Another great lesson from Marc...

Here are the three lessons of the day:
Lesson #1 - Every loss, bad performance, or mistake is anopportunity to learn and get better.
You have to analyse what you did, ask yourself how youcan do things differently, and improve for next time.
That's how elite athletes get better. They get a littlebetter each day.
You ofen learn a lot more by making mistakes and losingthan you do when you win. It's very easy to "forget" aboutyour errors when you win.
Lesson #2 - A softball season is a marathon, not a sprint
Just like in many endurance events like long-distancerunning or cycling races, the winner is usually notwho led the race most of the way. Smart runners pacethemselves and perform their best in the last part ofthe race.
Softball is no different. You've got to use the first fewcompetitions of the season to gain experience, learn fromyour mistakes and get better, and get ready for the keycompetitions later in the season.
Lesson #3 - Warmin-up the mind is a important as warming-upthe body to perform well.
Following our first 2 losses and feeling the frustrationof my athletes over how they played, I felt they neededto regroup, refocus and learn to have fun again.
So, before our third game (we had about 2 hours betweeneach game today), instead of doing a traditional physicalwarm-up, I sent them to do a "mental warm-up".
More specifically, I sent away to play 2 little fun gamesas a group. The purpose was for them to get together, havefun, refocus, and regroup for the next game.
We did NOT do any physical warm-up whatsoever besides playingcatch with each other 3 minutes before the start of the game.
And you know what?
They came ready to play. The were focused, relaxed, united,and definitely wanting to play great.
That "mental" warm-up did more for us than any physical warm-upwe could have done.
They played their best game of the day because they werementally ready or "warmed up".
These are 3 important lessons that they will remember andthat any team should reminder.
Overall, this is was a good and productive day for myteam.
Why?
They gained experience.
They learned from their errors and mistakes.
They got better.
They were able to bounce back.
I saw very positive things on the field in the two gameswe lost despite the numerous errors we made.