Over the past several years, returning home for the Holiday break meant that I got to see my dog, and my family (notice my dog came 1st in that sentence)! It also meant that it was a time that I was able to teach young softball players in local softball camps and clinics.
I can’t tell you how thrilled I get when I see the excitement and enthusiasm of the young softball players who attend these camps. I can’t help but think back to the days when I was attending camps, working with some of my favorite softball players who I watched on TV and read about.
Jessica Mendoza was a favorite of mine, I think because she was a HITTER (and since I love to hit, it make sense). I attended one of her camps and in preparation for her camp, I must have hit a thousand softballs that week. I wanted to SHOW that I was a great hitter too! I think I must have been around 12-13 years old then, but that didn’t matter to me, I felt I could HIT BOMBS like Jessica Mendoza and I wanted to show her – at her camp.
Well, when the time came for me to bat at her camp, I think I did Ok, but honestly, I don’t remember a TON of softball flying out of the park, like I imagined would. I would even venture to say, that I might not have even hit one ball over the fence –but that was fine because during my at bat, Jessica Mendoza told me I have a “nice swing” (and she signed my bat)! That made my day, heck it might have made my entire week or more.
I think about how a simple praise or acknowledgement by a role model, can mean so much to a young player. Now, I am certainly not saying I am at the level as Jessica Mendoza, but what I can tell you is, I cherish and value the time I get to teach and share what I know about softball with the young girls I see at these camps. I truly hope that something I say or do, will inspire them to continue playing this great game of ours, because some of the best friends and memories I have, are a direct result of my career in softball and I know the same will be true for each of them.
Happy Holiday’s to everyone and remember, keep stepping up to the plate!
