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Overview of
girls in Sports |
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1.
Our Goals |
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2.
Our
Purpose |
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3.
Our Motto |
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4.
Knowledge
of the game |
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5.
Competitive Play and Dirt/Grass Stains |
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6.
The 6 inch
Playing Field and One Pitch at a time |
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Girls
who play sports have higher levels of
self esteem and lower levels of
depression (Ms Foundation, 1991.)
High school girls
who play sports are 80% less likely to
be involved in unwanted pregnancy and
92% less likely to be involved with
drugs.
(Institute for Athletics and Education,
1990.)
Sports are where
boys have traditionally learned about
teamwork, goal-setting, the pursuit of
excellence in performance, and other
achievement-oriented behaviors --
critical skills necessary for success in
the workplace and in life. Comets
players will learn these skills playing
tournament softball.
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To instruct our players in the physical
and mental fundamentals required to play
top-notch softball. To develop a strong
TEAM
and strong TEAM-PLAYERS through positive
attitude and fundamentals training. Our
girls will be very versatile and
play more than one position because most
of our players desire to compete at the
collegiate level and we want to give
them the skills to do so. A key focus
of this team will be to put the girls in
a competitive environment where they
will play against some of the nations
best athletes. Our younger teams
will attend local events while and as
they grow older they will focus on high
profile tournaments and college showcase
events to be seen
by college scouts. Finally, we will try
to ensure that the game remains fun and
memorable for the girls. We hope the
girls will make friendships and gain
memories that last a lifetime.
"A trophy carries dust. Memories
last forever." ---Mary Lou Retton
1984 Olympic Gold
Medalist
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Our purpose is to win games. We will
accomplish this by practicing and
improving the physical, emotional and
mental skills of each athlete on the
team
to the extent that the
team
is greater than the sum of its
individual components. Any
team
can practice with a bat, ball and glove,
this team's practices will go beyond
that. There are other important factors
which are frequently left out of other
programs such as, knowledge of the game,
competitive play, team work, pride,
self-respect, sportsmanship and last but
not least the 6" playing field.
TOGETHER!! Everyone Achieves More!!
We will always play to WIN! play as a
TEAM, and play with Pride and
Self-Respect.
PRIDE - in self, and pride in the team
is another life skill which our players
can carry forward throughout their life.
This skill will play a significant part
in school and eventually in each
player's work place.
SELF-RESPECT - is a critical tool to
carry in the life-skill tool box. This
tool helps adjust everything from morals
to tenacity.
There are an astronomical amount of
different situations in this game which
make it an ongoing mental battle. As
such, it teaches many life-skills. Among
them; 'Planning and preparation are
critical to performance', 'Being
aggressive does not mean being
reckless', 'Make the best of your
situation', 'Contribute to a TEAM
effort', 'Learn how to RELY on your
team-mates', and always remember, 'There
is no "I" in TEAM'. This is NOT about
individuals, it IS about working
together as a unit. A big portion of
this game which is too frequently
overlooked, is the ownership of
mistakes. Unless an error is admitted
to, it is difficult for the player to
get over it, get on with it and correct
the error. All too often players are
afraid of being involved in a play for
fear of making a mistake. We teach the
WANT THE BALL! theory. What this means
is that a player wants the chance to
succeed but knows that they may make an
error. But they make errors just as
they make good plays, at 110%. They
learn to recognize their errors, take
ownership of them and work to correct
them. That is what we should strive for
in our personal lives as well.
To further state this point, here is an
excerpt from a Cal Powell editorial in
the NWF Daily News:
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"Unfortunately, mistakes are a
part of sports. Sadly, innocent
people, even high school
athletes, are sometimes
adversely affected by my words.
It's a part of the job I do not
enjoy.
But it's
my hope that these kids also
know that one mistake doesn't
define a person's life.
How we
handle adversity defines who we
are..........Not the adversity
itself."
Cal
Powell
Northwest
Florida Daily News |
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Learning HOW to be competitive is the
key to becoming a powerful team. A
powerful team is our goal. Everyone
wants to win , but if winning was the
only objective, then we could quite
easily be selective and only play teams
we knew we could 'whip-up' on. Instead,
what we want is good, fundamental, solid
play. If that is our focus, then with
some good practice habits, and good
attitudes, success will fall into line.
DIRT / GRASS STAINS - This game is won
and lost in the dirt and in the grass.
Winning or losing a game often comes
down to a play or two 'in the dirt' or
'in the grass'. Once you reach this age
group, everyone can catch a ball thrown
or hit right to them. The game-breakers
are the tough-to-handle balls...the
balls hit or thrown in the dirt that
have to be stopped...the hits that cause
the outfield or infield to get dirty and
give the additional effort to keep the
ball from getting by. Those are the
plays that win games. Those are the
plays that stop losses. Those are the
plays that make uniforms dirty. We want
to see dirty uniforms and smiling
faces...satisfied with a job well done!
We want our parents complaining because
they can't get the red dirt and grass
stains out of the uniforms.
THE 6-INCH PLAYING FIELD - is the part
of the ball field that is between the
player's ears...the brain. Arguably,
about 90-95% of the game takes place in
this relatively small area, yet it is
the most difficult part of this game to
master. This is THE KEY component of
this game. The only thing a player can
control in this game is how they are
going to respond to a situation.
Everything else is at least partially up
to chance. Knowing, expecting and
recognizing the situation is where the
6-inch playing field comes into play.
Mastery of this 6-inch playing field is
the single most important fundamental of
the game and is often left out
completely. Mastering this small area
includes, but is not limited to, knowing
what to do with the ball, admitting
mistakes/errors and shaking them off,
concentrating not on hits, but Quality
At-Bats, visualizing success, focusing
and playing this game ONE PITCH AT A
TIME.
ONE PITCH AT A TIME - Softball, like
baseball, is one of the few games in the
world that is designed for failure.
After all, the best hitters in baseball
hope to fail only 7 of 10 times at the
plate. Constantly dealing with failure,
be it offense or defense is frustrating.
The only way to combat the feeling of
failure is to focus on the positive.
Quality-At-Bats will generate hits.
Concentration on the current situation
coupled with visualization and focus
will generate the necessary defense.
This game is played ONE PITCH AT A TIME
no matter what else happens.
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