In the fall of 2014 a new club formed by former Minnesota Gopher Michelle Harrison based out of Eagan, MN named the Midwest Lady Lightning. They are one of five national level programs for the Lady Lightning which is based out of North Carolina. The team was formed in the fall with three open tryouts although some players were offered an early spot due to their performances in the past. The tryout was done in the least subjective manner as Harrison points out “we based them off of measurable that had been based down by DI coaches based on what they were looking for by graduation class based on recruit ability.”
The Lady Lightning program was founded by John Corn. Recently we sat down with Coach Harrison to discuss a variety of things.
Minnesota as a state has seen a surge in club programs over the past five years so our first question was why another club? Harrison believes there was a need “I thought there really was a need for something different in the state and something that was just not being offered wholly by the existing programs.” This was just not her opinion, she also felt that there were players and parents who were looking for something more. When asked which specific needs were not being met Harrison explained: “The biggest piece is the recruiting piece and more so than anything understanding how to maneuver and how to execute the recruiting process from a player and parent perspective.” By all accounts, the plan appears to be working. Harrison has players committed to or enrolled in a variety of schools including, Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Illinois, East Carolina, Wichita State, Toledo and Coastal Carolina.
A lot of thought has gone into how this program runs and a lot came from Corn and how he approaches things. When asked what the “Mission” of her program was Harrison said “the first thing I would tell you is that it is not for everybody. We need full buy-in from the players and the parents, there is a lot of travel and a lot of commitment to be a part of this program.” With that said she continued “ultimately our mission is college preparedness.”
According to Harrison “It’s not just about getting the player recruited at the next level since a lot of that legwork falls on to the player and parents, it’s about helping the players understand what a target market looks like and how to arrive at the target market. We help them identify their goals and make sure that they are realistic and what realistic looks like for each player. Beyond that, it is about getting them ready for the next level and as far as we are concerned if we are going to push that division one level, it does not stop at the college commitment. Rather that is when the real work starts.”
Understanding the recruiting process is one thing, understanding the level of sacrifice and commitment at the next level can be a whole different thing. Often young players do not fully grasp it. Harrison believes that young players have several misconceptions as it relates to playing at the top level in college softball. “The first misconception as it relates to the recruiting process is that people think the coaches are going to come seek them out, no you have to seek them out,” Harrison said.
The Midwest Lady Lightning may have a slight advantage due to their relationship with the main Lady Lightning program, but Harrison still thinks they have work to do “even though we are wearing a Lady Lightning jersey, we are still a Midwest market team and not all that well known. John and I do a lot to try and get the coaches to the field but the girls are doing all the work to get coaches to know who they are and communicate schedules etc…” On moving on to the college level “they do not get how hard it is going to be and they do not grasp the sacrifice. What I tell the girls is that you are going to be afforded a lot of things regular college students are not, you get to travel, you get to do cool things and you step on campus with a family, your team who will be there to support you. That is not something every college student gets”. Those are the positives.
Harrison also points out “there are also a lot of sacrifices that need to be made. You won’t be in this club or that club, you won’t being carrying a max load of classes in the spring, and you won’t be going out as much as other students do.” Then there is the whole workout aspect of being a DI college athlete “It is just so much harder, the preparation for the games at that level has to be so much higher.” This hits on one of the goals of her program, which is preparing them now or rather help them become more accustomed to it. Harrison says “they need to understand that when they walk onto a college team they are not just going to be handed a position. Not everyone will play and they are not just there to have fun and at that point, it is about winning and the coaches own job security.”
Often players have aspirations, dreams or goals to play at the DI level yet at times they are not doing the work that is needed to get there. Harrison has seen it over the years “If you have a goal to play at a top 25 type of program they cannot come in and say they really wanted to get their extra hitting or conditioning in but… I went to the mall with my friends. The excuse does not matter, these things have to get done. To reach such a lofty goal it has to be a lifestyle.” Expanding she said, “It’s hard and we can do everything we can to prepare them, but until they are there and experience it they will never really know what it will be like.”
By all accounts, at least from an eye test perspective, Minnesota players seem to be playing at a higher level. We asked Harrison where she thought the state was overall. She tends to think that the pool is getting a bit over diluted stating that “the culprit could be multiple teams at multiple levels within an organization. There is always somewhere for you to play, that is even the case at the college level with DI, DII, DIII, NAIA and NJCAA. Not every player is bound for the top level and maybe in Minnesota, we need to work more with our community programs to keep them strong. There just are not that many “club” teams that are at the high level.” She also believes there has been some growth “however we now have training centers and resources we did not have in the past. When I played we were thrilled to get a team from a place like Minnesota, basically, if you came from a place it snowed we knew we would hang a ton of runs on you. It is not like that anymore, teams are competing at the national level.” She goes on to say “talent is talent, there is nothing in the water in California that makes them better athletes, our girls are tough and athletic and in some ways maybe even more well-rounded. But we still face the simple fact that for five months out of the year we do not get outside.” Another area she has seen growth is in coaching. Harrison said, “we have better coaching, we have coaches that are specialized and coaches that are more dedicated to softball.”
The team plays a pretty aggressive out of state schedule basically not playing in the state. We asked what the parent’s response to the schedule was and Harrison replied “the parents were on board understanding the need for our schedule. We have been able to keep costs down and were are not looking to bleed the checkbook. From a fee perspective we feel for what we are, we are one of the less expensive, but we will be traveling a lot and there are expenses associated with that.”
When parents are investing money into something like this they tend to want to see their kid play. Harrison feels that she has set the right expectation for this team. How they approach showcase events is different than how the approach competitive events. On showcases “When we are at a showcase event and a coach wants to see a certain player at a certain spot. We will move them there immediately. The kids have responded great to supporting one another and understanding the situation.” Things are a bit different when they attend their competitive events. Harrison expands “when we come into a competition event we are there to win and succeed. It’s about putting our best or hottest nine on both sides of the ball. I tell my players that if you are not getting it done, there will be a nice warm spot next to me on the bench, period. I love them, I want to see them succeed, but at the end of the day, it is the team that we are concerned about. If someone is struggling, that is what it is, but the team has to be the priority. Ultimately it is what you will see at the collegiate level also.”
Coach Harrison is off to a good start with the Midwest Lady Lightning and based on our lengthy conversation there is no reason to not think they will only get better.
