‘Tis the season for softball prospect camps. Our program at WOU just hosted our third of the year. I also worked two hosted by other colleges, at the end of last year at University of Oregon and Oregon State University.
Camp season has the highs….and the lows. There are many hours spent planning, preparing, and working behind the scenes. However, no matter how much preparation leads up to the event, I’ve learned it’s best to just “go with the flow,” and be prepared to think on the fly.
I’m in my third year as a coach planning camps, and my seventh (?) year working camps. With this experience, I can say one thing for sure… I would like to thank my parents.
We recently finished the weekend hosting our “Elite Winter Clinic.” This clinic is offered to softball players grades 8-12. We establish it as an “elite” clinic, with the intention it is more of a recruiting camp. Our plan is to focus less on teaching new skills, and more on viewing how players can implement their already known skills.
This year, we had a new plan. We asked parents/guardians of the campers, to wait in the lobby area of the facility, rather than following their child around and watching them during the camp hours. Why? Over past years it became prevalent that many student-athletes perform better without the added pressure of a parent/guardian watching them. Imagine attending a collegiate recruiting camp, wouldn’t you be nervous enough without the added pressure of your parent watching your every move?
This leads me to my conclusion…I would like to thank my parents for allowing me to grow as an athlete and as a person during my high school years. They had boundaries established, and knew how to separate sports from our every day lives. They trusted me and my ability as an athlete, and didn’t feel the need to stand behind the backstop and coach me. They let me play the game I love, and left the coaching to those who were in the dugout.
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