Keeping Your Daughter Motivated

One of the questions we receive most is how to keep young girls motivated when they have set big goals. This is a simple question with a complex answer.
I once heard a speaker say, “Motivation is an inside job”. He is exactly right. Motivation has to come from within. You can provide the fuel but they have to want to put it on the fire.

However, we have to make a slight exception for younger players. If someone wants to become great at softball, it takes years of work. During this time it takes a lot of faith and confidence that her work will pay dividends. When we are dealing with a young player, whether she is 11 or 15, she rarely has experience preparing and reaching five-year-goals. The adults in her life are an important guiding force.
Kids have no experience researching a team, coach, and situation that will challenge them to grow and learn. They do not have the background to choose a private hitting or pitching instructor. They do not know where to find a strength and conditioning program appropriate for their specific sport and position.
Kids do not know how to track their progress, adjust their training when needed, and design a plan for success. We are not advocating that you micro-manage every aspect of their lives. First and foremost, this has to be her idea, her goals, and it has to be fun. However, if they are entrusting you to help them succeed, you have to be organized, disciplined, and dedicated to supporting their dreams.
The short answer is that you have to beg, bribe, reward, stroke their confidence, and do whatever it takes to get them to practice their skills on a regular basis. Sometimes you have to get a little tough, but never confuse your relationship as mentor with your relationship as parent. Once practice is done, it is done. You are the parent again.
Their needs may change every minute of every day. The main thing is to find out how you can work together as a team, how to build the relationship she needs during training times, and how you can be the person she can trust to do the right things for the right reasons.
Whether she has lofty goals, or simply wants to have fun, help her find ways to enjoy the process. Be sensitive to her needs. Be sure your relationship is being strengthened and that she comes out of the experience feeling more valued and accepted as an individual, with lessons that will help her deal with challenges and opportunities life will inevitably bring her way.
Note: If you are a former college pitcher who would like to make a difference in the lives of kids around you, contact us about our Instructor Certification Program. You will be surprised at how much we have to offer, and our group produces college pitchers at a rate that nobody else comes near.