time something doesn’t work out, there will be people who will say you made a “bad call.”  That comes with the territory.  Like I said before, sometimes it’s not the call.  Sometimes things just don’t work out.  Newsflash: You can’t control outcomes! You can only control your process.  Did you make the best evaluation you could and make your best decision based upon that?  If so, you’re process what right.  Things just didn’t bounce your way.  That’s not in your control.

If not, then there was something in your process that wasn’t right.  Could be what information you gathered to make the decision.  Could be how you interpreted the information to make your decision.  Could just be your decision.

Whatever the case, instead of looking at the only the call itself, also remember to look at the process that led to the call. Sometimes there is something there that can be fixed for the future.  Other times, it just wasn’t meant to be.  Other times it was flat out a bad call.  You need to be able to look back, evaluate your process and see where you can get better.  Your learning needs to go beyond just the “textbook.”

Failing to understand the details of the situation your team is in can cost your team an important game, maybe even your tournament life.  The last thing you want to do is lose because of a simple and avoidable coaching error after your girls worked so hard to be in a position to win near the end of a game.

If you’ve ever wanted an easy to use chart to help you figure out what softball coaching strategies to use in time limit games, you’re in luck.  Such a chart actually does exist!

This Softball Time Management Chart was shared by Don McKay at BellaOnline.

It gives you softball coaching strategies for…

• drop dead
• no new inning
• when you’re the visiting team
• when you’re the home team
• when you’re ahead
• when you’re behind
• when you’re at bat
• and when you’re on defense!

Talk about thorough!  I love it.

But I do have one note for Mr. McKay: one situation you did forget was the no new inning after 1 hr 15 with a drop dead at 1hr 30 min.

I’m dead serious!

Am I the only one who thinks it’s SO weird to have BOTH in effect during one softball game.  Does anyone else run tournaments like that or is it just Hawaii???  I really want to know. 

Click on the Chart Below to see the Full Version

One thing I learned as a softball coach is that placing hope on the wrong things or the wrong people is a bad, bad idea.  This is true not only in softball, but in life.  It’s like when thousands and thousands of people though the government and mortgage companies were going to help them out with the loan modification program.

Almost ALL of those applications got denied and many of the ones that went through didn’t work anyway.  Thousands of Americans thought they would get much needed help.  Instead, they were strung out and denied.  Or they did get their loan modified, but still ended up losing their home even after modification.

That is an example of placing hope in the wrong place, on the wrong things or people.  It stinks.  You get kicked in the teeth.

When you misplace your hope, prepare to get messed over.

In softball, this happens when coaches place hope in just Plan A or in players who lack a track record of reliability.

You’ve probably seen it before.  The coach who has one strategy of attack and when that doesn’t work on a particular day, he has nothing to fall back on as a Plan B.  He mistakenly pinned all his hope on one strategy that, contrary to what he believed, is not the best strategy for every single situation or team you can possibly face in a season.

Maybe you’ve also seen coaches misplace their hope on the wrong person.  The Princess Diva All-Star that…

• doesn’t work hard in practice
• shows up late and doesn’t think anything of it
• only gives 100% when she wants to or when she feels like it or when it’s convenient for her
• acts as if it’s everyone or everything else’s fault when she struggles (the sun, the rain, the umpire, the catcher that called the wrong pitch, etc)
• never owns up to any of her errors, mistakes, or faults

This is NOT the type of player you want to place all your team’s hope on.

Instead, choose players who will, regardless of the situation, dig in and give it their best shot.

Players who pick and choose when to be on time and when to try hard are going to be inconsistent in their performance because they are inconsistent in their approach and training.

Often times they will only try hard in drills they think are fun and slack or go through the motions in drills they don’t like doing.  This inconsistency in their training will lead to inconsistency in performance.

Not only that, trying hard only when they like what’s going on often equates to trying hard only when things are going well in the game.  For goodness sakes, that’s the easy part.  Anyone that can be upbeat, energetic, motivated, positive, confident and full of hustle when things are going great.

It’s the players who can do that no matter what that gives your team championship character and championship opportunities.  These players can play their game and perform at a solid level whether they’re in a situation they like or not, whether they’re in a situation that’s easy or not.

If a player can’t even make it a point to give their best in a practice drill just because they don’t like it or it gets too challenging is NOT going to be the one you can rely on during “big time” game situations or when your team gets behind or faces any other kind of adversity.

These players often make excuses for poor performance…

• The ball is wet today, I can’t pitch like this
• The sun is in my face, I can’t catch like this.
• The wind is drying my contacts out, I can’t field like this.
• The dirt is too soft in the batter’s box, I can’t hit like this.
• The dirt is too hard on the field, I can’t run and slide like this.
• The mound is crooked, I can’t pitch this.
• The umpire is inconsistent, I can’t hit like this.
• My rubberband isn’t holding my hair back…you get the idea.

Some of those might sound silly, but this type of excuse making is often evident in players who only give their best when they feel like it, who only follow team rules when they feel like it, who only hustle when it’s convenient for them.  They’re not what I hear Coach Heather Tarr refer to as “true athletes.”

Look for players who enthusiastically dig in to any challenge and give everything they got no matter what.  These players, no matter what you throw at them, just jump in and do it.  Whether the situation or task is hard or weird or uncomfortable, they will do their best to get the job done.  Whether people around them think they can or they can’t, it doesn’t matter, they are going to give it their best shot!

Players like this, who give everything they have day in and day out, are the ones you know you can count on!  These are the ones you place your hope in to go out there and play ball!  THESE are the players you put in key roles, not the ones you have to “hope” will show up and feel like playing on game day.

I have to admit. I see this all the time at youth softball practices. Coaches who are more concerned with the outcome of a play in practice vs the process.

Example? Trying watching a youth softball team practice turning a double play. More often than not you’ll probably see coaches satisfied when the ball is fielded sure handedly, thrown to 2nd, thrown to 1st, then thrown back home.

As long as the ball makes it through all those stages and back to the catcher everything is good and the coach is happy.

But what about how the ball was fielded? Did that person do a good job with footwork while fielding and throwing? Did they transition the ball well and get it to 2nd as quickly as they could? Did they make the catch as easy as possible for the person covering 2nd? Or did they use poor fielding and throwing technique and footwork? Did they make the catch and “turn” at 2nd difficult?

What about the “turn” at 2nd? Did the person covering 2nd approach the bag properly? Were they set up on the base right? Did they use the most efficient and effective footwork to get the out and quickly get rid of the ball to 1st base?

Then there’s the first baseman or the person covering 1st. Did they stretch to the ball correctly?

Was there good communication between the players on the play?

…and so on and so on and so on.

Too many coaches disregard all these components of a good double play.  Their only concerns are that the hit ball is not missed and that the thrown balls are not thrown wildly away. All they care about is that the bases were touched and the ball makes it back home – in other words, the result.

But what is that teaching the players? Are they practicing it right? Are they practicing it right consistently? Are they even close to getting both outs? Are there things they could do better? Or are they just practicing how to turn a double play incorrectly and inefficiently?

None of these things get addressed most times I watch a practice.

I know, I know. Taking the time to correct and refine ALL of that would take so long. Yes, it’s true that you may only get about half the amount of double play reps if you take the time to actually coach all that.  So what?! I’d much rather have 10 quality reps than 20 poorly or incorrectly done reps!

I also see this “Results over Process” mistake with hard throwing players. By the time I get to coach players they are 14, 15, 16 years old. Many have been playing since they were 8 or younger. They’ve been throwing the way they throw for a long time, and yet I see many, especially the hard throwing ones, who have poor throwing mechanics. They don’t get the most out of their body with the throwing motion they use. Most barely use their legs and rely on just their arm.

Since hard throwing players have a these nice strong throws, it seems most coaches during their youth ignored the fact that they weren’t throwing with the best mechanics. Coaches see a nice hard throw and which ends up in the catching vicinity of the person receiving the ball and that’s all they care about. The end result of the throw was good, so why “fix” anything?

Why? Because that’s your job as a coach! To help players get better even if they are already the best on their team or the best in the league for that matter.  There is always room for improvement.  You do your players a great disservice of you don’t help them get better despite how “good” they already are.

Allowing hard throwing players to continue using poor mechanics…

• wastes a players energy. Proper throwing mechanics are efficient allowing for maximum output with minimal effort. This is super important on long tournament weekends or over the course of a long season!
• makes them slower defensively than those who use efficient mechanics. The point on defense is to get the ball to your target in the shortest possible time frame (not with the highest possible velocity) in order to get more outs.
• puts unnecessary strain on their arm.
• reduces their arm’s effectiveness over the course of the season.
• shaves time off the longevity of this cannon arm over the course of this player’s career.

Like I said…disservice.

Focus on process over results – how they threw the ball, not where it ended up or how fast it was going when it got there – and you will avoid this issue.

Process Over Results
It’s not whether you get the ball here or not, it’s HOW you made the throw.
It’s not whether you came to practice or not, it’s HOW you trained while you were there.
It’s not whether you ran your sprints or not, it’s HOW you ran them.

Is the point simply to complete the task or complete it well?

It’s not whether you win or lose, it’s HOW you play the game.

You cannot always control the outcome of a performance. You can choose a good pitch and hit a ball well, but you cannot completely control whether you get hit or not. Someone on the other end may make an unbelievable catch and steal your hit. It doesn’t mean you did a bad job. You just couldn’t control the outcome of your good hit. All you can control is your performance.

• Did you give it your all?
• Did you do your best on that given day?
• Did you do what you trained to do to the best of your ability?

Have you ever walked away from a win with a less than satisfied feeling? Have you ever walked away from a win disappointed and bothered by your personal performance in it?

In contrast, have you ever walked away after a loss without anything to be ashamed? Have you ever walked away from a loss feeling proud that you did all you could do and simply came up short on that day against a worthy opponent? Have you ever come away from a loss more deeply respected by your teammates, your opponent, your coach, your family and your fans?

Was it the score or the result of the game that allowed you to hold your head high after a loss vs stew with dissatisfaction after a win?

The score or the result of the game is ultimately NOT the most important factor in how positive the experience was for you. It was about the PROCESS!

Funny thing is, mistakenly emphasizing results, results, results typially don’t get you to the results you want.

Focus on quality process, on best effort in the process, on best attitude about/in/regarding the process…that’s what usually gets you results you want.

Good results are a BYPRODUCT of excellence in your process (in your HOW)!

Good results are not “the point” – good results are what happen when you really truly get the point.

Many people have theories on how lineups should be made. There are general rules of thumb that many coaches follow. For example:

• lead off hitters general have good on base percentages and speed
• hitters in the 2 slot are typically decent bunters with speed as well
• 3-4-5 tend to have more power than hitters in the first 2 spots in the lineup
• etc, etc, etc

However, coaching softball isn’t as simple as going “by the numbers.” If the ultimate lineup was based upon basic hitting stats, there would be formulas out there by which to create the best possible hitting lineup for a team, but there aren’t. At least not that I know of!  I don’t know of any software program or softball calculator where you plug in your team stats and have it spit out your “dream” lineup.  (If you know of one, please shoot me an email and let me in on this secret weapon!)

Then again, that would take a lot of the fun out of coaching wouldn’t it.  Then “anyone” could make head coaching decisions regarding playing time so long as they know how to do math or work the software.

Can you imagine if the ultimate defensive lineup was based on basic fielding stats as well, how on earth would you reconcile a player who has a wonderful fielding percentage and an abysmal batting average?  The computer software would probably spit out two completely different lineups if you entered both hitting and fielding statistics and had it compute “strongest” lineups based upon defensive stats and another based upon offensive stats!  Then what would you do?

Obviously, creating an effective softball lineup is more than just filling in the blanks based upon past results.  If you base your lineup solely upon stats, you fail to consider the conditions under which those stats were generated.  For example, some coaches talk about “protecting” hitters throughout the lineup.  For example, if you don’t “protect” your biggest power hitter, she may not have the RBI stats you think she should simply because opponents opt to walk her and pitch to the next batter instead.  So if your #4 has weak RBI stats, it may not be because she’s a poor RBI hitter.  It could be because of the “conditions” under which she hits.  Place this same hitter in a spot before another hitting threat and you may see her RBI stat increase.

Another reason coaching softball is not math…
Math is great. I love math. It was actually one of my favorite subjects in school. Yes, I was a bit of a nerd. But math that normal people like you and I can do does NOT factor in any human element into the equation. Let’s face it, when we create a softball lineup, we are dealing with human beings.  Any human being that is breathing, especially one going through the first few decades of their life, is undergoing change, transition, or progress.  Human beings are not static individuals who never evolve.  What a player did yesterday or last week or last month is NOT today’s reality.  The benefit a particular player provided your team last week or last month may not necessarily be what your team needs today.  All these variables factor in to the lineup you write for this game.

Yes, past performances give you the information you need as a coach to make informed decisions.  Numbers are great at showing quantifiable facts so that you have something to “lean on” besides your memory or a “feeling.”  I’m not dissing the math altogether or saying you should never use stats as part of a your decision making process, just that stats and numbers are only part of the equation when it comes to putting together your strongest starting lineup for this game.

Besides, if math and numbers were the ultimate way to figure out who the best is, there wouldn’t be so much controversy surrounding the BCS system in college football.

And then there were 8!

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been enjoying all the softball action in this year’s post season.  Super Regionals were crazy with many matchups going to Game 3.  Now we’re down to our Final 8…

1. Alabama
2. Arizona State
3. Florida
4. Oklahoma State
5. Oklahoma
6. California
7. Baylor
8. Missouri

Who’s your favorite?

Even though not all games are televised, I was able to keep up with a lot of the action via Twitter.  You’d be surprised how many softball teams have an account that you can follow!   Not only that, you can follow NCAA Softball themselves.

The NCAA website has the full bracket laid out as well as a printable version you can save to your computer or print out for your convenience.

See the 2011 DI Bracket

If you want to know which games will be broadcast and where, click here.

I’m looking forward to watching the series unfold.  I really don’t have a favorite at this point, but I sure did enjoy watching Mizzou’s Thomas in the circle!

What about you?

Who are your rooting for?

We now have the registration form ready for you to view, print, or save to your computer.

Get the Clinic Registration From HERE

Crystl will do a coach/parent clinic on Friday night (August 5th) then a 2-day player clinic which will include BOTH offense and defense on Saturday and Sunday (August 6th & 7th).

Cost for the coach/parent clinic is $40.

Cost for the 2-day player clinic is $99 (includes both days).

Register to reserve your spot in this first ever Crystl Bustos clinic.

One thing you cannot control is how your negative vibe impacts others.  It can be one look, one word, or one action that we put out and can never get back.

While you may be able to drop it, move on and play your game, you have NO control over how others are affected by it.

One distraction from you may be enough to knock someone else’s performance just a bit off kilter and bring down their overall performance.  If you have that affect on most of the teammates who were around you when you put that vibe out, impact is exponential!

On game day especially, do your best to make sure your actions, words, decisions, etc are HELPING your team performance their best!

Athletes like to be in a particular mindset or “groove” as they go into competition.  Disrupting that “mojo” of any of your teammates before a game or during a game is not a good idea.

If you’ve ever run track or run for competition, you know how critical breaking stride or losing your form for just a split second can be.  I know because it happened to me before.  I was just ahead of another sprinter and for just a moment, I lost my form.  I did get it back, but in just that moment, she went from just behind me to just in front of me.

After I regained my stride and form, I did close some of the gap, but not enough to pass her by again.  That’s how I see disruption from inside the team environment/mojo before a game.  It might be a “small” thing that just throws the team off balance just a little, but it can be enough to alter the outcome.

So the challenge for game day is to make sure your impact on teammates and on the team is positive and improves performance!

photo credit: softball team

The clinic is slated for August 6th and 7th at Kapolei High School.

Cost is $99 per player for BOTH days.  Get softball hitting instruction from one of the BEST in the game!

General layout for this event will include hitting on Day 1 and fielding/defense on Day 2 (many don’t realize Crystl played SS for the National Team before).

Exact times will be announced soon.  I will keep you posted here at All About Fastpitch when registration forms come out.

Crystl is also interested in doing a coaches clinic for $45 on Friday night.  We don’t currently have a location set for this but will keep you posted as details unfold.

This is an event you don’t want to miss! Got Bustos is offering this first Hawaii clinic at a very special never-been-done-in-Hawaii-before discount.  Hope to see you there.

A player that lifts her teammates to a higher level and helps them quickly recover from mistakes is more valuable than a player who has a stronger arm or bat but doesn’t know how to be a source from which her teammates gain confidence, positivity, and power from.

That post received 53 “likes” within days. That’s the highest yet!

Have you had the opportunity to be on a team with a player like this? Or maybe just observe one on another team?

Players with decent softball skill and this exceptional softball attitude are so much more valuable to a team than a player that has superior softball skills but no further reach.

What do I mean by reach? Dr. Tom Hanson once wrote an article that I wish I could find right now. He was talking about Derek Jeter and about how, when you’re in the room with him, you can just feel his confidence.

His confidence just flows out of him into his surroundings, and therefore, to the people around him as well.

Some players have this effect. Their enthusiasm, confidence, and positive attitude spills over into anything near them.

Other players, while highly talented, do not have this effect.

It’s like everything is bottled up inside them. They perform great, but no none of their teammates can feed off them or “get their juice.”  There’s nothing flowing out of them into their surroundings to feed off of.

While these players may perform at a high level, they do not elevate the game of those around them.

Real MVPs however…

• effectively uplift their teammates
• elevate the game of those around them
• are a source of confidence, strength, resilience, and positivity that others can draw from
• make the game easier and more enjoyable to play
• draw so much enjoyment from simply playing the game their positive “can-do” attitude becomes infectious

Some people refer to this as the “it” factor.  For MVP’s, whatever “it” is…

IT’s in their words and how they say it
IT’s in their every action and every move
IT’s not only when things are going well, but ALL the time
IT’s simply part of who they are

When they infect the rest of the team with their confidence and belief in the team, their team is practically unstoppable!

Seriously, when a team is unified under a common blanket of confidence – watch out!

A player that can bring that to the table every game, to me, brings so much more value than one that can hit a homerun in every game.

What do you think?

Since this topic of “Enough” seems to keep popping up, I decided to post something about it on the AAF Facebook Page.

People seems to like it well enough and some have asked if they can share it with others.  Of course, I have no problem with that, so long as you remember to mention where you got it from.

So feel free to share this Softball Quote of the Week with your team this week…

Whether you win or lose, you really won’t be much different, as a person, than you were 2 hours ago.

Never allow the scoreboard to dictate your self worth!

It’s a highly unreliable and completely irrelevant indicator of your true value as a human being.

Really, a couple of hours doesn’t completely change your life. Maybe you’ll learn a few lessons. Maybe it does give you a different perspective on things.

What you choose to do with your experience may very well change your life.

The win or the loss in and of itself does not do that.  You do. The win or the loss does not suddenly make you amazing if you weren’t before nor does it make you worth less than you were before.

Never tie your self worth to the outcome of your performance or of a game. Your true friends and your loved ones don’t love you any more or less because you did or did not hit a ball, because you did or did not make an error, or because you did or did not win a game.

Who you are as a person, as a human being, is not at all correlated with outcomes on the field.

Now don’t get me wrong.  I don’t like to lose, but winning is not the ultimate pre-season goal for wise coaches.  Placing the win above all else in pre-season is short-sighted and likely detrimental to your team in the long run.

Pre-season is for training and for learning.

It’s foolish to primarily play your “strongest” 9 players during all your pre-season games just so you can win. 

The almighty W is NOT the most important thing in pre-season. 

Any fan of NFL football could tell you that.  There are professionals in the NFL that are getting paid big bucks and even they don’t focus on winning as the ultimate goal in pre-season.

Sticking with only your strongest 9 players in pre-season wastes opportunities to get your WHOLE team ready for regular season (the part that really counts).  Sticking with only your strongest 9 basically translates to putting all your eggs in one basket (and before the season even starts no less).

How are you supposed to know what your players can do in “game-like” situations THIS season unless you put them there?  Pre-season gives you an opportunity to find out, but you won’t ever know if you don’t take advantage of it.

Pre-season is the best time to…

• explore your personnel options
• formulate a solid “Plan B”
• see how your team responds to less than “ideal” situations and lineups
• get non-starters game reps so they aren’t shell shocked should you need them during the season
• give some “sleepers” the opportunity to show you what they can contribute
• see how “starters” work with “backups” in game-like situations
• let your players EARN their spot
• see how different players react under pressure (some elevate, some crumble)
• etc, etc, etc

However there’s no way to see all of that if you are hell bent on winning every game and only want to go with the current “best 9.”  Some players grow and get better under pressure, but if you never put them there, they never get that chance. 

Others show that they need work on their mental game, but you never know that if you don’t put them under game-like pressure.  Some personnel combinations work together better than others, but you never get to see that if you only try one combo.   Some players improve by leaps and bounds from season to season but if you base their playing time only upon the past and never give them a true shot THIS season, you may not discover this until much later, wasting valuable time for that player and the team.

Pre-season is for training and learning first, not only for players, but for coaches too.  Winning is second.

You don’t want to win pre-season.  Ideally, you use pre-season to get the team as ready as possible for the season, and eventually post season, when games really count.  Sometimes getting your team ready and winning don’t fall along the same path. 

During pre-season, be willing to sacrifice short term gain (a.k.a. the win) to better your team over the long haul. 

Do you really think, at the end of the season, anyone outside the team will even remember what games you won or didn’t win in the pre-season?  Even if they do remember, is that the part of the season that really matters? Yes, I admit, the W is cool, but I challenge you to use your pre-season opportunities more wisely than that!

photo credit: rabbit