Useful Bling for Your Glove

I'm not sure if this has ever happened to you, but it's happened to me...Last season in fact.  I took my daughter to practice, and of course, since I have great taste in gloves,  at least one other girl on my daughter's team has the exact same glove (happens to be true again this season).  

This of course, can cause some problems.  For example, one day last season (it's bound to happen sooner or later) my daughter comes to me after practice and says, 

"INSERT TEAMMATE'S NAME HERE took my glove instead of hers by accident."

Ugh!  This does seem to happen more with the younger age groups than with older ones because the younger players aren't always so particular with their gloves.  

The reason I bring this subject up is because I just recently found out about MittMates.  I actually had no idea what MittMates were until I saw them on Facebook.  I had seen similar products or "bling" on player's gloves, but these are pretty cool.  At least I think they are.

Of course, I was a little worried that older players would think it was corny.  However, I put one on my glove and the players I coach (high school age) started asking how I got it and how they could get one for their glove.  Sooooooo, I'm going to be getting MittMates for our whole team.  

Normally, these little MittMates run about $11.99 each.  However, you can take advantage of a Team Special they're running and get MittMates for your whole team for just $99.  (up to 13 players)  All you have to do is go to the order page and use promo code: STM017

Order your team's MittMates with Promo Code: STM017 and save over 35%!

They even have different colors to possibly match your team and cool designer looking ones if you want something more "fashionable." (my favorite is, of course, the surfer print).  

For a cool, stylish way to personalize and easily identify your glove, get MittMates.  Who knows, maybe it'll help us get out to the field faster on defense because it'll be easier for players to identify which gloves need to be given to the players coming off the field from baserunning or hitting.  It'll should eliminate the "Can you pass my glove?" / "Which one's yours?" exchange that we hear all the time in the dugout.  

Orrrrrr, when gloves are left at the field after practice or after games, MittMates will help you immediately identify who that glove belongs to.  ;)

So, go get some for your team today and remember to use Promo Code: STM017 to take advantage of the over 35% discount on Team Orders.

Hey Baseball: Thanks, But No Thanks

I actually found out about this in this blog post by Marc over at Softball Performance. Apparently the International Baseball Federation submitted a proposal for a "combined approach for Olympic Games programme status."

Thankfully, the International Softball Federation (ISF) has decided that softball with stand alone in current proposals to the International Olympic Committee. Being grouped with baseball is, I believe, one of the major reasons softball was voted out for 2012. Since softball was ousted in the 2005 voting, the ISF has vigorously campaigned for softball's reinstatement to the Olympics.

The IOC will be voting to include up to two most sports in the 2016 Olympic games. I really hope softball gets back in. If you're reading this, I'm sure you do too.

What I think would be super cool, is to have both men's and women's fastpitch in the Olympics! I'd definitely be DVR'ing all the games.

Olympics-Softball Rejects Baseball's Plans for Joint Games Pitch

Fastpitch Softball Drills | Fastpitch Softball Coaching Tips | Fastpitch Forum

A Message for Non-Starters

Are you ready?

Here it is...

There is SO MUCH you can do to help your team!!!!!!!!!!!! (Whew, glad I got that out)

One thing you can do is PUSH HARD in practice. Why?
Well there are a number of great reasons:

1. Because you will improve your skills faster

2. Because you will increase your chance at earning some playing time

3. Because pushing hard in practice helps you get GAME READY just in case the starter in front of you gets sick, gets injured, has some kind of outside obligation to attend instead of coming to the game, or simply has a bad day

4. Because coaches love players that go hard in practice and HOW you practice leaves 1 of 3 impressions in your coaches mind:
a) you do things half heartedly because you're not a starter and the coaches are left with a negative impression of how you practice
b) you don't slack but you don't push either and in the words of Simon Cowell your practice efforts are "forgettable" (*note: "forgettable" usually doesn't make the coach want to put your name in that starting line-up)
c) you work hard and push yourself daily and a very positive impression is branded in your coaches mind about HOW you practice

5. Because the more you push yourself the more the starter in front of you pushes and gets better. If they don't, you get their position. If they do and they are on top of their game and they make great plays on the field - YOU just helped your team get better by pushing and challenging that starter in front of you. You just made a HUGE contribution to your team's overall performance...all because you chose to practice hard every day and push yourself and those around you.

...and that's just ONE way to help your team as a non-starter. There are many more that I'll probably share from time to time, but for now, make it a point to push and challenge yourself and those around you. You'll get better and you'll make a very positive contribution to your team's overall performance and success.

Core Power Clinic In Hawaii - March 2009

Barry Lovelace has been a guest on Fastpitch Talk Radio and the subject of a video clip I have up at StacieMahoe.com. Barry is referred to as the "King of Core" and you know how important the core is to any softball player.

Well, if you're going to be in Hawaii on March 21-22, then you have a very special opportunity to learn what Core Power and Core Training is all about directly from Barry himself.

Join us at Kapolei High School on March 21 & March 22 for Core Power Clinics.

The cost is just $5 per session and is open to players ages 9 - college. Parents and coaches are welcome to come for free to learn more and ask questions. Additional details and contact information are available via the clinic flyer. Click on the link below to get it.

Print the flyer/registration form HERE

Change: Scary, but Good

Have you ever tried something new and felt frustrated or uncomfortable? I think you can relate to that feeling or maybe even think of a situation were you've experienced that. You get used to doing things a certain way, then when someone comes along and says you need to change. Though you can see the benefits of the "new way" you may resist it. Why?

Because change can be:

• frustrating
• uncomfortable
• and downright SCARY!

You may feel like we're taking two steps backward trying to do things the "new way." Even though you know that this "new way" could take you further and make things better than the old way, it's not unusual to feel like giving up on it. After all, who wants to feel frustrated, or uncomfortable, or scared? I know I don't, but sometimes it's necessary if you want to reach new heights in your game and in your life.

Too many people let frustration or being uncomfortable hold them back from making positive changes; changes that catapult them to new levels of success. Change can be frustrating and very uncomfortable and may even push you to the point of wanting to forget it all and just go back to doing things the way you used to. You know how to do it and it's been "good enough" all this time right?

But imagine what would happen if you went back to the old comfortable routine, the one you know and love. Then think about what would happen if your opponents made the choice to push through the frustration and the feeling of uncertainty and make those changes. Yes, they may have go two steps backwards, but after giving the "new way" and honest try, they'll also be taking the 5+ steps forward that you'll never take unless you learn to step out of your comfort zone.

Yes, it's feels weird. Yes, it's frustrating. Yes, it's scary, but it's also GOOD FOR YOU! How will you ever know how far you can go unless you're willing to push the envelope from time to time?

Heck, the "new way" may even go against everything you've previously known which may make it harder to accept (can you think of times in the past where this has happened-just think of the pitching or hitting mechanics that were being taught years ago). Take a look at what this "new way" has to offer, talk to others who are already trying it out, and see for yourself what the benefits could be.

If you can SEE proof and hear from other people that the "new way" really does work, then take a leap of faith, push the envelope, and step out of your comfort zone. Acknowledge that you may get frustrated, expect that you'll may be uncertain from time to time, and understand that you may move backward before you ever take those awesome steps forward. As scary as it may be, make the change, stick with it, and watch yourself soar to new heights.

To Your Ultimate Softball Success,

Stacie Mahoe

Goal Setting | Free Coaching Tips | Useful Softball Drills

Core Power - New Fastpitch Talk Radio Episode

Most softball players, coaches, and parents agree that the "core" is an important part of a softball players performance. In this week's Fastpitch Talk Radio episode, I'm talking with Barry Lovelace who is also know as the "King of Core."

Find out how functional training, and core exercises can increase your power and speed for softball. I've tried some of these exercises and the great thing about them, in addition to all the great softball and health benefits, is that it's FUN! I love being able to help players improve their game and have fun at the same time and this is one way to do it.

Learn more about functional training and where you can check out some free sample exercises, by listening in to this week's episode of Fastpitch Talk Radio. "See" you there!

Valentine's Day Special

Happy Valentine's Day! I hope you have a wonderful day today. I've got a few scrimmages to go to, but it'll be fun. Anyway, just wanted to make sure you knew about the Valentine's Day Special I made for you.

You can get:

• A spot in the Goal Setting Acceleration Bootcamp (reg. price $25)
• Coaching Unplugged (reg price $7)
• Access to the Online College Recruiting System ($15/year)

...that's $47 worth of softball stuff all at the deeply discounted price of $20. Yowza - that's a savings of 57%!

That's slightly crazy, but it's only because I love ya! Get all 3 of those very popular resources for just $20. This Valentine's Day Special is only good for today and tomorrow. Don't miss it!

Give me the Valentine's Day Special!

How to Enjoy Practice More and Improve Your Game

One of the things that always baffles me is that people try to set goals without ever thinking about their vision. In other words, they do goal setting, but the never think about what they ultimately want, what their dream is.

It's very difficult to achieve that BIG thing and set goals to help you get there when you have no idea what it is.

So, right now I'm going to share an example of how you can set more effective goals and improve your game.

Let's not think about a huge thing right now, let's just focus on ONE practice day.

How often do you think about what you want out of practice? You probably attend practice with the hopes of improving your game or getting better right? But what would you ultimately like practice to be like?

Think about that for a second.

Maybe one of the things you want is to improve your game at least a little each day?

Maybe you want to enjoy yourself and have some fun?

Whatever it is, ask yourself if those things are happening on a daily basis.

If not, why not?

Maybe your always rushing to practice so you're already starting of full of anxiety instead of starting practice off in a positive way.

Maybe you don't really see yourself improving as much as you'd like.

The idea is to:

1. Think about what you really want out of practice
2. Figure out some reasons why that's not happening regularly
3. Then listing a few things you could do to make it happen

Maybe you really enjoy socializing with your teammates, but your always getting to practice in the nick of time, so you don't really get that opportunity.

One thing you can decide to do is: make sure you get ready for practice early and make it a point to arrive at the field at least 15 minutes before start time. That way you can take your time. You don't need to rush. You don't need to feel pressured right off the bat. You can relax, find a great spot to put your bag in, and chit chat with your friends for a bit before you have to get to your training.

Wouldn't that make your practice experience better? Wouldn't you enjoy it more than always having to rush in, run to the dugout with your equipment bag, throw it in any remaining available spot, hurry to get your shoes on, scramble to find your glove, and hustle out to the field because everyone else is already ready to go?

Which way would you rather start practice? Which way do you usually start practice?

Is this a change you can make?

Another scenario: Maybe one of the reasons you go to practice is to get better, but somehow you're not sure if it's working. Try make it a point to learn one new thing each day.

• Listen closely each day to what your coaches have to say (instead of chatting with your friends on the field)
• Observe your teammates to see if you can learn from them (instead of chatting in the back of the line when it's not your turn)
• At the end of the practice review and see if you learned anything new

If you look back and can name something you learned, you will see that you did accomplish something during practice and will feel better about your practice session. You'll also be more motivated to get out there again the next day and take another step. Since you're making it a point to learn something new, you'll probably get more out of practice because you're paying more attention and looking for ways to get better rather than just relying on your coaches to make you better. You will start to see that you are improving and raising your game by attending practice each day.

Coaches!

Have you thought of what you'd like out of practice or what you'd like your practice to be like?

Give it a try.

• Think about what you'd ultimately want your practices to be like
• Identify a few reasons why it's not like that
• Then decide on a few things you can do differently to make it better

Try it today and let me know how it goes.

These are the types of exercises you'll go through in the Goal Setting Acceleration Bootcamp - just on a larger scale and with a bit more detail.

Take the challenge of answering soul searching questions to get down to the meat of practical, action steps you can take to pump up your performance.

Sound like fun? You know I'm all about fun and I think you'll enjoy the process of going through to activities in the goal setting bootcamp. Enjoy the game more and make bigger gains.

Start today. Try the stuff in this blog post, then go over to the GSA page and sign up to get Part 1 of the Bootcamp for FREE.

Quick Tip for Coaching Softball

Just a quick video clip for fastpitch softball coaches on how to help your players perform better AND strengthen your relationship with them so that they WANT to hear what you have to say in the future.

You've probably heard other say (and even me too) that you have to know your players to be as effective as possible as a coach. Well, in this video I share a specific example of how this will help not only improve your players performance on the field, but also make your players more likely to listen to what you have to say and be more open to receiving "coaching" from you.



Did you find this video useful? Leave me a comment and let me know.

Related Post: Are You Coaching Unplugged?

Interesting Fastpitch Discussions

We've got all kinds of fastpitch softball discussions going on at My Fastpitch World.

Should sunflower seeds be allowed?
How should tryouts be run?
Is stealing signals "playing dirty?"
Should you play up or stay down?
How do you motivate young players and reduce nerves before a game?
...and a bunch more.

If you haven't shared your thoughts yet, head over and tell us what you think. If you haven't signed up for your free account at My Fastpitch World, it only takes a few minutes and you'll be able to jump right in to the conversations!

I'm looking forward to seeing you there! If you have any questions you'd like input on, just post it up ~ there are a lot of great fastpitch people ready to help you out.

Why I'm Putting Pressure On You

Find out how pressure is going to help you focus, make you more productive, increase the quality of your work or training, and help you reach your goals.


Are you up for the challenge???

Goal Setting Acceleration Bootcamp: For players and coaches want to catapult their game to a higher level

Mr. Lovelace and the One-Legged Toothbrushing Club

Find out who Mr. Lovelace is, how I met him, why you'll want to hear from him and why you see the words "One-Legged" Toothbrushing in the title of this post.

By the way: The dose of "Hawaii" in the video...love it or hate it?


It's said that Barry's exercises help increase speed and power for athletes quite quickly. I'm trying it out, so I'll let you know how that goes.

OR, don't wait for me, check out Barry's Core Power Program for yourself HERE.

Goal Setting Acceleration - An Inside Look

As I work on the Goal Setting Acceleration Bootcamp I'm getting more and more excited about opening it up to players and coaches.

Some people think that goal setting isn't necessary or that you can just keep your goals in your head. But here are a couple of thoughts from GoalsGuy.com - words from a goal setting expert.

Goal setting is not that important.
The GoalsGuy says: Success Requires Goals - End of Story! A life of meaning needs goals and specific plans to achieve them. Success does not happen by accident.

Goal Setting is Difficult and Takes Too Much Time.
The GoalGuy says: Performance is accelerated by time invested in strategy. The game of life is won behind the scenes, in time spent on preparation.

Some of the biggest reasons people fail are because:

• They take action without planning
• They plan and never take action
• Their "Why" is not clear
• They lack focus
• They are afraid to fail
• They try to do it alone

The upcoming Goal Setting Acceleration Bootcamp addresses many of these issues. If you'd like a sneak peak at the inside of the Bootcamp, I have a screen shot HERE. Of course, it doesn't capture everything, but I like the way it looks and just felt like sharing it with you. :D

Click to enlarge

TEAM: What is it that you don't understand?

So I recently came across yet another "real life" situation involved ADULTS who just don't get what it means to be part of a team. This is why I'm so into having young ladies learn this lesson on the softball field. Later in life there will be times when it's necessary to work together WITH other people to accomplish a common goal. Without the unity EVERYONE stands to lose out in the end (just like on a softball team).

The only difference is, in real life, instead of a win or loss being at stake, you may be talking about your livelihood. It may be the difference between having a job or not having a job, being able to put food on the table or not being able to put food on the table, being able to take care of your family or not being able to take care of your family, etc, etc, etc. I think you see the point.

In "real life" the stakes are much higher and yet, some adults just do NOT understand what it means to be part of a team effort. I can't, for the life of me, understand why some insist upon making it about THEM. It's not about you! Why can't these people understand that if they do NOT put their own personal issues aside and work WITH the people on their team (whether they like it or not, whether they like these people or not), they may lose things in their life that are VERY important to them.

Isn't it ridiculous for a team member to want to drum up sympathy for themselves because of something another team member did months ago? Especially when you have a potentially devastating challenge in front of you that you need everyone's united efforts to overcome?

Why tell Cindy and Mary and Jane all about your sad story when the issue you have is with Jill? Only Jill can makes things right, the others can't fix things for you. Going around to your other teammates to tell them about what Jill did to you way back when isn't going to help your team accomplish their goals!

I'm not saying you don't have a legitimate gripe with Jill. Maybe you do, but that's something that needs to be straightened out with Jill, not with Cindy, Mary, and Jane. In fact, by spreading the word about this personal issue you have with Jill, you will probably take your teammates focus off of what they need to be focused on and that,obviously, will only hurt the team's efforts.

Seriously. Can you imagine what a team would be like if everyone decided to sit there and grumble about every other member of the team who ever did something they didn't approve of or who had ever wronged them in any way in the past? Talk about D-R-A-M-A! Yikes! That team wouldn't stand a chance. If you don't think it's a good idea for everyone to be sitting around doing this, you can bet that means it's not right for even ONE person to be doing it (not even you).

I understand that there will be times when you feel very wronged. I understand there will be times when you just don't have respect for a teammate because of the way they conduct themselves or because of the choices they make or for any other legitimate reason. But these types of situations don't only happen on the field, they happen in life too. The bottom line is, these people are on your team. When you are seen by those outside your team, you are judged as a WHOLE. No one on the outside knows who said what about who or who disrespected who in the past and they don't care. All they see is one team that is either a strong unit or a weak, divided one. Are you helping your team be a strong unit? Or are you part of why your team is weak and divided?

Look, if you have a problem with Jill, talk to Jill. Your team gains nothing when you try to bring a team member down in the eyes of the other team members. That's all talking badly about Jill with your other team members is going to accomplish. All you do is weaken that person as a member of the team, and you know what they say, "You're only as strong as your weakest link." So why try to weaken members of your team? Not a smart move to say the least. I just don't get people who insist upon trying to get attention and sympathy for themselves by bringing down other team members. It's not the best way to play this game. It's not the best way to live life. I'm not saying you have to accept or condone all the actions of your teammates, but there are times when it's necessary, for everyone's sake, to put those things aside for the time being (not saying you have to forget about it forever), so that you can work together, be the strongest team possible, and accomplish the goals everyone on the team wants.

If you want to have a great season, if you want to do what's best for you and your team...

Think before you act. Think before you speak. Everything you say or do either helps your team or hurts it. There's no in between. Know what you want for your team, for your season and always think about whether or not you're moving toward that or away from it with your actions and your words. Make sure what you say and what you do moves your team closer to it's goals.

New Fastpitch Talk Radio Episode Ready

Just wanted to drop you a really quick note today to let you know that a new episode of Fastpitch Talk Radio is up and ready for you to listen to. In this episode I talk about how one player went from being "just a pinch runner" to being Freshman Player of the Year.

Also, I introduce next week's topic: "Play up or stay down?"

If you have comments you'd like to add to either the new episode or next week's topic, please feel free to call in to our guest line and share your thoughts. Then number is (214) 615-6505 ext 1040.

If you don't want to call in, you can also leave comments right at the site below each episode. We'd love to hear from you, so don't be shy! Check out this week's episode then share your thoughts over at www.FastpitchTalkRadio.com. See you there!