Inside Pitch with LC: 10 Words That Describe Team 38's Season
6/10/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
June 10, 2015
Junior catcher Lauren Connell authored a weekly blog on MGoBlue.com throughout the softball season to let Michigan fans in on what happened outside of the field of play. Connell wraps up "The Inside Pitch with LC" with her thoughts on the team's season.
It has been exactly one week since Team 38's final game of the year in game three of the national championship, and it has given us all some time to wind down and think about our journey throughout the 2015 season. Although the loss in the final game was not the outcome we ultimately wanted, we are unbelievably proud of an incredible season and the great team we became. I reflected back upon the past year and came up with ten words that I believe encapsulate what made Team 38 successful.
1. Discipline
Although the season did not officially begin until our first game in February, our work and preparation began in September. When the season is five months away, it is sometimes difficult to see how passing the fitness test the first week of school will help you beat out an infield ground ball in June. However, our team worked harder than ever in the offseason as we went through grueling strength and conditioning workouts. We could barely stand up over Thanksgiving break due to our completion of the Oklahoma City Challenge, a two-day challenge that pushed us past our physical and mental limits. We had our mind set on Oklahoma City from day one of practice, which helped us go the extra mile, literally, during the offseason.
2. Hunger
Team 37 fell one game short of making the trip to Oklahoma City last year, which left a sour taste in every player's mouth. This motivated us all year to do whatever it took to get back to the Women's College World Series. No matter how many wins our team gathered, it was never enough for Team 38. Between Big Ten champions, Big Ten Tournament champions, Regional champions, and Super Regional champions, our team was insatiable as we constantly set our sights bigger and bigger toward our ultimate goal of becoming national champions.
3. Confidence
There is a fine line between confidence and arrogance, and Hutch told us early in the season that it is important to fall on the confidence side of the spectrum. Confidence is extremely important in our sport where the mental game plays such a crucial role. We take hundreds of swings a day and have thrown thousands of pitches since September -- knowing that we have put in the work and prepared all year for the game helps us to be more successful on the field. Confidence is knowing that you have the ability to win; arrogance is assuming that you are going to win, and there is not one game this season that we did not think that we were going to have to work hard to win.
4. Passion
We love this game, we love this team, and we love this school. It is as simple as that. Each member of Team 38 felt an incredible honor to be a part of the Michigan Softball program. We were devoted to the pride of wearing the block M and playing for a team with a rich tradition of excellence. We wanted to win for ourselves, for our teammates, and ultimately, for Michigan. Our childhood dreams became reality, and that excited us and motivated us to leave everything we had on the field.
5. Unity
We learned through our Navy Seal training during The Program that teams are most effective when they achieve "One Heartbeat." This means that every single player is working together toward the same goal as one cohesive unit. We all embraced our roles during the entire season, whether it be the starting pitcher, the pinch hitter, or the bullpen catcher. Each member of Team 38 understood that what they did every single day of the year had an impact on the whole of the team, and we strived to make those impacts positive and progressive every lift, practice and game throughout the 2014-2015 season.
6. Adaptability
Every single game brings its own set of challenges. No two pitchers' pitches look exactly alike. Each opposing field we play on has its own unique playing conditions. Each hitter our pitchers face has a different individual swing. The bottom line is that the best teams are the ones that are able to make changes and adjust to the opposing team the quickest. Whether we were attempting to stay on top of a rise ball during a game or learning a new pitch in the offseason, we embraced the uncomfortable as we tried to be the most dynamic players as possible.
7. Trust
One important facet of our success was our trust in one another. We knew that our teammates would have our backs no matter what, and that if we failed in accomplishing a task that our teammates would be there to pick us up. This goes hand in hand with confidence. Because our pitchers could trust our catchers to block pitches in the dirt, they could throw a change up without feeling the anxiety of the ball going to the back stop. Our hitters could stay in their process and concentrate on simply getting on base, because they knew their teammates behind them had the ability to get them to home. We trusted ourselves, our teammates, and our coaches all season, which gave us the confidence we needed through our season's journey.
8. Belief
From day one of the season, we defined that our mission was to win a national championship. With a 0-0 record at the time, no one knew if this goal was realistic or not -- we had yet to win one game. As the season continued on, our belief grew stronger and stronger as our goal became more and more tangible. We kept our eyes on our goal and never faltered, even despite setbacks and obstacles throughout the season. There is a difference between thinking you can achieve your goals and believing through your whole body that you will achieve your goals, and our players, staff, and fans all believed we could do it.
9. Relentlessness
Team 38 had fight. We learned through the aforementioned Program with a Navy Seal that we were capable of "one more." We did sets of 6, 11, 16 and 21 instead of 5, 10, 15 and 20, because we were the team that was going to be "one pitch tougher" than our opponent. Whoever is one pitch tougher wins the game, which we displayed many times through come-from-behind wins. We dug our way out of run deficits, and we fought tooth and nail to always be one pitch tougher in a 60-plus game season, which felt like a marathon and sprint at the same time.
10. Fun
Between sprinkling cheese, doing the Whip/Nae Nae dance in the dugout, and quoting the comical YouTube star Coach Kent Murphy endlessly, we had a great deal of fun this season. When you enjoy what you do, it makes working hard easier. It makes setbacks and difficulties easier to overcome. It makes you thrive. Thank you to all the fans who made imaginary pizzas with us all year and cheered us on unconditionally -- we had the times of our lives, and we hope that you had fun watching us this season as well.
As Team 38's chapter comes to an end, we both celebrate the successes of that journey and look forward to the next, unwritten chapter entitled "Team 39." The sky is the limit for the 2016 season, and we know that the work begins, well ... "NOW!" as Hutch would say, as we prepare ourselves to be better, stronger and faster for next season. Check back later this summer for an update about what our Wolverines are up to this summer. Thank you for an incredible season and for letting me give you the inside pitch all year and as always,
Go Blue!
LC
