Invest in Players not Products
The game of softball has come full circle from where it was ten years ago to today. There have been major advancements in bat technologies, gloves, cleats, uniforms (no more shorts), turf shoes, sunglasses, bat bags, water bottles, you name it and it has been improved. There have also been hundreds of products designed to improve player’s practices and overall game performance.
It’s really easy to get caught up in the products and technology advancements. Parents spend the money hoping for the same result they see from other people who use them. For example, if you see a Pro hitter using a certain bat, and they hit a lot of home runs, buying the same bat won’t make your 12-year-old daughter hit home runs. It’s a silly analogy but it happens and we are all guilty of it.
Instead of investing in products with hopes to improve your players, first, focus on investing in your players.
Let’s go back to softball in the “old days” or ten plus years ago before all of these advancements came about. How did players improve back then? It’s simple, they practiced. Softball is a game of monotonous repetition or the idea of doing the same thing over and over again. If it’s not done the right way over and over again, are we improving? Definitely not. If you buy a new fancy bat but continue using the same swing as before are you improving? Definitely not.
What does investing in players look like then? As a parent, this could mean spending time with them in the batting cage working on their swing, or setting up a training space in the basement so they have a place to practice. If you can’t help, then get them help. Softball instructors can be found everywhere and getting a fresh set of eyes and proper instruction never hurts. Take the initiative to invest in your player rather than buying products to help make them better.
The last question, is there a difference between hitting a bucket of balls off of a normal Tee versus a fancy new and improved Tee? It’s essentially the same piece of equipment being used with a different price tag attached. Both Tee’s used will produce the same outcome if the hitter doesn’t have a good swing to begin with, or if they aren’t focused on doing every single tedious rep the correct way.
