Volume 4 No. 11
November 2014
Glory News & Notes – Texas Glory #5 in Final 2014 US Club Rankings– http://www.usclubrankings.com/fastpitch/rankings/2014‐18‐under‐final‐national‐rankings
Texas Glory add ‘04 Texas Glory Blue led by Jim Hicks Glory, welcome our newest family member, Mabrie Lourdes Hough! 6lbs 8oz 20in long! Healthy and doing well! Mom, Lisa Gorzycki Hough is doing well too. If history is a predictor, Mabrie will be a fierce competitor in the class of 2033. Congrats Lisa! October 2014 Commitments: Jessica Patak, 2017, P/Utility, White Oak, TX, commits to SFA Destiny Deaton, 2015, OF/Utility, Haltom City, TX, commits to UT Permian Basin Lindsea Walker, 2016, SS/3B, Sachse, TX, commits to East Central OK Univeristy 26 2015, 9 2016 and 10 2017 Commits; 45 Currently. 237 Athletes sent/committed/signed since May 2000. Results/Accomplishments: 10/25 – 14u Texas Glory Naudin wins Ronald McDonald Mini Bracket. Well done! http://www.triplecrownsports.com/showteamsched.asp?tournyid=5601&divisionid=2545&shortname=AP2 10/25 ‐ 14u Texas Glory Blue wins the 16 team Flower Mound Costume Classic going 4‐0 in bracket play. http://www.usssa.com/sports/BracketPool.asp?Tournament=1113980 10/5 ‐ Texas Glory is 18u 5 Star Recruit Showcase Co‐Champions. 18u Texas Glory RWB was 3rd. Both Glory squads won their respective pools before meeting in the semi‐final. http://www.usssa.com/sports/Bracket.asp?Type=Winners&Tournament=1095077 10/5 ‐ 2020 Texas Glory are 12u 5 Star Recruit Champions.http://www.usssa.com/sports/Bracket.asp?Type=Winners&Tournament=1095076 10/5 ‐ Texas Glory 903 is 3rd at 5 Star Recruit Showcase. The young ones won their pool before bowing out in the semi‐final. http://www.usssa.com/sports/Bracket.asp?Type=Winners&Tournament=1095079 10/5 ‐ Texas Glory 2K3 is 2nd in Octoberfest event in Sulphur Springs. http://www.fastpitchamerica.net/trnypool.asp?age=12U&ID=1663 H.S. Awards/Recognition 10/4 – Glory Girls are 2013‐2014 High School NFCA All‐America Scholar Athletes: Alli Ramsey ('15, Aledo), Madison Yannetti ('14, Mesquite Poteet), Aubree Nichole Turbeville ('15, Mesquite Poteet) ‐https://nfca.org/index.php/news/135/5480‐13‐indiv‐scholar‐athlete‐home‐page Glory Alum News and Notes Taylor McKincee Hoagland ('09) is among the athletes invited to the 2015 USA National team selection camp. Taylor played her HS ball at Flower Mound HS. http://www.teamusa.org/USA‐Softball/Team‐USA/Women Congrats to Britnie Weddle. Britnie became a Dallas Police Officer after completing the training at the Police Academy. Britnie is a 2009 Alum from Princeton HS. She spent a year playing softball at Vernon Jr. college before competing at OK Panhandle St. for her last 3. We are proud of you Britnie ‐ be safe as you protect and serve! Glory Girls are 2013‐2014 High School NFCA All‐America Scholar Athletes: Alli Ramsey ('15, Aledo), Madison Yannetti ('14, Mesquite Poteet), Aubree Nichole Turbeville ('15, Mesquite Poteet) ‐https://nfca.org/index.php/news/135/5480‐13‐indiv‐scholar‐athlete‐home‐page
Mental Skills Tip of the Month: Great Expectations are Super…to Avoid In softball, as in life, happiness is a goal. In addition to being nice by itself, being happy (or having fun) allows athletes to help both themselves and others. Gratitude is a key ingredient for happiness. Nothing undermines gratitude more than expectations. If a person expects something of herself or someone else and the expectation is not met, she will obviously not be grateful. Instead, she will feel frustration or disappointment, and quite possibly anger. These are not useful emotions for getting better faster, making teammates better, or performing with grace under pressure. If she expects something of herself or others and the expectation is met, she will still not feel grateful (or even happy about it). By assuming that this is what was supposed to happen or what they were supposed to get, people take their blessings for granted. Many athletes expect to perform well because they have practiced hard and they are talented, but reality teaches us that: Talent + Hard Work ≠ Performance. Sometimes hard‐working, talented athletes try hard and stink. When this occurs, many people try to bend reality to their viewpoint. They get frustrated (of course) that their life is not fitting together as expected. Instead of recognizing that the above formula needs to acknowledge many mental skills as part of the performance equation, they continue to fight an unwinnable battle. Expectations are not goals. Goals are targets to work towards; they motivate because they excite and help people to stay on track. Effective goals must be monitored and adjusted. Goals are flexible. Expectations are not flexible and they do not excite. Instead, they cause tension and heaviness. They create worry, or the fear of failure. This fear is reflected in the thoughts “need/gotta/have to.” These make it difficult to focus, because the athlete is no longer fully present in the moment. She is worried about feeling like a failure later. Without expectations, the curse words “need/gotta/have to” change easily to “want.” High expectations are related to confidence, but they are not the same. The expectant thought, “We should win this” is horrible self‐talk that has led to many upsets. The physically superior team presses when the game does not start out as expected. The underdogs sense their opportunity and gain confidence and a reason to fight. The favored team presses, questions everything from their game plan to their skills, and makes “careless” mistakes. Mental skills (a.k.a. momentum) snowball for both Continued on Page 2 . . . Upcoming Camp/Clinic Schedule: Texas Glory Skills – Tuesday’s 7‐10pm at Craig Ranch. Hitting ‐ Wednesdays from 7 ‐ 9pm at Extra Innings, Links: www.texasglory.com, www.nfca.org, http://www.facebook.com/texasglory, http://twitter.com/texasglory
Volume 4 No. 10
November 2014 page 2
Mental Skills Tip of the Month cont: ‐ teams – in opposite directions. The confident thought, “We will win if we play up to our potential” is great self‐talk that reports the truth. It takes nothing for granted, because built into this idea is the fact that giving a best effort performance is never easy – and doing so is unrelated to the current opponent. Who are we playing today? Ourselves. Great athletes are humble (read: not arrogant; no expectations) and respectful of the game. They are confident, too, but their humility keeps them from going over the edge to over‐confidence. Are there exceptions to the idea that expectations are bad? Yes. They are not outcome related. Expectations about outcomes are always counter‐productive! The exceptions are related to process. Examples might include being kind, good sportsmanship, and aspects of discipline. Coach Wooden defined success as “the peace of mind that comes from knowing you did your best.” Is it okay to expect a best effort from self or others? Not really. Only if the expectation includes the caveat of “nobody’s perfect.” At anything. Best effort is the goal. Getting there is a process. An appropriate exception is to expect progress (again, not in outcomes! Progress is learning.) Progress means that the average performance improves with time, but in the short term, it is impossible to know what will happen because there are so many variable involved. Instead of expecting to do well, try to do well and be very curious about outcomes. If you decide you want to avoid expectations, there is a simple (though not easy) test. Do you hear the words ‘should’ or ‘supposed to’ in your self‐talk? These can occur at both the conscious and subconscious levels, with similar effects. However, with effort, we can become aware of all of our thoughts. Awareness equals truth and it comes from a sincere desire to discover it. By persistently asking, “Am I thinking ‘I should…,” the answer will be found. Another tool for avoiding expectations of others is to use hints of anger and resentment as action signals to get curious. Anger and frustration at the behavior of others is nothing less than a coaching epidemic. Whether you are called “Coach” or not, each member of a team influences others. Great teams get leadership from everyone, which leads to great chemistry. Great chemistry comes from mutual respect. When someone has a behavior that you do not respect, it is fine to disrespect the behavior, but not the person. Instead, get curious as to why that person acted in that way. By connecting with this person with empathy, you will be in position to help them make a useful adjustment. In conclusion, great athletes stay positive, get better faster, and focus better because they are mindful rather than judgmental about outcomes. They achieve this by avoiding expectations. They achieve this by monitoring their self‐talk and using logic and humility to change “should” and “supposed to” to “could” and “want to.” They also change “need/gotta/have to” to “want to.” Then, they focus on W.I.N. (What’s Important Now) before, during, and after competition. And because life is so much better when we are good at it, more often than not, great athletes win.
Upcoming Camp/Clinic Schedule: Texas Glory Skills – Tuesday’s 7‐10pm at Craig Ranch. Hitting ‐ Wednesdays from 7 ‐ 9pm at Extra Innings, Links: www.texasglory.com, www.nfca.org, http://www.facebook.com/texasglory, http://twitter.com/texasglory