COVID HIT US HARD! ...I'd be surprised if someone said they're not lacking a bit more confidence than normal!

Confidence comes from doing HARD things and doing whatever it takes to accomplish them, but being cooped up in the house under quarantine, addicted to social media, and having our phones and Netflix at our disposal 24/7 makes it pretty tough to do that.

Studies show --"Those who fail regularly, but keep getting up and trying again anyway, are better equipped to respond to challenges and setbacks in a constructive way." 

So...I decided to give you a list of 10 resources (and a bonus of course 'cause I just couldn't stop myself!) that I have either created or learned that softball athletes can use *at their disposal ;) * to help boost your confidence RIGHT NOW. Some of these require HARD WORK, but I promise the harder it is, the more you're going to be proud of yourself and feel like a million bucks!

Here they are (IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER!):

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Have you ever wondered WHY your athlete may struggle with motivation from time-to-time? People are asking me this question a lot and my first response is always: "Does she have any goals?" 

Oftentimes, the answer I get is "I don't really know."

How would you answer this question?

First off...I need to tell you there should be ABSOLUTELY no shame in not knowing the answer to this yet...most people don't!

And today, I'm going to share with you WHY it's important to know, and how you can start being a huge motivator in your athlete's life when you do!

Studies show, if someone has a goal and are constantly being reminded of where they're headed, they'll be more inspired to put the work into that goal, even on the days where it's hard and they don't want to. HECK when I wasn't inspired to practice on my own in high school, I remember my dad saying: "I thought you wanted to play D1 softball. If you did, you'd practice today."

Call it tough love...

Who would've thought my coaching career would truly spark in 2017 at an OU Softball camp?! Not me!

This was just after Oklahoma had won consecutive national titles and HUNDREDS of kids from across the country came to be a part of the fame and legacy Patty Gasso and her crew of elite coaches built at OU.

My former assistant coach at Purdue, and now hitting coach at OU under his mom, JT Gasso, knew I had just got done playing professionally and was trying to figure out what was "next" for me now that my playing career was done.

After learning how HE got his start in coaching by working college softball camps in the recent podcast interview we had together, it was pretty clear now why he asked me to come to theirs.

At the camp, I was surrounded by coaches who LOOOOVED and RESPECTED the game more than anything, youth athletes who dream of wearing a college uniform one day and current OU players that had just come off of winning a National Championship ...

Man, am I lucky.

Sometimes I sit and reflect on WHY I am the human being that I am...like WHY do I always set terrifying goals for myself that add insane amounts of nerves and butterflies to my tummy in the process?!

WHO MADE ME LIKE THIS?!

I'll tell you right now, it was my "Day Ones"...my parents.

They've always told me to reach for the stars.
And for that, I'm a go-getter.

They've always told me to walk before I run.
And for that, I'm a planner.

They've always told me to surround myself with people that are better than me.
And for that, I'm always elevating myself.

They've always told me to be humble.
And for that, it's always been hard for me to talk about myself.

They've always told me to work hard for the things I want most.
And for that, I WILL ALWAYS REACH FOR MORE!

I would never have reached the heights that I did in this game, and I most certainly wouldn't have had the confidence to start my very own training business without the guidance my parents gave me my entire life....

Tee work. Some people hate it, and I absolutely love it.

When a pitch is thrown in one of the nine hitting zones, an elite hitter’s body knows how to get there.

How the heck does it just know?!

Because the hitter repeatedly put their body in that position THOUSANDS of times before. Because they’ve taken thousands and thousands of reps, they have created a subconscious swing, so that when their brain decides to swing at a specific pitch, their body already knows what to do. 

Think about yourself walking, or even breathing. You don’t have to think about doing it, it just happens. That’s a type of muscle memory. Your muscles remember what they need to do because they have done that specific movement over, and over, and over. Your legs know which muscles have to move when your brain decides to walk.

We want our bodies to know what to do when we want to swing at a high and inside pitch, for example. The more times I put my body in that position to...