First week of college practice

Welcome to Discuss Fastpitch

Your FREE Account is waiting to the Best Softball Community on the Web.

Oct 4, 2018
4,611
113
It’s not that they weren’t told, they just found it harder than what they expected.

I was a collegiate athlete (football) and I told them it was going to be hard, but they were just overwhelmed…I wouldnt consider them dumb.

They seemed to have turned the corner and are looking forward to the games this weekend. I’m hearing more about how practice went rather than how tired and sore they are.

I'm not talking about anyone here, it goes without saying.

People are telling families headed to college sports what it will be like. From experience. Some of these families think it won't happen to them. Or choose not to believe the facts. To me, that's dumb.

Happening a lot in the world these days.
 
Apr 20, 2018
4,581
113
SoCal
Abuse? Is there any, absolutely. Is it rampant, no. The fact is most kids now (some now parents) are soft. Most people today don't even know what abuse is....it's not hurting someone's "wittle" feelings. The best thing parents can do for their athletes, starting at a young age, is to prepare them mentally for life, not just sports. I would suggest investing some of the pitching/batting/fielding/strength & conditioning lesson budget into a mental performance coach. There is a reason that only 7% of high school players play college softball when 75% of them THINK they can, and 98% of parents THINK they can. Delusion.
So, are you suggesting that a mental performance coach is going to help an athlete overcome an abusive, belittling, berating, and punitive coach? (I guess it might but not the usual reason for mental training.)
Question: How did Tony Dungi coach in two NFL Superbowls and never even raise his voice let alone hurt someone's wittle feelings.

Note: I truly believe the game is mental. Practicing visualization, breathing, focus and concentration are huge factor for performance outcome. Vision exercising (often overlooked) is important too.
Recent book: The Art of Mental Training. Its short, easy read, a little corny but a good place for a young athlete to start. Doesn't go into the neuroscience of mental performance which is probably a good thing for most young athletes.
 
May 21, 2018
567
93
softball coaches are bigger hard asses than even wrestling coaches at collegiate level...and for absolutely zero reason. Hoping DD doesn't pursue beyond HS.
I often wonder about this when I read these threads. I have a friend whose son plays baseball and soccer at a D3 college, and from the stories I hear, and the pictures I see, this kid has ample time for partying and shenanigans.
 
Jun 8, 2016
16,118
113
I have a friend whose son plays baseball and soccer at a D3 college, and from the stories I hear, and the pictures I see, this kid has ample time for partying and shenanigans.
He is either
a) going to flunk out
b) a basket weaving major
c) a genius..

😛


In all seriousness unlike me, my DW was a college athlete (track..which had two seasons..) all four years and a good student and she had time to do an occasional party/date (well it was occasional with me..not sure what went on when I was holed up in the library..:ROFLMAO:) usually on a Sat night if the track meet was close enough for her to get back at a reasonable hour. She has also been very good at managing her time (use to keep a daily schedule,etc).

Before my freshmen year all of the engineers met with the Dean (who was also my academic advisor and later became the head of the Boston Museum of Science). The one thing he told us was that when he was a student he would always try to take one day off from studying on the weekend. Now he wasn't a student athlete, and was a very smart guy, but when saying this he also said in order to do this you needed to make sure you managed your time well during the week...
 
Last edited:
Mar 20, 2014
918
28
Northwest
My twin girls just started at their college and are completely overwhelmed with the workouts, practices, study hall and team meetings.

They feel like they don’t have any free time and are physically exhausted. They’ve seen three girls on the team quit or get asked to quit in the first week.

As a parent I really don’t know what to tell them other than to just keep working and persevere.

I suspect they are just a little overwhelmed with the new schedule, new people and new place, but was wondering if any of you had a similar experience with your daughters and if there was any advise/wisdom I could pass along?
Welcome to college athletics. It is a huge juggling act, especially freshman year. My DD lost weight and was getting less than 5 hours of sleep because there just wasn't enough hours in the day to get everything done. Got a little easier once she settled into a routine but still dang tough, especially if depending on what they are majoring in. She was in pre-nursing and even with all the college credits she went into college with, it was crazy hard.
 
Dec 30, 2011
47
18
Realize these coaches are depending on 18-22 year olds for their livelihood. The coaches also have family and kids depending on these young ladies. Coaches need to win often in order to keep their job in many cases. High school coaches rarely get fired. They change jobs but rarely fired. Plus high school coaches can change schools and most times stay in the same area. College coaches have to move their families with them taking kids away from friends. Very tough. Although, some college coaches do need to be a little more caring and not so much "football" mentality. After all they are coaching young ladies. Coaching styles come into play. A coach needs to be who he or she is. Players need to research as much as they can to find out what is actually behind the recruiting front. And that is very difficult to do as most current players playing for the college coach will, sometimes out of fear, remain loyal to the coach when asked about the coaching style or personality.
 
May 21, 2018
567
93
He is either
a) going to flunk out
b) a basket weaving major
c) a genius..

😛


In all seriousness unlike me, my DW was a college athlete (track..which had two seasons..) all four years and a good student and she had time to do an occasional party/date (well it was occasional with me..not sure what went on when I was holed up in the library..:ROFLMAO:) usually on a Sat night if the track meet was close enough for her to get back at a reasonable hour. She has also been very good at managing her time (use to keep a daily schedule,etc).

Before my freshmen year all of the engineers met with the Dean (who was also my academic advisor and later became the head of the Boston Museum of Science). The one thing he told us was that when he was a student he would always try to take one day off from studying on the weekend. Now he wasn't a student athlete, and was a very smart guy, but when saying this he also said in order to do this you needed to make sure you managed your time well during the week...
Kinesiology major. Doing well so far. Not sure about his genius status.

I went to college at SIU Carbondale in the late 80's (barely contained chaos), so I don't think my experience is typical of what happens today, but the sports teams back then (at least the guys) partied harder than just about anyone. I'm guessing they also got more "tutoring" than most also.

These threads have definitely been a wake up call to me. Not sure if DD is cut out for college sports or not. Clearly something you really have to want to do to make it worth it.
 
Jun 8, 2016
16,118
113
Kinesiology major. Doing well so far. Not sure about his genius status.

I went to college at SIU Carbondale in the late 80's (barely contained chaos), so I don't think my experience is typical of what happens today, but the sports teams back then (at least the guys) partied harder than just about anyone. I'm guessing they also got more "tutoring" than most also.

These threads have definitely been a wake up call to me. Not sure if DD is cut out for college sports or not. Clearly something you really have to want to do to make it worth it.
The other thing that should be said is that if you choose the school for the right reasons, deciding college sports isn't for you (for whatever reason..) once you get there isn't the end of the world (I did just that my Soph year and survived...granted I wasn't on an athletic scholarship)..
 
Dec 30, 2011
47
18
"Ha! Free time?? You gave that up when you signed up for a college sport. Trade off."

quote from my daughter who played 4 years of NCAA softball.
 

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
42,830
Messages
679,481
Members
21,445
Latest member
Bmac81802
Top