Fun and Positive: Is This So Hard to Understand?

Isn't this what I've been saying from Day 1? Why does this seem like such a tough concept for "grown ups" to understand? So much so that it was a big part of the foreword of a book.

The main ideas?

• Children are NOT mini-adults (do not treat them as such)
• Fun and enjoyment are the MAIN reasons children participate in sports in the first place (either that or their parents are forcing them)
• Children's early experiences in the sport have a MASSIVE influence over their participation decisions later

When coaching 6U, 8U, 10U, probably even as far as 12U - Winning is NOT the ultimate goal! Let's teach the game, help the kids improve their skills while fostering/nurturing a love for the game. Do NOT overlook these aspects in favor of the WIN!

Players are NOT going to continue playing this game for the next 8, 10, 12 years if it's not fun. PERIOD! You've probably heard me say this before: the 2 times in my career when I seriously thought about quitting this game...the BIGGEST (actually the ONLY) reason was because I wasn't having fun. Why they heck should I "waste" my time with something I'm not enjoying. In one scenario I was part of a very good team. Winning and "success" were just about guaranteed and still I seriously though about giving it all up. Why? Because I wasn't enjoying it any more. Most kids feel the same way.

Why didn't I quit in those situations? Because I made the conscious choice to have fun no matter what. I was not going to let anyone take away this game that I enjoyed so much. It was something I loved to do and was good at and I decided I was going to have fun despite negativity in my surroundings.

But I wasn't making that decision at 8, 10, or 12. I had been given that fun and enjoyable foundation to fall back on when I was faced with this decision at an older age.

This is a game! Yes, it's fun to win. I'm not denying that. Yes, each time I go out on the field, I'm going out there to do my best and come out on top, but "the win" is not THE driving force behind why I'm at the field on a regular basis. I'm there because I love it, because even after being in this sport since the age of 9, it's still FUN for me. I still enjoy it.

Especially at the younger ages, I believe it's our job, as coaches, to give these players the most positively memorable experience possible. Not that it should all be fun and games, not that there should be no discipline or that striving for excellence should be thrown out the window...Just remember that kids are more likely to want to play softball if they enjoy it. They are more likely to continue playing for years and years IF the are having fun. I'm not the only one who feels this way. Here's an article that talks about this very issue. Read it HERE.

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.

Fastpitch Shopping Alert

Wow! I just caught wind of some MAJOR sales going on at Baseball Savings including Up To 75% Off Mizuno Footwear. Even though the name of the online store is Baseball Savings they do also have some great deals on fastpitch Softball Stuff too!

I don't know about you, but 75% off is the kind of deal I love to see, especially during this time of year when you have to buy so many presents for so many people. If you still have some fastpitch lovers on your list, this is a sale you won't want to miss out on. When was the last time you saw deals like these?

• 60% Off Nike Youth Uniform Belts - Now Only $3.88
• Save Up To 70% On DeMARINI Gear
• Save Up To 70% On Wilson Catcher's Equipment
• Save Up To 75% On Bats
• Save Over 50% On Nike Footwear
• Save Up To 80% On Worth Catcher's Gear
• Discount Dugout - Save Up To 80%
• Plus take advantage of the Final Clearance - At Cost Or Below

Just the thought of those great deals makes me want to up and grab them before the sale ends. Best of all, you can shop from the comfort of your own home and don't even need to step out into that nasty weather, wait in crazy lines, or fight to find parking at the mall. Get some great gifts, pick up some cool Softball Gear, and maybe even something for yourself? Either way, have fun shopping and enjoy your weekend!

Tips for Running Quality Tournament

As promised, here is the recorded call I did with Elliott of Triple Crown Sports. If you're thinking of running a tournament or are already involved with organizing and planning one, this audio is a must hear.

P.S. - Feel free to leave a comment below and let me know what part of this call you liked most OR add your tournament tips!

Fastpitch Softball vs Baseball

Let's take a little break from all the getting ready for the season talk and have a little fun. I was messing around with hub pages and created one for fastpitch softball. On this page I'm running a poll and I'm inviting you to Go Cast Your Vote! I know you already voted earlier this month in our Presidential election, but I promise this will take a lot less of your time. :D

Of course I'm trying to skew this poll by telling all the fastpitch softball people I know about it. AND of course, right above the poll I tell you why you should vote for fastpitch softball instead of baseball. As you can see this is entirely un-scientific and just plain fun.

So take a minute (probably more like 30 seconds) and Cast Your Vote - then feel free to leave me a comment either here or there and let me know why you voted the way you did (if you're so inclined). It's not necessary, but I'm just interested in what you have to say.

Please invite your friends to vote too. The more the merrier (after all Christmas is creeping up on us). Did I ever mention that it's good to take a break every now and then? I'm quite sure I have. This is just me practicing what I preach. ;P Now go vote.

2008 Bootcamp Now Open

More Success & Less Stress for 2009

The first Fastpitch Insider Bootcamp 2008 (Reduce Your Coaching Stress) is NOW open for Fastpitch World members only. All Fastpitch World members can join today at 40% off.

How to Claim The Fastpitch World Special

• Login to Fastpitch World
• Click on GROUPS
• Go to the *Members Only* Group to get the special discount link

The special is good for Monday, November 17th ONLY.

After that, the doors to the bootcamp will open up to everyone else at the regular price. Space is not limited, but the timeframe during which you can sign up is. The doors will not be open on an ongoing basis. If you want a spot in this bootcamp, now is the time.

If you're not a Fastpitch World member, it's free to sign up, you can still join today to get the discount. Otherwise, be ready to get in to the bootcamp tomorrow, November 18th. Lay the groundwork for your season now so you can have less stress and more success in 2009.

See you inside!

"Same Old Stuff" and The Movie Phenomenon

Yes it's true...

listen in and tell me what you think...

Free Tool to Help You With Tryouts

If you're a player or parent of a player and are looking for ideas to gain an edge on the competition for the upcoming season, stay tuned this week, because I'll have some ideas for you soon.

If you're a coach, the rest of this message is for you. The report I told you about in this post has been downloaded 307 times. If you haven't yet claimed your free copy of Preseason Paving yet, you can do so at

www.allaboutfastpitch.com/ready.html.

But today, I have a free tool you can use to help you during tryouts. This was something that a number of coaches shared back when I asked for tryout tips, so I thought you may find it useful too.

Actually, I put together a little video to share this tryout tool with you so you can get a good idea of how it works. Not only that, I included a link so you can get this tool for yourself for free (no strings attached). Check out this free video and get this free tryout tool at

www.allaboutfastpitch.com/matrix.html

If you're looking for a way to make things easier during tryouts, this may help. It's simple, easy to use, and fully customizable to suit your needs. Learn more at

www.allaboutfastpitch.com/matrix.html

Now is the time to start preparing for next year!

If you're the type that likes to be organized (or wish that you were more organized) this tool is right up your alley.

Once you have a chance to watch the video - if you'll be using a tool like this at your next tryout, I'd like to hear from you - leave me a comment below and let me know.

AAF Live - Friday - Right Here on the Blog

Hey - I just had to give you a quick heads up. I know it's last minute again, but I'm going to be running an AAF Live session right here on the blog on Friday, November 14th at 7pm Eastern, 2pm Hawaii Time.

In this live session, we'll discuss:

• The freebies that have come out recently (3 Tips for Reducing Parent Conflict, PreSeason Paving, and the Free Tryout Tool)
• AAF Live participant tips or ideas for reducing parent conflict
• AAF Live participant tips or ideas for making tryouts easier
• AAF Live participant tips or ideas for getting ready for the upcoming season
• The experts I've been talking with and what our conversations have been about
  
• Plus you'll be able to ask me questions about the bootcamp that I'll be opening up soon (Fastpitch Insider 2008: Reduce Your Coaching Stress Bootcamp)

So join us right here on Friday, November 14th for 1 hour as we discuss, in real time, the topics mentioned above.



Hey - if you're enjoying (or enjoyed) this event, please leave me a comment and tell me what you thought about this AAF Live! session. I'd love to hear from you.

How You Can Gain An Edge Starting Now

If you're like me, your season probably starts some time next year. BUT, that doesn't mean you can't begin gaining an edge over the competition now.

If you want to get ready to have the best season possible, check out
www.allaboutfastpitch.com/ready.html

I have a free report up there for coaches.

Don't be the one floundering because you weren't ready for the season. Get this free report to help make sure your ready to hit the ground running when your season rolls around.

www.allaboutfastpitch.com/ready.html

P.S. - I may have another tool for you tomorrow. I'm working on it right now and if all works out well, I'll have it for you here. For now, head over to
www.allaboutfastpitch.com/ready.html and claim your free report.

Lots of Great Information for Parents

Just in case you've never had a chance to check it out yet, I wanted to let you know about a few things going on over at Fastpitch Parents. I've recently found so many great articles and resources for youth sports parents that I decided to slowly but surely share them all with you over at www.FastpitchParents.com.

Recently, I posted articles about:

• 50 Tips for Helping Your Child Achieve in Sports
• 10 Tips to Improve Confidence in Young Athletes
• How to Manage the Busy Softball Season
• ACL Injuries in Young Female Athletes
• Help Your Child Handle Pressure

and so much more including how to help your child set goals, avoiding common post-game mistakes, sports specialization, youth sports psychology guidelines, etc, etc, etc

Like I said, there is quite a bit of great information there for you to consume and digest and help your daughter be the best she can be.

Check it out at www.FastpitchParents.com and don't forget to share the articles you like with the "Share" button at the bottom of the articles!

Poll for Coaches

What kind of players do you want?

I have a poll going on at Fastpitch World. If you are a coach, please come by and cast your vote. However, you only get ONE vote, so make sure you've decided on your "final answer" before hitting the "Vote" button.

You'll have to scroll allllll the way down to the bottom of my page to see the poll and cast your vote. I've hidden the results for now because I don't want you to be able to see them before you vote. I will post the results after I run the poll for a bit. I think I know how the results will turn out. Of course, now that I've said that, some monkeys will cast votes solely to produce "funny" results. Still, I'm curious to see the results since I have been known to be wrong before. ;P

Click Here to share your thoughts on what kind of players you'd like to have on your team.


Want to run your own poll?

Join Fastpitch World (free) and add the Poll Daddy application like I did. Then you can run your very own softball poll!

AAF Live! October 15, 2008

Tomorrow we'll be running our 2nd AAF Live! event. I hope you can join us, but please note the CORRECTED TIME. The event will run from 7pm-8pm Eastern.

If you didn't get a chance to join in the last conversation, it was a lot of fun! It's a free, unscripted, real time discussion on fastpitch softball. At this point, I'm not even choosing the topics, we'll discuss whatever you want to bring to the table.

Even if you can't stay the full hour, drop by, let us know you're there and join in for a few minutes! Hope to "see" you tomorow.

First Ever All About Fastpitch LIVE

Wow - that was a lot of fun! Thanks to those of you who joined in the conversation on such short notice.

We had over 30 people stop by and 224 reader comments.

If you want to see the replay of the live chat we had, it's still up at www.allaboutfastpitch.com/live.html

Next time I will try to make a bigger announcement and let everyone know with more advanced notice so that more of you can stop by and join us.

If you were there, leave me a comment here and let me know what you thought of the experience.

Fastpitch Conversations Update

Here's an update on those fastpitch conversations I'm putting together for you. If you have no idea what I'm talking about Click Here to watch the first video. (This all has to do with picking the brains of various eperts in the Fastpitch Softball World and in Youth Sports)




Sign up to receive priority updates HERE.

Great Reason to Join My Fastpitch World

You may remember that I set up a site a while back called My Fastpitch World where people who love this game can connect, hang out, and talk with other fastpitch people around the world.

Well, since the holidays are coming up (well, not quite, but I really love the holidays so I'm getting a head start here), I'm going to give you a great gift when you join My Fastpitch World. Actually, I'll give you a number of great gifts once you're in there, but right now, there's just one ready for you.

What will you get?

Free Access to the Coach of Action program. (if you're already a COA member, keep reading because I have something for you too).

How does it work?

1. Go to MyFastpitchWorld.com
2. Create a profile
3. Sign in and go to "Groups" & Request an Invite for the *Members Only* group

That's it! Once you're invite request is approved, you'll have access to that *Members Only* group and that's where you'll get access to the Fastpitch World Members Only freebies.

Those that are already in COA, don't worry, I will be adding more and more freebies there as time goes on. In fact, the next freebie will be access to the College Recruiting Seminar I'm planning for later on this month. If you're in that *Members Only* group at Fastpitch World, you'll know be able to access that seminar for free too.

To join MyFastpitchWorld.com and gain access to these *Members Only* freebies, CLICK HERE.

Brakettes May Have to Forfeit 2009

With 28 Fastpitch National Championships, the Brakettes are one of the nation's best fastpitch softball teams. This Connecticut team won 59 of 62 games this season and have won 5 of the last 7 ASA National Championships. However due to financial issues the Brakettes may have to forfeit the entire 2009 season.

City officials are hoping the town can help the 62-year-old team out, but they're doubtful that taxpayers will be able to bail the team out of their funding problems. Read the full story at News Times.

Stealing from the Kids

When I read a youth sports news article today about a man who is accused of bilking Little Leaguers out of $16,000, I realized how important it is that background checks be done on those involved with running youth sports organizations. At the same time however, this story illustrates how that isn't enough.

The person that runs the association involved actually did a background check on James Michael Anderson, 42, who is now charged with felony embezzlement. Guess what? He did have a previous embezzlement charge that showed up on the background check at the time, but he was still selected as president of the Allendale Township Youth Athletic Association which runs the baseball and softball programs in the area.

First of all, I have a tough time with people like this who take advantage of youth sports organizations. There's just something so wrong with that. And yet, there are probably worse crimes that can be committed when it comes to working with children. So as crazy as this wrongdoing may seems, it's not even the biggest reason to get a background checks done.

To find out why the guy running the league still chose Anderson when we knew he had a previous embezzlement charge, read the whole story at mlive.com.

More Hustle and Guts Needed

Just sharing a few thoughts I had after this summers tournaments were over. 

Those on the AAF mailing list probably already read this, but if not, here it is again.

ALWAYS hustle down the line after you hit the ball, NO MATTER WHAT.

However you hit the ball, strong or weak, fair or foul ALWAYS,
ALWAYS, ALWAYS hustle down the line.

Hustle is your second weapon in an at bat. First, you hit the ball,
then you RUN like heck!

The defense needs to first defend your hit THEN beat out your
hustle. Your first strike is the hit you put on the ball, you
"attack" again by running your FASTEST to put as much pressure as
you possibly can on the defense AND to make them PAY if they make a
mistake.

I saw too many girls, including my own daughter, slow down before
first base. Granted some of them were already out by the time they
were within a few steps of the base, but I believe all players
should run all hits out at their best speed no matter what. If
they're able to slow down and stop before the base on a ground out
to the left side, they probably weren't running their hardest.
Some are slowing down before the bag and are only out by a step or
two, that's just not the way to play. Imagine if these players had
been hustling down the line, they could have rushed a throw, they
could have shaken up the 1b to possibly mishandle the ball because
they were right there - you never know, RUN LIKE HECK after you hit
the ball.

Then there was another situation when a girl popped up soooooo
high, she should have been standing on 2nd when the ball popped out
of the SS glove. Instead, she's dogging it and almost gets caught
in a pickle between 1st and 2nd because she wasn't going hard. She
was just trotted around 1st and then, bam, the ball pops out of the
SS glove and now she's in no man's land between bases not even at
top speed. Seriously, she would have made 2nd easy if she had run
as hard as possible from the get go. She hurt her team by giving
less than her best. I didn't stay at that field to see what
happened after that, but it's quite possible that her team had to
give up an out to move her to 2nd, a base she could have had "free"
if only she gave her best effort after her mis-hit rather than
pouted and felt sorry for herself. Team players, and players
giving their best effort, never give up on a hit. If you're giving
up on hits, if you have players that are, it's time do to a self
check and step up your game because you're selling yourself short.

I recently received an e-mail from Tom Hanson and he talked about this very issue.
Here's something he reported from an MLB game...

"I loved that he pulled Upton (after he'd run out to his OF
position...ouch) for not hustling on a play.

Even with Longoria and Crawford out he pulls arguably his most
talented remaining player for not running out a ball."

Apparently, even pros need do to self checks every once in a while,
so don't beat yourself up over it if that's you. Just make the
adjustment and get better.

AND....more coaches need to have the guts to reward those who do
play all out and sit those who don't. You're not doing a player
any favors by rewarding them with playing time (or anything else)
when they play and practice selfishly (showing up to practice when
and if they feel like it, walking on the field, doing drills half
way, etc, etc, etc). You're only asking for trouble because the
ones who only go all out when they feel like it will continue on
that path, and those who do go hard all the time (and never get
rewarded for it) will start playing like the others - only going
"all out" sometimes. Next thing you know, your whole team is
playing selfish, "go hard only when I feel like it" softball.
You'll have far bigger problems than you started off with and
you'll wish your only issue was having to play a game or two with
your "stud" on the bench and "less talented/big hearted" on the
field.

If coaches can do it (sit "studs") in the major leagues where jobs
depend on success and wins and losses, then you can do it too.
Telling your players that they should give their best all the time
and backing that message up with your actions are two different
things. But if you can create an environment where your players
know that nothing less than their best is acceptable and nothing
less than their best will be tolerated, your season will be filled
with much less headache. However, that will never happen if you
continue to reward the "slackers" and the "it's all about me"
attitudes. The rules have to be the same across the board -
consistency is key. You can't have one reward/punishment for some
players and another for other players. Be fair, be consistent,
back up your words with actions, and you'll have much more success.

Here's to having the guts to "honor the game."

You Will Never See This Kind of Softball in Hawaii

Okay, I know you should NEVER say "never," but seriously, it's going to take some really funky change of our entire environment before we ever see this kind of softball in Hawaii.

Gosh, I can't even imagine.  Remember, this is coming from someone who's never seen snow, much less played in it.  YIKES!  I'll take our Hawaii weather over that any day.  Of course, if anyone wants to sponsor my trip to a snowy softball game, I'll get out there and try it.  ;)  I most certainly can't guarantee you a full 7, but I'll at least get out on the field.  Of course, my agility may be quite hampered by the thick snow suit I'll be wearing.  :D