The words in the title of this blog were made by my good friend Barbara Reed when she was our guest on our Everything Fastpitch podcast. Barbara has been around this game for many years as a coach, instructor and parent of highly motivated softball players. To say she has seen it all would be an understatement.
When she made that statement it made an impression and pushed me to write this blog.
Players and parents have to come to one very important realization. There are no shortcuts to success in our game. Fastpitch softball is one of the most difficult and challenging sports you can undertake. To be an average player requires a great deal of time, effort and ability. To be a great player requires an exponential level of all of those factors and a long list of other things as well/
Why is it important for player and parents to learn this valuable lesson?
Too many kids and too many parents want the success without doing the work. They often look for a reason or, too often an excuse for why they don’t have the success they feel they deserve to have. Unfortunately, there are no shortcuts.
No matter what level a player is at, there is a direct return on the amount of work a player invests. If a player aspires to be a great player they are looking at making a very large commitment to their training. Training that will undoubtedly include a great deal of homework and individual training. You can’t just do what everyone else is doing and somehow expect to perform better than they do.
There is a saying that goes something like this:
“Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard!”
Talent is a beautiful thing. But talent alone will not allow a player to become the best version of themselves. Talent alone won’t make you the best player on your team or in your area. That level of accomplishment requires a great deal of work.
If you want more you have to work more!
Believe it!
