HIGHER GROUND SOFTBALL NEWS

GETTING BETTER EVERY DAY!

 

January-March, 2008 by Bobby Simpson    

 

www.highergroundsoftball.com

Office 229-386-9770         Cell 229-392-4048  

 

Schedule a Customized Softball Clinic or Camp at your site. Discounts available.

 

1. Getting Better Every Day: To start the 2008 issues, I have decided to provide an instructional article that I contributed to Softball Magazine in 2004. I have never done this before in our Getting Better Every Day newsletter, but I think you’ll find it helpful. 

 

Which Comes First, The Methods Or The Principles?

 

 I once read a thought in Zig Ziglar's book, Something Else To Smile About, that I certainly think is worthy of some expansion. Ziglar quoted Ralph Waldo Emerson as saying, "If you learn only methods, you'll be tied to your methods, but if you learn principles, you can devise your own methods." That definitely is a keeper.

           

In addition to managing our instructional business, I recently returned to the classroom as a high school math teacher. While it is somewhat important for my algebra students to learn the methods and mechanics for solving math problems, I strongly believe that it is much more important for them to learn and understand principles for solving problems. I constantly remind them to learn to use what they know to find out what they do not know but need to know.

           

Far too often, in our softball playing, coaching, or instruction, we base far too much on methods and not nearly enough on principles. We get much too hung up on all the body parts, angles, logistics, details, and mechanics. Now, don't get me wrong too soon. Those are important. However, unless we have a solid principle-based foundation, the methods are often hit-and-miss attempts at whatever appears most popular at the moment. We read some book or go to some clinic, get fed some methods by the current guru, and then regurgitate it back on our players and just hope some of it sticks. Often we may not even understand the reasons for the method and rarely do we personalize it for the individual performer. We just dine on it when we see or hear a quality instructor and then we re-feed it back to others, who may or not can benefit from that specific method, no matter how tasty it may appear.

           

Instead, we need to establish some solid, objective principles and then allow the methods to flow from them, allowing players some flexibility to discover the most effective methods. The British Women's Fastpitch National Team that I coached operated on about a dozen principles, some philosophical and some more softball specific. Our staff and players heard and read them so often that I am quite sure they got quite tired of some of them. I kept copies all over the place so that we stayed focused on the foundation. I knew that our players were quite mature and could develop methods for success as long as we stayed on top of a principled foundation. Because of a lot of time developing and emphasizing principles (The principle listed first and emphasized most stated: Achievement = Skill - Interference), we were able to really raise the standard of British softball and won the Olympic Test Event in Greece in the spring of 2004.

           

I challenge you to slow down and develop some solid guiding principles for your team or for yourself. Principles are the foundation and methods are the operational tools. Without the solid, principled foundation, even poets like Emerson know that you'll get tied up and fall. Build the principles and they (methods) will come.  

 

2. Some Terrific Opportunities To Consider 

ό If you know players 14 or older, with elite skills and college potential, excellent work ethic, and a terrific attitude, then please contact us about the possibility of us inviting them to our by-invitation-only Annual ELITE Skills SELECT Camp, scheduled for June 15-20 in Columbus, Georgia, the venue city for the 1996 Olympic Softball Games.   

ό Check www.winningsoftballonline.com. Use our discount code 58AB40. Give it a look, watch the FREE footage, and subscribe NOW. 

ό  A new 100-session size is now available, in addition to training packages for 30, 60, 200, or 500 sessions, so check with us about elite softball/baseball Vizual Edge sports vision training at http://highergroundsoftball.com/visiontr.php.

 

3. Check Our Web Site: We have applied some math to our web site, adding the 2008 Camp Brochure and a testimonial section called What YOU Say About Us, while also cleaning it up some sand subtracting some out-of-date items. We hope it will multiply its benefits for you. Please check it regularly as more additions are in the hopper.    

 

4. Think About It! “You never graduate from growth.”

 

5. I Just Have To Tell You: About a year ago, while conducting a CSE Recruiting camp in Columbus, Georgia, I met Joe Guthrie. He is a former lot of things, including high school coach, college baseball player at University of Alabama, scout for Florida Marlins, and Iraqi War veteran. He informed me that he had accepted the position of Head Softball Coach at Marion Military Institute, a two-year school in Alabama that had decided to start a new softball program. I have had several friends who had that same experience (to name a few: Renee Gillispie at University of Central Florida and Lisa Navas at North Carolina State, plus Carie Dever-Boaz and Jim Beitia in the Southeastern Conference), so I know it’s a difficult task to start from scratch, especially getting females to attend a school with the word military in its name (based on solid principles and programs, but no requirement to enlist).

 

Well, Joe is an excellent builder and instructor, and has helped us at several of our clinics. Undoubtedly, he’s also a fine recruiter and he must have really impressed some people while assisting at our annual clinic last month in Ocoee, Florida. He just announced his fifteen signings for the first program at MMI and four of them attended that Ocoee clinic. In addition, two others had attended Higher Ground Clinics in past years.

 

It’s obvious that I’ll have a strong interest in the first season of MMI softball and closely follow Joe Guthrie, Ashley Clontz, Leslie Encarnacion, Sallie Kimbro, Dianna Montero, Nicole O’Grady, and Raina Stiffler as they build a strong foundation for what will very likely become a very solid future.           

 

6. BE LOOKING – You’ll be getting information soon about our new involvement with National Athlete, a very strong program that allows the student – athlete and the college coaches enhanced exposure and recruiting possibilities.

 

We will also announce our commitment to an online equipment venture that can be very helpful to you in securing top items easily at great prices.

 

BE LOOKING.

 

7. A Thought Very Much Worth Thinking About: If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given unto him.   James 1:5 NIV

 

8. I Read It - I read a statement by Dewitt Jones, a photographer for National Geographic that offers us some help in our coaching endeavors. He said, “There are a million ways to get from birth to death and they all work.” Even though there are some commonalties in softball skills, there are usually a large number of ways to be successful in getting from the beginning to the end. We must remember to coach the player rather than teach the skill. The other point here is to learn from a variety of peripheral sources and not limit ourselves to softball materials. Even a photographer has advice that can help us be better coaches.

 

9. Just A Little More  (See Softball Clinic & Softball Camp Schedule At End)

 

·         CONGRATULATIONS: Paula McGovern, a fine Australian instructor who came to help us in camps during the summer of 2001, was recently named the Head Coach for the Australian Junior National Team. We are very happy for her and know that she will do a fantastic job. Current Higher Ground International Player Advisory Board members Ashlei Alig (Mercer – GA), Alana Kramer (Wallace State CC – AL), and Ellen McNair (Penn State – PA), join recent PAB member graduate Melanie Gettins (Iona – NY) making college softball commitments. We wish them and all other PAB members well in their collegiate experiences. 

·         Check our web site frequently for items to help you Get Better Every Day.

                www.highergroundsoftball.com

 

 

2008 HIGHER GROUND SOFTBALL CLINICS & CAMPS

03-01-08: See www.highergroundsoftball.com for additional information about softball clinics and softball camps, plus exciting items like softball DVD’s and visual training.

·         January 12-13 – 17th Annual Higher Ground Central Florida Winter Clinic – Ocoee/Orlando, FL – Simpson, Tina Whitlock, Joe Guthrie, Meghan Cornett, Mike Pace, Vicky Rogers.

·         January 15 – High School Banquet – Nashville, GA – Simpson (Speaker)

·         January 25-27 – Italian National Clinic (Assisted with staffing) – Caserta, Italy – Sheila Cornell Douty (Olympian), Kelly Murdock

·         January 26-27 – Customized Clinic – Panama City, FL – Simpson, Shawna Norris

·         February 2-3 - 7th Annual SUPER CLINIC For Advanced & Elite Skills – Macon, GA (Mercer University) – Simpson, Meghan Cornett, Joe Guthrie, Michele Hawkins, Brad Huskisson, Shawna Norris. 

·         February 23 – Customized Clinic – Douglasville, GA – Simpson, Tina Whitlock, Michele Ayling, Nancy Mark, Bobby Fresh

·         March 9 – Customized Coaches Clinic – Boulder, Colorado - Simpson

·         March 14 - Customized Coaches Clinic – Dublin, GA - Simpson

·         April 5-6 – 7th Annual Higher Ground-Dust Devils Clinic – San Jacinto, CA – Simpson, Greg Riddoch, Nancy Mark, Tina Whitlock

·         June 2-4 – Day Camp – Dublin, GA – Tina Whitlock, others TBA

·         June 9-11 – Day Camp – Cincinnati, OH – Simpson, Tiffany Ozbun, Kristen Shirk, Donny Amrein, others TBA

·         June 9-11 – Day Camp – Ocoee/Orlando, FL – Staff TBA

·         June 15-20 - SUPER/SELECT Camp For Advanced & Elite Skills – Columbus, GA - Simpson, Karen Marr (Australia/KY), Tina Whitlock, Nancy Mark, Vicky Rogers, others TBA

·         June 27-29 – Day Camp – Bethel, ME – Simpson, Tina Whitlock, Jenn Joseph

·         July 6-10 – Team Camp – Tifton, GA – Staff TBA

·         July 13-17 – Team Camp – Anderson, SC – Staff TBA

·         July 13-17 – Team Camp – Covington/Atlanta, GA – Staff TBA

·         July 18 - Champion Sports Events Recruiting Camp – Columbus, GA – Simpson, Michele Hawkins, Michele Ayling, Tina Whitlock, others TBA

·         July 24 – North Carolina Coaches Association – Greensboro, NC – Jay Miller (Assisted with staffing)

 

 

www.highergroundsoftball.com                                   bsimpson@friendlycity.net

Office 229-386-9770                           Cell 229-392-4048