By
Whitney Tuthill
Former Oklahoma University power hitter Lauren Chamberlain discusses the importance of training with intent. This is a great reminder that every drill you do needs to be performed with intent. Each hitter needs to see this piece of content.
Jennie Finch demonstrating softball pitching instructions and mechanics. This piece of content is helpful for any prospective pitcher. Jennie Finch is a well-known pitcher, and has numerous videos that players can watch to gain insights if someone does not have money to pay for lessons.
Cassie Reilly-Boccia wrote a book on how her team worked together to win a national championship. The type of sacrifice it takes for a team to play together and work towards a common goal is really great for any athlete at any age, as well as parents to read about commitment. This content comes from her website, which gives an insight into her book. The content would help prospective players develop team-oriented mindsets.
Guest post by Jessica Verran. "When getting recruited it goes farther than just your ability on the field. Many coaches look at your body language or how you handle many situations; such as, a strike out or a missed play." This information is relevant for all the high school players and younger, as it serves as a reminder of how the recruiting process works, and can be helpful that each type of reaction on the field is watched.
This content is relevant as it talks about the transition from high school sports to collegiate athletes. This is relevant for all my target audiences.
This article talks about how important building relationships are within teams, and how some teams go about doing so. Each team has different rules and this is something to take into consideration in the recruiting process. This content is important for high school students.
Prim Siripipat talks about the mental and emotional toll of hanging up her jersey for the last time and the mental toll that is hard to prepare for. This content is important for my target audience to consider as some athletes will decide that they don't want to continue to play sports, and others will continue onto college, but need to know that eventually the day will come when their careers are over. They will be better equipped to handle the real world if they are aware of this fact prior to going into college.
Despite being down in the third inning, Aggies' Tori Vidales and Kristen Cuyos turn a triple play in the third inning against the Gators. This huge turn of events changed the momentum of the game for the Aggies. This awesome play would be great to show young players through the older players, as it's a reminder that no matter what the score, anything can happen as long as you play the game hard.
Jessica Mendoza gives advice to parents, kids, and young athletes at every level. Mendoza is one of the most celebrated softball players and well-known as she had a wonderful Olympic career, and her advice directed at the Little League following shows her commitment to developing youth athletes. This content is helpful for parents and my younger audiences.
What do you learn from being a student-athlete: “Patience. Discipline. Relationship-building." Florida players share life lessons learned throughout their journey to the 2017 National Championship game. This content is relevant for younger players as they can look up and aspire to be a Florida Gator, or a softball player at any level.
Graham Hays is one of the only dedicated ESPNW writers for female athletics. His content is relevant to my older audience as he pays particular attention to the actual statistics and what occurs in the games.
This is my infographic that showcases a simple agility drill a prospective athlete at any level can accomplish to build their agility skills. This will help give athletes developed skills.
Former All American Pitcher Amanda Scarborough tweeted in response to seeing Husker's Pitcher hit 3 home runs in a win over the weekend: “It’s not just about finding a head coach who “lets” their pitchers hit. It’s about proving yourself and making it impossible for the coach to even think about taking you out of the offensive lineup." This is a tweet reminder for all prospective athletes.
Former Oklahoma University softball player Lauren Chamberlain talks about the Extension Hold drill and how it can help your muscles used to driving the ball up the middle of the field. This is relevant for anyone looking to develop their hitting skills. This drill would be helpful for the older audience - particularly high school age and above, as it is a more technical drill, or parents, who can help their children perform this drill at lessons.
The NCAA is implementing big changes to the softball recruiting landscape starting August 1, 2017. This is an article meant for parents to take note of with regards to the high school recruiting dates and times.
"What I learned is that Travel is more important when it comes to College exposure. However, you have to have a way to communicate with the College coaches so they know who you are in Travel ball. You need to contact College coaches and send them to links. A lot of the College Softball coaches want you to go to their Winter camps..." This is a good article for parents and serves as a reminder that high school athletes need to be thinking about the recruiting process at an early age.
This blog post from Amanda Scarborough serves as a reminder for how to better work as a team during high school softball season. Each item speaks to specific grievances you might face throughout the season, and gives tips on how to overcome the obstacles. These lessons are good for junior high - high school aged student athletes.
