Lessons Learned From Softball #3

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Lesson #3- EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED So far our team has lost every game. We were underdogs from the beginning. I am a brand new coach and did not know any of the girls or their skills when I came on board. The only girl I am familiar with is my daughter. I ended up with a team of girls containing 3 brand new players (never even been on a softball field), 3 lazy girls who refuse to run or mess up their fingernails, 3 who show up late to every practice (if they come at all), and four who work their butts off trying to be good players who do not let their team down. About half of our players are also chronic complainers. I, and the other two coaches, are first-time coaches. We are the poster child for team failure. We hear about the comments made by other coaches and parents. We know we are a joke to most. However, we are making a name for ourselves. We recently played a team in another city. The deck was stacked against us from the beginning. The opposing team was a really good team. We were on a field with which we were unfamiliar. For this particular game, three of our players didn't even show up. Yet, something changed for us that night. Our girls decided to fight for each other. They decided to play as a team instead of looking out for #1. It was amazing the difference in their performance. While we still lost the game, we got our first home run of the season, which was scored by my daughter (the slowest player on the team). We have only had one pitcher, and she has a rotator cuff injury. When she has to take a break, none of the other girls have been willing to step up and help. We now have 3 others learning to pitch. My daughter came out of her catcher's position (where she is really good) to relieve the pitcher. She pitched till she couldn't move her arm, then another girl stepped in to help. We scored more points in this game than the rest of the season. I learned that night, that unexpected surprises happen. In most cases, the unexpected is unwelcomed. I have learned that the unexpected can also be quite pleasant.