Quarantine has become a dirty word. I have to admit I didn’t use the Q word very often in my day to day life before March of 2020 and, unfortunately, circumstances have forced us to make the Q word an everyday thing.
Well, I am trying really hard to see the silver lining to everything that has gone on in 2020. Now, before anyone gets upset I get it. Coronavirus is a terrible thing. Everyone has suffered on some level due to the challenges that 2020 has presented. But the flip side of the challenge is the realization that many softball people have found a way to make the best out of a bad situation.
Here is a pretty good list of what softball people have done:
- Embraced the break. Many players used the down time to get healthy. To rest up tired arms and allow their bodies to rebound.
- Helped out around the house. We grew up doing chores around the house. It was expected. Well, many of our young people discovered the sense of satisfaction that can come from pitching in.
- Became a better athlete. Working on speed and agility. Doing some additional strength training. Today’s player tapped into the thousands of workouts they found on line and it paid off with better athletic ability.
- Work on your game. Not having team practices or lessons to go to allowed many players to work on their game, on their own. One of the greatest voids in our game is time for players to work on their own to help themselves grow as a player. A lot of kids helped themselves get better.
- Played something other than softball. I know it’s a crazy idea but many softball players found out that shooting hoops, or throwing a frisbee or playing hide and seek were fun things to do. Playing a game for fun, amazing!
- Raised their softball IQ. One of the beautiful things about technology is that the modern player has access to hundreds of resources that will help them learn about the game. Many kids hit the keyboard and learned a lot about the game.
- Became more grateful. It’s amazing how having something that you are used to doing get taken away from you makes you appreciate it that much more. Not getting to play or practice or go to lessons or spend time with their teammates made a lot of players a lot more appreciative of the game when they got it back.
No one loved the quarantine, but you can see that a lot of softball players made the best of an unusual situation. Keep thinking outside the box and you can keep finding solutions.
Good Job!
