Girl s Windmill Pitching. New Year, New Beginnings..Are You Prepared?

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1 Girl s Windmill Pitching V olum e 352 F ebruary 15, 2012 Bill D ryden New Year, New Beginnings..Are You Prepared? After taking some time off from the newsletter, I was almost convinced to stop publishing it. It seems there isn t enough time in the day to do all I want to do and the laptop that I do my writing on and many other things related to my business went haywire. Every icon became Adobe reader and that program tried to open every program on my machine. Brainwave Computers took two weeks to figure out they had to wipe everything out and reload windows 7. Then I had to recover as many programs as I could. Unfortunately I lost my newsletter reader list so some of those folks will wonder why they don t get the notices anymore. Then I remembered I started it for my students several years ago. I am not retiring from them yet so Maybe I have a few more articles in me. I m not sure. I went to the Maryland Stars Clinic yesterday and Glen Warholic said I looked tired before I started. Again, I don t know. Maybe the writings on the wall. I have two more Sundays up there and that will complete the clinic. How about the private lessons? Do I look tired there also? I don t know. Yet, I have some students whom I feel I owe to at least try to help them get to colleges before I stop. They work hard and listen to everything I say, pay attention and implement it. That makes it worth my effort. It would be fairly easy to do a 30 minute lesson, collect the fee and go home and know I did what I was paid to do, but I have always gone the extra mile for students who did what I asked of them. I contacted college coaches for them and helped the kids get to teams that afforded them looks by college coaches. I write, text, and call coaches as long as the girls do everything to help themselves and the parents back them. When I get to the point that they don t do their work, I will know for sure it is time to get out of it. I may look tired (more likely I look old). I may get frustrated when I see talent going to waste. There may be a lot of things wrong with or about me but somewhere along the line I have had a good effect on some people

2 somewhere and as for me at this moment, this is my new beginning. I will make sure I put my utmost effort into every serious student I teach as long as they and their parents do the same. Annah Brittingham has already signed with Liberty University but she knows it will still take a full out effort to get ready to pitch and play there. She is prepping by doing 4 days a week of physical training with Dominick Flores at his new facility. In addition to that she still works on softball and will again play with the Morris County Belles Gold to give herself every chance to go to Liberty and play. Shelby Smith and her family drive well over 200 miles round trip every Sunday to get to Maryland Magic Orange 14U practice. On the way home yesterday she told her dad she was keeping her grades way up and th wanted to go to their Wednesday practices also. Her dedication to the sport as an 8 grader is tremendous. She also works out with Dominick Flores, takes pitching lessons from me and batting lessons from Andy Givens at Georgetown, DE which is a about an hour from her home. Last Wednesday she was in the garage practicing spins and pitches for 2 hours and Saturday she practiced on the tee and pitching for 4 hours. th Darby Fitzpatrick, an 8 grader plays with Maryland Magic Orange 14U and her ride is longer than Shelby s and she has also started working with Dominick and also rides over an hour one way to get to batting lessons with Andy Givens on Mondays, while pitching with me at the Lower Shore Family YMCA on Fridays. She also has a setup in the garage for batting and pitching. These kids have goals, strategy, and tactics to achieve their desired end. How prepared are you? One day last week Lauren Gibson s mom, Lorrie called just to check and see how we were doing (maybe she heard I looked tired). Anyway, she began talking about recruiting. Of course, Lauren verbally committed to the University of Tennessee when she was a freshman. People have asked her why her daughter did that at that age. Lorrie s first thought is if Lauren didn t commit the money wouldn t be there. If you get an offer, that offer is on the table for a limited time and then the coach looks elsewhere. There is always someone willing to take their money. Lorrie has the same comment that I often say and that I have heard knowledgeable coaches say: They just don t get it. Many parents and the kids don t understand, don t believe it and won t believe it and end up with much less than they may have achieved. Another thing Lorrie mentioned that they found out before Lauren said yes was that Ralph and Karen Weekly had just signed new 4 or 5 year contracts. Lauren wouldn t commit and then have to face a coaching change. They would be there when she got there. A lot of other points are considered before a girl commits but the point is your family has to make the decision. There is no doubt that there are very few Lauren Gibsons in this world, but other players are currently committing as freshmen and sophomores. Yet, there are parents out there thinking they have all the time in the world. So you have a new year, and a new beginning. What are you prepared to do? Are you prepared at all? Have you ever noticed how some businesses, colleges, etc develop mission statements. It is the basis, the underpinning of their reason to exist. It defines them and their purpose. Start to consider yourself a business. Develop your mission statement. Write down your purpose. Everyone won t have the same purpose. Some may want to play school ball only. Some may want to go to a D-III school and play intra murals while others want to play D-III collegiate ball. Some want it all but you have to know what you want; D-I, D-II, D-III, high school, etc.

3 Next develop and write a strategy to fulfill your mission statement or goal. The strategy is an overall plan to use over the period of time it takes to reach your goal. It is general in nature. For instance I intend to practice pitching, do strength and agility training, work on hitting, while not sacrificing academics. This can be tweaked as long as you don t eliminate the necessary points. Third, develop and write down a tactical plan. Tactics can be modified day to day, week to week and are the most fluid of the trio. Studying may limit your ability to practice some days and that is fine. Perhaps you can use another day to make up for missed practice. Just make sure you have a reason to adjust, not an excuse. Tactics can be adjusted, not deleted. By using this method, maybe you can re-energize your game, make it better, and have a better chance of achieving your goals. Remember it s not too early to start the college recruitment game and if you are about to enter high school it s time if that is a goal. You only go through each day one time. It doesn t return. There are no do overs. What you make of each day and what you get from each day, you get once only. Your mission, your strategy, your tactics, your choice. Coming soon: Inside information on how college coaches prepare for the next opponent. Lauren Gibson was recently allowed into a coach s session wherein they examined game film and went over their tactics for the game. I have asked her to give me so insight on what opened her eyes. Photos Shelby Sm ith m odels the 2012 M aryland M agic O range 14U uniform Caroline Cardam one ready to go at pitching lesson

4 M addie Lem on readies to unleash a pitch at lesson. Tips (Social Media and its effect) It would be easier to count the number of people who don t have a facebook and twitter account than those who do not have them (or it seems that way). Technology has given us some wonderful tools. The question becomes Do we know how to use them? I have asked this question of some college coaches: Do you use social media to research recruits and to keep up with your players? Here is a response from one: Bill Social media is a huge part of college athletics now... I maintain a Peace Facebook page and twitter acct. Danger is some of the stuff kids put up for the world to see... I am not "friends" with every recruit, but I do invite them to be a part of the Peace facebook page, so they can keep track of what we are doing... another point... as a college player, they have to be careful what thy put out on facebook, etc.. I actually have a team rule, outlining what is appropriate and what's not.. This is all new territory, sometimes very scary!! Another coach said We should!

5 If some are thinking that way now, you can bet others are already checking postings and those that don t will get around to it. What are you posting? As Coach Dobbins said, you are posting something all the world can see. Coaches can get a pretty good profile of you from your postings in facebook and twitter. Are you posting negative or positive postings? Can a coach tell something about you by your postings? Do you complain a lot? We still have free speech and you can post anything you want but remember people can read and think anything they want about your postings. They may judge your value in part by what they read. It s just food for thought. Digest it or spit it out. Girl s Windmill Pitching Check out my website, You can find my newsletters, some links, photos, and some of my students video clips. Just click on the title in blue above or paste the URL into your browser. Girl s Windmill Pitching Private Lessons I am currently giving one on one 30-minute private pitching instructions on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday in the Georgetown, DE area and Fridays at the Lower Shore Family YMCA. If you are interested we occasionally have openings. Contact me at billdryden1@girlswindmillpitching.com Keep watching this section of the newsletter. There is a possibility Girl s Windmill Pitching may start conducting private lessons in Kent County, DE. I may be going to Harrington, DE on Thursday evenings. Keep watching this section for news. Recruiter MOM This link will answer some valuable questions for the parents and student/athletes hoping to become prospects. I highly advise you to visit the site that has been set up and researched by Jan Greenhawk by clicking on the title above or by pasting in your browser. Check this link. I ve gotten good feedback. Andy Givens Hitting Instruction Andy Givens is the former Delaware Technical and Community College Assistant Baseball Coach, and former Head Softball Coach. He is currently the Head Softball Coach of the Delaware Diamonds 18U team and gives private hitting instruction at his place between Georgetown and Laurel, DE. If you are looking for a superb, patient instructor to help give you an edge, contact Andy at (302) or him at: ragivens@verizon.net

6 My daughter, Ashley is a Mary Kaye Director in Qualification. If anyone is interested in becoming a representative to earn extra income or if you wish to purchase products or host a party contact Ashley through her website at: click on the logo above or call her at (302) Maryland Magic Orange 16U Looking for a Couple Bill, can you put this in your next newsletter? Thanks. MD Magic 16U is looking for quality, hardworking players to add to our existing roster. Specifically, we are looking for a pitcher to add to our rotation and a versatile middle infielder/utility player, but we will add great players no matter what their position is. Our summer schedule will include high profile college showcase events such as Scenic City, Colorado Fireworks and Newtown Rock as well as ASA A National Qualifiers. We are a very competitive "A" level team. We will provide the knowledge, guidance, and tools needed to maximize our players opportunities for college exposure and recruitment. If you want to step up your game and are looking for an organization that will challenge and support you at the same time, contact us to arrange a private tryout. Shane Henson : gabjae@ verizon.net Eric Cooper : surveyor21311@ yahoo.com News and Tournament Results Pasadena, MD native Lauren Gibson

7 Team USA and University of Tennessee player Lauren Gibson was again selected to Team USA. Also collegiately she was selected to the top 50 To Watch List for NCAA Player of the Year honors. The Division one college season opened in upsets as the top pre-season teams moved quickly from the realm of undefeated. However, one early season non-conference tournament does not constitute a season. The University of Tennessee went 5 and 1 and Pasadena, Maryland s Lauren Gibson stroked 3 homers over the weekend, including a solo shot against number 1 ranked Arizona State. Their one loss was to the number 3 ranked Golden Bears of the University of California. The University of Michigan went undefeated at the LSU Tiger Classic tournament in Baton Rouge. They had an impressive win over Penn State and eked out wins over LSU and LA Tech. Coach Paul Wetmore s Liberty Flames traveled to Elon, NC for a season opening tournament Friday. The team lost 2 straight before turning the tide for 2 wins, including avenging an earlier loss to the Georgetown Hoyas. Elon went undefeated in the tournament. Flames Head Coach Paul Wetmore told me he thought the team grew some over the weekend. Liberty is coming off a tremendous 2011 season when they won the Big South and appeared in the NCAA Tournament. The first NFCA D-I poll saw Florida move up to number 1, while TN moved up to number 10 and Michigan to number 11. Congratulations to student Katie Hitch of Seaford High. She intends to pitch for Eastern University in PA. She attended a clinic there last weekend and was offered a spot on the team. Congratulations to catcher/outfielder Trish Criegler of the Morris County Belles Gold. She has chosen Franklin and Marshall as the college that will benefit from her athletic talents. Student Kristi Marsh of the Mid-Atlantic Shockers and Holly Grove Christian School will pitch for North Carolina Wesleyan. Congratulations, Kristi. Student Sam Muir of the Delaware Diamonds 18U Black has signed with Delaware Tech. Great job, Sam! st High School tryouts in this area begin March 1. The new season is nearly upon us. 7