Fall Season

Hello All,

I can't believe that we are a little over a month from starting our softball season and we are really excited to begin. We have a great group of student-athletes who have been working really hard in the weight room as well as getting to know each other. There is something special about this group and I am not exactly sure why I feel that way but I am know time will tell.
This fall season has been a wonderful time for us coaches to see and prepare for the spring. Since we have so many freshmen, it has been nice recognizing their attitudes, work ethic and ability. It has been very pleasing. We got to play one day during the fall which was good for us.

Halloween night, the team got together and went out to collect cans to give to the food bank. They dressed as zombies (picture above) and had a blast doing it. One of our former players came and created the faces of every zombie player. We appreciated her efforts tremendously. All in all it was a great time.
We have been busy throughout this fall season and the athletes have done an exceptional job all around. We have to remember that not only are they student-athletes, some are members of other organizations on campus and some are members of our VWIL program. Time management and organizational skills have been very important for these athletes. Everyone has worked really hard considering they are being pulled in every different direction. We are extremely proud of each one of the athletes. We believe in each of them and I can't wait to ride this journey out to see why   they are a special group.
Until next time. . . . GO SQUIRRELS!!!

What is a leader?

Hello All,

I love the beginning of our fall non-traditional softball season. It has been nice to get outside and feel the dirt.We have started and it has been going well. The players have been working really hard in the weight room, conditioning, and on the field. I am excited to see how we come together as a team. It will definitely be a challenge and leaders always thrive on challenges. We will only go as far as our leaders will take us.This brings me to the point of this blog-what is a leader?
Every single person on the team can hold a piece of this. Some players are fit to lead by example, some by their vocals, and there will be some that lead and won't even know that they are leading. A leader is not allowed to feel sorry for themselves, to be down or angry. Leaders must beat these emotions. Is there a difference between leaders stepping up or stepping out? I sure think there is. If a player has to step it up for a game then their mental, emotional and physical energy was not the same as it was before. We need our leaders to step out and allow themselves to give us 100% all the time. They can not take a play off during practices and games. We need them to not hold back because they are worried about failure. They stand out because they don't doubt, hesitate or question anything. They lead by example with their energy and attitude and they never question the necessity of that. Leaders find ways to win ballgames.
I am hoping that this year we have a team full of leaders and not just the ones we name as captains. We have the power as our own individual to control our energy and attitude. I look forward to embracing this journey and seeing what happens. Until next time. . . . GO SQUIRRELS!!!!

New Year, New Look, New Attitude

Hello All,
As we kick off the weekend with our fall sports in full swing with competitions, this means it is getting closer to our non-traditional season for softball to start. The summer has flown by and I believe a very productive one. We are getting ready to start classes on Monday to start the new school year. This brings me to my new theme for 2012-2013 which is NEW YEAR, NEW LOOK, NEW ATTITUDE. As each school year approaches it begins another new year for our softball team. We can't bring back the past or change it but we can learn and grow from it. As the new look part of the theme, this year we will be wearing new uniforms. We haven't established yet what type or any of that but we will be sporting new apparel. Here is the final part, new attitude. What I want is for us to start off with a new attitude. Changes are in place for this year that I know will make a positive difference in our team. Team chemistry will be a reflection of our attitudes. We want our players to be coachable, have a team first attitude, and committed. I believe the word committed is a crucial one for us if we want to make a change. Being committed means never being satisfied and wanting to do anything and everything to get the maximum performance level. With that being said, you need to be committed to the total package, committed to your teammates, committed to the coaches, committed to the classroom, committed to your performance and well being. We need committed players to make our changes and reach our goals. Like most things in life worth having, we have to work hard at it. As in the movie, "A League of Their Own", if it was easy, everyone would do it. Having a focused attitude every day in practice is a key. If you have respect for your teammates, coaches, the game itself, and yourself, then you will make sure as an athlete that you will be mentally prepared with the right mindset each and every practice/game. We only ask for a couple of hours a day to make softball the priority in our mind.The softball season is not a sprint, although sometimes it feels like that,  it is a marathon. We have to establish our building blocks and work on the small things and eventually the big things will happen. Where we are in September and where we want to be in April will be a journey. It is a ride that I am looking forward to taking.
Until next time. . . . . GO SQUIRRELS!!!!!

Courage to Compete

Hello All,

It has been awhile since I have posted and we have played quite a few games already. We started out the season with great confidence and a 3-1 record and since then we have played some good games and some bad. Our record definitely doesn't show what we are capable of. However, the past few doubleheaders have given me time to think about a few things. or maybe over think.
One is the fact that there is so much more to a player than just the fundamentals and mechanics of softball. There are the mental aspects like confidence, focus, the love of the game, concentration, etc. I believe though that an athlete can change her outcome based on confidence though. I also believe that if the love for the game of softball is there within you, it keeps you coming back for more. It makes it not easy to give up when it gets hard. But then there is something else I think about. . . courage. Our motto here at MBC is Courage to Compete. So what does that actually mean? To me, our team right now is better than the way we are playing. We aren't showing confidence out on the field, we are playing scared it seems.We don't play well the first game and the second game we play really well or vice versa. Why can't we put it all together instead of waiting one game to play well? What does it take to have the drive to compete? It takes courage. If you look up the definition of courage it says"the state or quality of mind or spirit that enables one to face danger, fear, or pain with self confidence, and resolution;  the confidence to act in accordance with one's beliefs." We need the courage to lay it all out there each and every day. The courage to play hard no matter what the outcome. I think as coaches we need to help them find the courage. I don't want us to settle for just getting better or improving each day. It's great to be improving but I believe we can get complacent in that. I believe it is going to take the courage to embrace our weaknesses just as we need to embrace our strengths. We are going to make mistakes but being scared to make a mistake will in our world make us have more mistakes. Let's dig into ourselves and find the courage we need to play. Let's find the courage to go to the plate and hit with confidence, let's find the courage to quit playing scared and settling for just improving, let's find the courage to give all of our effort each and every day, leave it all out on the field. Let's find the courage within to believe that we can win. The mind can be a game changer. Courage is a powerful thing and maybe that is just what we need.

Weekend Warriors

Hello All,

Our softball team just came back from a weekend in Raleigh , North Carolina and we went 3-1 in the Triangle Classic. It was nice to be able to play in 4 games and see where we are and what we need to work on in game situations.

We left school on Thursday evening and the girls seemed very excited knowing they were getting the chance to play some games. We have been practicing for a while now. On the ride down, we put in a couple of movies, never really watching them through, until the usual Big Bang Theory got put in. I have to admit I wasn't a big fan of that tv show but I am now. I actually caught myself watching it this fall in the comfort of my own home. However, it is not just the show but the thought of softball as well because now whenever I hear Big Bank Theory, I will think about softball.

We get to Raleigh at the hotel and they had about 2 hours to settle down and then their life fell apart. I took their cell phones and lights had to be out at a certain time. I do that for the reason that I want them to get a good night sleep, have no distractions like breaking up with someone, etc. and to be focused in the morning for the game. I know this day and age we are all about technology. I have to admit I was very proud of the ladies. They showed the next day that they can be focused and they can work hard for something. That's why they walked away with 2 wins on Friday. What a gorgeous day it was as well-we couldn't have asked for a better day!

Later that evening we went to a mall and then to a buffet restaurant. I have to say at first I was worried about the girls eating. You know buffet is all you can eat. That is scary sometimes when you bring in a team of 21 people. Although, the players weren't who I was worried about. It was one of my assistant coaches. I believe she was born with a bread roll in her hand. I was worried we were going to have an intervention for her. Anyway, the team was very mannerly, polite, and having a good time. We proceeded on back to the hotel.

Next day, we took a win and a loss. Remember me saying that we had a gorgeous day previously, well not so much on this day. It was cold and windy. Of course, both teams had to play in it and we adjust first game and won but the second we didn't. As coaches, we got to see some people play in the field that we wanted to, some got to hit that we wanted to see, and all in all it was a great weekend. Every one did what we asked of them. As I was sitting on the bus on the ride home, I thought, this team is special and good things are going to happen if they keep believing in themselves, in each other, and do the little things that we ask of them each and every day. It is the little things that let the big things happen. We have started off well but we have to remember, it's a journey and it's not where we are early but where are we going to be later.

Until next time. . . . GO SQUIRRELS!!!!!!

What does February bring?

Hello All,

What does February bring? For the softball team, the last week has been filled with players and an assistant coach's birthday. We have celebrated their birthdays with the singing of Happy Birthday (not sure you want the team to sing anytime soon) and the eating of cupcakes and cake. What better way to end a practice or take a break in the middle of building dugouts than to celebrate these people. To me this is what softball and any sport is about- friendships that are made along the way, coaches and players getting to know and care about each other. I'm not sure if we want to see another cupcake or cake right now, but it's just a small token of how much we care about each one. Until next time. . . GO SQUIRRELS!!

Thoughts

Hello All,

It has been a couple of weeks since I last posted and I am sorry to my readers. Our softball team is working really hard on and off the field. We are about a week and a half away from opening our season and I can't be more excited to get started. I am passionate about this team and each person brings something in themselves to make this team better each day. Which brings me to my next thoughts.
As a coach, I know that our job is to help each and every player become the best that they can be while they are with us. I know this isn't easy. I have to put forth the effort to find what I need to do to help each player reach their highest level of performance and watch them go above and beyond what anyone thought they could. It is a constant effort even when I am frustrated, tired or out of answers for something. As a player, it is your job to put forth the effort that coaches ask you to bring to each practice/game. If you aren't willing to run a fly ball out in practice, what makes coaches think you will do it in a game? You as a player have to hold yourself accountable or you will be made accountable for the choices that you make. Are you the type of player that positively affects others, that makes other players raise their game and improve their performance?
As a coach and/or player, we need to look in the mirror at the person that can have the biggest impact on our success. It starts with ourselves. We need to stop blaming other people or outside circumstances. Anyone that has ever been successful, at some point, has been discouraged, out of their comfort zone, loss in confidence or felt like a failure. However, they overcame those and moved forward. It didn't mean they weren't worthy or weren't good enough. They just had to keep pushing forward. Whether we are a coach or a player, we have to keep pushing forward if we want to be successful. Part of being successful is being consistent in our performance. Doing the little things makes the big things happen. We only get out of something what we put into it and that goes for coaching or playing. I want our athletes to do everything that we ask of them to the best of their ability. We can choose to do what is right or we can choose not to. However, consequences come with both choices, good or bad. I read a quote the other day and it said "If you can't excel with talent, triumph with effort." For MBC softball, that's all we ask each of you every day- give us all your effort in whatever we are doing and we will win!
Until next time . . . GO SQUIRRELS!!!!!

PEGS

Hello All,

As I mentioned in my previous post, we put up dugouts yesterday on our field. There was one part of the dugouts that I haven't mentioned yet so I thought I would in this post.
Our dugouts are constructed out of timber and the framing is put together with pegs instead of nails. It was really interesting watching it all come together from the plans to the final product. We had quite a lot of pegs that went into each dugout, over 100 probably, and so what we did was sell the pegs for an amount and with each peg, the donor could write whatever they wanted on the peg. Then it went into the dugout and will be there permanently. These dugouts will outlast our lifetimes.
So, it has been neat seeing what people would right on there pegs. Most people put their names, some put Bible scriptures, some put their softball years of playing and their uniform numbers on, etc. Some even went so far as to decorate and paint their pegs. But no matter what people wrote, painted, etc. on their peg, they all were a necessity for the dugouts. Without the donors of the pegs, the dugouts wouldn't have happened either. So I don't want to leave everyone out that contributed to the dugouts as it has been many. I can't name everyone but I want you to know that you made this happen as well for the MBC softball team and we really appreciate you.
If you are ever at MBC, at a softball game, or just curious, please take a look at the dugouts because you were definitely a big part of this project happening. I know times are hard for people now and everyone's money is a necessity but you found it in your hearts to help out-thanks!!!!
Until next time. . . GO SQUIRRELS!!!!!!

Dugouts

Hello All,

Yesterday was a great day for the MBC softball program. After being in existence as a varsity sport at MBC since 2001, we finally got dugouts. It has been a work in progress for the last 6-8 months and finally it all came together. We had some key people in this project, one being a donor of the timber and the other a professor of engineer at VMI, who basically designed the plans and implemented the framing work of the dugouts. Our grounds crew here at MBC did the physical labor of getting everything ready on our end for it to happen.  The engineering class at VMI spent a lot of tireless weekends to make this happen before yesterday even began.
Saturday morning started out with everyone coming together- MBC softball team, VMI cadets, family and friends, etc. We got instructions on what to do step by step and even though it started a little slow, by that afternoon both dugouts were up. I can't tell you how pleased I was to see everyone working so well together. Everyone seemed to have a great time and everyone did something to help with the dugouts.
We did stop for a quick lunch break with pizza and cake. I am sure you wonder why cake but it was a softball player's birthday as well on Saturday. We all sang Happy Birthday to her  (I'm sure she was a little embarassed) and after about 20 minutes of rest and food, we went out to finish the final touches of the dugouts.
At the very end, we did a blessing of the dugouts with good luck, etc. and we had to cut some limbs from an existing tree and put them at the top of the dugout. After the gentleman told me what it was about, he asked me who I wanted to do it. I wanted my seniors to be the ones to do it. For some of them, it has been on their wish list for 4 years- of course, it's been on my list for ten years. We all watched each of them put their limb at the top of one of the dugouts and then the very last one we wanted our trainer, Charlie, to do it. After he was done, he yelled "Mary Baldwin College, Home of the Fighting Squirrels" and everybody erupted in yells and claps. What a way to end the day and to start the season off!
Until next time . . . . GO SQUIRRELS!!!!!!

Another Day

Hello All,

Let me just say that as a coach I wonder sometimes what I am thinking. Today, before the start of practice, I was talking to some of the players and I asked them if they could sing. Some said yes, some said no, one said they could rap. I then proceeded to see what they thought of the idea of singing the National Anthem as a team before a softball game. Now don't ask me why I even thought of that but after I asked, they decided to try and sing as a group. Needless to say, sometimes I think we need to be careful what we ask. It was pretty funny to hear some of the ranges, and don't get me wrong, there were a couple that weren't bad. For the majority, we would probably just move our lips and pretend we were singing and that is including myself. We finally regrouped after that and started our practice. They worked hard today and we even played in the rain for about 10-15 minutes. I didn't want anyone hurt so we cut practice short a little. We have a really good bunch and it has been pleasing so far. Until next time . . . GO SQUIRRRELS!!!!!

1st day of practice

Hello All,

Today was the 1st day of softball practice and it went well. The weather cooperated as we didn't have any rain and it was around 42 degrees. The girls worked hard as we did some baserunning, fundamentals, infield/outfield drills and weight room. It's too early right now to tell where people are going to be playing as far as positions so they need to continue to work hard and compete. The team chemistry seemed okay for the first day as that is something we will continue to work on in the coming months. I think a lot of players were trying to get used to the cold but overall it was a decent 1st practice. We have a long ways to go but we are off to a good start. Until next time, GO SQUIRRELS!!!!

Friday the 13th

Hello All,

Friday the 13th could be a superstitious bad luck day for some people but for myself, it was a really good day. As a coach, I wanted to get some administrative work out of the way so the softball team got their uniforms and we took individual and team pictures. When we were handing out uniforms, it made me think about the numbers that players choose. Having a number on a jersey doesn't make you play better, you make yourself play better. But it's interesting how people have to have a certain number. I look back and I was the same way as a player. I wonder why-maybe because the number means something to the person, like a family member wore it. Whatever the reason it all boils down to the number doesn't make you as a player. I believe having a story behind the number just makes it all that much more special. And sometimes a player comes in not being able to get their number based on circumstances beyond their control. Lucky for us Friday the 13th was a good day all around. And to top the day off, one of my assistants baked us a cake. It wasn't just a cake - it was a cake with our MBC logo on it. A lot of time I'm sure was put into making this cake from scratch- a lot of attention to details, and in the end it brought a lot of smiles to the faces of the players. You know in life it's the little things that we have to take care of and the big things will happen. Hopefully this will transition over into softball this spring. We are off to a good start and we will see where this journey takes us this spring.
Until next time. . . . GO SQUIRRELS!!!!

TEAM

Hello All,

I am going to write today about being a TEAM. This is very important on the softball field but it is also probably more important in real life. Yes, in real life it's not about wins or losses, but it could be something very worthwhile like having a job or not having a job. As a whole, everybody must work together to accomplish a goal and without the togetherness everybody stands a chance to lose.
Is it worth starting drama on any sports team? Is it worth worrying about just yourself and thinking what is in it for me? Is it worth telling one person on the team about another person when your issue is only with the one person? Absolutely none of the above is going to help a team or a business accomplish their goal. It takes the focus out of what you need to be focusing on.
I know we all may have issues with people whether it has been decisions that someone has made, or the way someone conducts themselves, or even if you have felt disrespected by someone. But it happens in real life all the time. We will run across people like that in the working world. However, does that mean we will quit work? No, does that mean we find a way to work together, absolutely because in the end we have a common goal. We have to learn to put aside our differences and work together to accomplish our team goal. And when the outside world looks at either our team or our business, they aren't going to know what anyone did to anyone. They are just judging us as a whole, not individually. They really don't care about what goes on. What they will decide though is whether we are a strong, close team or a weak, individualized unit. When we put that softball uniform on- we are representing each other, our school/college, etc. not just ourselves.
Let's think about what we do or say to our teammates, let's think about what is best for the team, let's not use wasted energy on gossip and instead use our energy on making the plays that is needed for the team. As a coach, you can have the most talent on a team but until they play as a team instead of individual, it could be a long season. Everything each player does should help a team not hurt the team. Treat each other with respect, don't talk about each other unless you take it straight to the person that has done something to you. Everyone on the team is important from one to twenty. Everyone has their own role to play and everyone is expected to do their role to the best of their ability. Do whatever it takes to help your team with its goals. Just like the acronym states:
T- Together
E - Everyone
A - Achieves
M - More

Until next time, GO SQUIRRELS!!!!!

Monday

Hello All,

Welcome back MBC students! Today is the first day of class after the Christmas break that the students get. You can tell we are near softball season as well-you know why- because it snowed today. Of course there wasn't much accumulation but the field was covered with wet snow. I know we can't control the weather but as long as we get some days outside, that is better than no days like we had a few years ago.
I enjoyed classes starting today as I got to talk to some of them. Some of them talked about the holidays, some talked about having to get back in the swing of classes and some have that senioritis going on. They are just ready to graduate and can't wait until May. They may want to slow down and enjoy this last semester before the working world greets them with open arms.
There isn't a whole lot going on right now so until next time. . . . GO SQUIRRELS!!!!

January 1st

Hello All,

Wow-who can believe that the 1st day of January we had some mild temperatures. It was in the 50's even though it was raining some. Hopefully we will have a mild winter and our softball team will be outside for the most part. I still can't wait to get started and it won't be long. I hope everyone had a safe New Year's Eve and if you made some resolutions, I wish you the very best in achieving them. Believe it or not, one of mine is to make sure I blog more often so I feel like I am off to a good start. January 1st and here I am blogging. I saw this somewhere and felt like it was worth sharing to start the new year off.
"You have to take the good with the bad, smile with the sad, love what you got and remember what you had, always forgive, but never forget, learn from your mistakes, but never regret, people change, things go wrong, just remember…life goes on." So true and remember we are only given today.
Until next time . . . . . . . GO SQUIRRELS!!!!