Softball Life - 1st Month Survival
Trip Start
May 23, 2007
1
6
7
Trip End
Oct 02, 2007
Mons,
Belgium
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Throughout each week our team gathers at the Frameries Athletics Clubhouse, where our field is located, and we practice for 2hrs. Team practice is on Tuesday and Thursday, but I pitch on Mondays, Wednesdays, and sometimes Fridays. David, Antoine, and Edward run the team practices. Practice here is a lot different than college practice. It sorta reminds me of summer ball practices only much better.
With college ball, things were pretty routine. Everyday we ran the same drills depending on what kind of practice it was. We were always in the same groups and could pretty much guess what was coming next
Antoine (coach) and Coralie on third
. You would have to know the schedule we were on, the space we had, and the things we were trying to accomplish to understand why practice was run this way. The only other thing that comes to mind is that our team was made up of very high caliber players. We did not need to work on as many fundamental drills because we already had those down pat. Sure they would be fun, but with a time schedule in mind, fun wasnt always top priority. In Belgium, the players are just as talented but they are years behind in experience. Some of the girls on my team have only been playing for a couple of years. That makes all the difference. With the Athletics, every practice is broken up into different drills, challenges, and activities to work on. No practice is the same as another. They are fun, quick, and to the point. If we mess up, we do push ups. If we are standing, we do push ups. David likes to have us moving the full 2hrs. He says, after that you can rest all you want but during practice we will work. One group will hit, while the other is fielding. He carries a clipboard with notes printed off for each practice and never comes without it. It seems like every practice hes working on things we didnt have success with from our previous game. I thoroughly enjoy practice. I havent been able to say that since ive played summer ball. We always get to compete against eachother and against ourselves. Everyone has a great time and everyone pushes themselves to be better. Im not so sure the girls are always as fond of me during practice because im constantly coming up with new drills for us to do, which means more work for them. Im always getting a sarcastic thanks jenn from someone. But its all in good fun. They think im crazy for how intense i try to get practice to be but i think they love it at the same time. Practice is by far one of my favorite parts of this trip.
Then theres pitching practice
batting
. This is quite the opposite of what i just described. I run pitching practice. I coach the pitchers and catchers on our team, i set up the workouts, and then i take myself through workouts with them. During this time, frustration levels go through the roof on both ends. Mainly because they dont know what im saying, and i dont know what there saying. Things that could be accomplished in 5 minutes usually take us the better part of the practice because the communication barrier is difficult. But what i can say is that we are 100 times better than the first day. Ive been forced to learn a lot of French, which i love and visa versa. The pitchers and catchers on this team are extremely talented, they just need to have someone give them the proper instruction. From what ive observed, players and coaches in Europe learn out of a book. Thats the biggest difference. In the US you go to clinics and camps or your parents teach you. You start at the age of 5 and by 9 or 10 your playing competitively. They have clinics here also but its very limited, so usually they buy books. Its just not the same or as effective as one on one personal instruction. And the average age to start playing is about 16 years old and often even older. All in all i love this part of practice too. Some days are great and some days are frustrating. Its like that with all things. What ive learned most from all of this so far is that you cant tell someone what you want them to do and then expect them to start doing it immediately
batting french team
. Becoming a great pitcher or catcher doesnt happen over night. Ive been pitching since I was 9 and im still learning and working on things. I saw the talent in my catcher, Sabrina, so i jumped from day one to month four. Big mistake. Taking baby steps was working. Working with what we had at that time was a great strategy. But I got a little ahead of myself and expected her to be able to know exactly what I was thinking, how to move, when to move, what pitch to call when, etc etc. Its not that easy and it doesnt work. But I figured that out quickly and as soon as I realized the problem, we back up a few hundred steps and we are throwing great together now. She isnt as confused and Im starting to find a rythmn. We both have a lot to learn from each other. By the time our big tournament hits in August, we will be ready.Games here are held on Sundays. They remind me of my old summer ball days. Parents sit right beside us. Everyone brings food. The weather is usually sunny and hot. Everything is rather casual and fun. I love it! Sometimes weŽll make dinner for the other team at our clubhouse for after the game. When games are away, we all meet in a grocery parking lot and car pool together. Its really a great time. David is very quiet and calm at our games. He doesnt even come out of the dugout usually. He sits in the corner and takes notes while antoine coaches third and edward coaches first. Between innings he will come to the huddle and say something but thats it
David Meert
. I never know what theyre saying most of the time, but i figure if they want me to know theyll tell me. Before games they give big speeches, in french, and then after heŽll come to me and give me about 2 sentence in english of what he said.Our team right now, is number one in our division. We just beat the team that was tied with us. I would say we have a very strong team. We developed a solid defense and our offense is outstanding. We have tiny girls, weighing no more than a buc, ripping the ball over girls heads in the outfield. Our tiniest girl hits the most homeruns. Our team is more fit than most teams too. We have skinnier, quick girls rather than big strong girls. Either way is no better, its just who knows how to use what theyve got the best. I think our biggest default is throwing. We have no problem fielding the ball, but to throw it quickly and accurately is quite a challenge for us. And im no expert either. My balls go flying over the first basemans head more than they should.
Sometimes when Sabrina has to work David will come to catch for me. He used to play baseball in Belgium for a very competitive team and he used to catch. Sometimes i wish we could dress him up as a girl and have hi catch for me in the games because he is an excellent catcher. You can tell he has years of experience. I also wish i had a video camera for one of our workouts.
dinner 1
He commentates our entire workout and pretends we are playing a 7-inning game. He calls the inning, strikes, balls, what side the batter is on, how big the batter is, when shes going to bunt, what the umpire is like, where the runners are on the bases, etc. Its hilarious. I cant focus sometimes because im laughing so hard. But hes accurate with it too. He keeps track of the whole game in his head. But like I said i wish i had a video camera because you have to see it to understand how amusing he is. David is one of the most positive coaches ive ever worked with. He makes the game fun while keeping it competitive. I have so much respect for him and his motivation as a coach. I couldnt have asked for a better situation softball wise.
Outside of softball David as well as the entire team are all down to earth, fun people. They are all enjoyable to be around and to spend time with. They make it easy for me to be here. I told them when I leave I would give them the link to this blog, so if your reading this David, thank you. I think your a very talented coach and a wonderful person. My roommates are awesome as well but thats another blog that I will get into later. Peace and Chicken Greese.
