Good Player or Great Player ~ Aug. 15, 2008AllAboutFastpitch.com Many softball players can hit, throw, and catch, but what separates the great players from the others? Here are a few things players should keep in mind. Consistently Good or Inconsistenly Great?Some players make oustanding plays every once in a while (diving stops, leaping catches, etc), but then turn around and fail to make routine plays. As a coach I tell players that I don't need them to be great sometimes and lousy the rest of the time. I need them to be "good" most of the time. I want them to be a "sure thing" on routine plays. Keep the routine, routine. If the big plays come, great! But I need the routine plays to be made. Lets start off at being consistently "good" and work toward consistently "great". Are you pushing every day?Even if you are the best softball player in your entire league, there are probably still improvements that can be made. Don't be satisfied with doing enough to get by just because that's already better than most or possible because you're already better than everyone on your team. Even if you are the best defensive player on your team or even in your league, that doesn't mean there aren't other areas you can improve in. In fact, you can probably become an even better defensive player by increasing speed to cover more ground, improving throwing accuracy, or increasing agility so that your footwork is even quicker and sharper. Guess what, even if you are the best player in your state, there are 49 other girls in this country who are also the best player in their state! So even if your already one of the best, don't sell yourself short by simply going through the motions in practice. Keep pushing every day in every drill to see how much better you can get. Can you put aside personal differences?You may not like every person on your team, but great players know how to set those feelings aside when they step on the field. If you can't do that, you are not supporting your teammates 100%. If you aren't supporting every teammate 100% and backing them up in everything you do on the field, then you are NOT contributing all you can to your team. Softball is NOT an individual sport. Team unity on the field is such a great asset. Do you contribute to giving your team this unity? I've had teammates that couldn't stand each other off the field, but on the field you'd never know it. Don't let your personal feelings get in the way. Difference between practice time and game time?The head coach I coach with always says that they only difference between practice and games is the color of your uniform/what you're wearing. You should train with the same intensity and focus that you'd have in a big game. By the same token, don't be a "gym fighter"/the best "practice" player in the world. Some players perform awesome in practice, but come game time, they can't get the job done. What good is that? I once had a coach that told me I was a "gamer". She said that watching me in practice was nothing special, but come game time, "Wow!" I didn't think I did anything different in practice than I did in the game, but now that I think about it, maybe that's just it. I was able to do in a game just about everything that I did in practice. Often times great plays or great hits are no better or greater than anything you've done in practice. What makes those plays great is the situation in which they happen. Someone once told me that I was the hero of the game because I hit a ground ball. When I heard that I was thinking, "Give me break, anyone can hit a ground ball, that doesn't make me a hero." But the second baseman missed this routine ground ball I hit. It then got by the right fielder as well allowing myself and a baserunner to score the only runs of a championship game on that one hit. If I had had a line shot base hit, then maybe I'd be able to accept that "hero" label a bit better, but still, it's just a hit. Was my ground ball an awesome hit? No, it was just a ground ball, but being able to make something happen in that situation made me look like a "hero". When I think back, none of the "big plays" I made where anything all that spectacular, but being able to get the job done when it counted was what made those plays special. Don't forget "It's Just a Ground Ball." Don't pressure yourself out. Keep your cool and make the play you've made many many times before, but do it consistently and come through when your team needs you! --------------------