Recruiting

Doug and Mike carried the load on recruiting this summer because Coach D’Amour was busy being a dad. Had to make sure the recruits knew it wasn’t a lack of interest it was just a slight change of priorities. Dog and Mike really carried the load.

Mike Lewis has really made us better - both on and off the field. His personality fit VT personality. He also plays men’s fast pitch at the highest level. He was named first team all world this season. You have to be really dedicated to play at that level and works really hard. The pitchers are throwing 85 mph and it’s really competitive.

Poppin’ It Challenge

It is mind blowing what our fans have done with Poppin’ It. It’s sort of the silent majority. Our sport is popular and really growing. The monetary value was amazing. We got 3 new pitching machines, more gear, better shoes, practice pants, training gloves. A thousand dollars for us goes a really long way. Our team is very appreciative of the support.

If you give the dollars to the Hokie Club and designate it to softball, it will come to us and we can do a lot of it. To us $5 is just as important as $1,000. We can do a lot with anything.

Team Being Back

I like seeing our players and interact with them in person – how did their summer go, what kind of job did they have? It was so good to have them back. We had our first meeting outside last week. Instead of “hi, my name is Pete and I’m from Timbucktoo and I play second base,” we did something different. The freshmen had to say what they were anxious about and one thing they were bringing to the team. The returners had to share what they wish they knew when they were freshmen and what our team is known for. Without consciously saying it, this actually sets standards for our team without just calling them standards. This comes from our players. It’s communicating what is important to us as a team. We got started on the right foot.

Any coach wants accountability but when it comes from the players, it’s way more impactful and it’s a really big deal. It was cool to see that. There were some good answers from the returners as well as the newcomers. We have a really good mix.

We treat everyone is the same. We’re accountable. We play hard. There is an aura about our team – they’re not loud - they’re just blue collar, they work hard. I think that message was conveyed well.

Let’s be driven by goals that if you hit today will make you better tomorrow. You can’t look ahead too much. Tomorrow is not guaranteed.

We did physical screens last week. How is your body moving? We found some things to work on – which is a good thing. We’re going to work on those things. How do we get 5% better this year? The net two weeks are 8 hour weeks. We’re going to concentrate on fixing our bodies - strength and conditioning. When we start softball, we’ll be better and it will pay off long term.

If we move better that we can be better.

Our infield defense needs to be more consistent, our hitting overall needs to be more consistent. We need someone behind Keely who can beat any team that we play. Those are the big picture things. Those are the three things that we will hit home really hard.

Our foundations of our bodies need to be better so we can be better. Once we have the foundations gets better, we’ll be better. One rule right now is no bats in the indoor. You have to trust that what we’re doing to get better. If you start swinging now before your body is 100%, you’ll revert to old habits. At the very least, we will feel better and hopefully we will play better. We’re setting ourselves up to play better.
In the fall, we pride ourselves are getting better and the fall is the time to get better. Much more teaching involved. Player development is the focus of our fall. When we get to 20 hour weeks, we’ll concentrate on the kids getting better. Keely is our poster girl for getting better. Player development is a big deal and it happens in the fall.

Fall Ball

The team is going to play a fall ball game in Salem as part of a USA softball travel tournament. We’re going to play as part of that tournament. Since it’s off campus, it’s almost like a road game.. We can’t really talk to the travel athletes but it’s a great chance for the fans in Salem and Roanoke to see us.

Here’s the Fall Ball Schedule:

Friday, 10/8 Carson-Newman @ Moyer Field, Salem, VA

Tuesday, 10/12 Wingate

Friday, 10/15 Shepherd

Sunday, 10/17 King

Friday, 10/22 UVA-Wise