- May 27, 2013
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- 113
Even happens in college sometimes. My dd had a rough season as a freshman pitcher - meaning she did a lot worse than “she“ expected herself to do. She had an amazing HS career and I think it truly humbled her and knocked her for a loop. Once she came home for the summer, she actually said to me with tears in her eyes that she didn’t want to pitch anymore. It was way too stressful and she was done. I told her to give it one more season. I reminded her how rough it was her freshman season of HS and how they went from a losing record to being undefeated her senior year. They grew together as a team.
What we did last summer was figure out what she could do (non-pitching) to improve. Lots of it was little things like working out (weights) all summer and over her breaks. Improving her diet. She honestly didn’t touch a softball again until nearly the end of July. She needed the rest, mentally and physically. It took a lot of gentle coaxing. Mostly just being supportive and asking her if she wanted to throw - but letting it go if she said no.
Fast-forward to now. She improved greatly her soph season. Greatly improved her ERA, strikeouts went up, hits and walks went down. She’s much happier now, looking forward to improving more, and being the best she can be for her team.
Sometimes we need to step back and just try to understand how they feel. Giving them some space to figure things out while also being supportive. Sometimes we just need to be there to be their sounding board while pointing out the positives that have occurred with their pitching and continuing to encourage but not push.
What we did last summer was figure out what she could do (non-pitching) to improve. Lots of it was little things like working out (weights) all summer and over her breaks. Improving her diet. She honestly didn’t touch a softball again until nearly the end of July. She needed the rest, mentally and physically. It took a lot of gentle coaxing. Mostly just being supportive and asking her if she wanted to throw - but letting it go if she said no.
Fast-forward to now. She improved greatly her soph season. Greatly improved her ERA, strikeouts went up, hits and walks went down. She’s much happier now, looking forward to improving more, and being the best she can be for her team.
Sometimes we need to step back and just try to understand how they feel. Giving them some space to figure things out while also being supportive. Sometimes we just need to be there to be their sounding board while pointing out the positives that have occurred with their pitching and continuing to encourage but not push.