The Fearless Warrior Podcast

063: Not Making the Lineup to Two-Time All American: Bailey Landry Domangue's Story

• Amanda Schaefer

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Bailey Landry Domangue is a two-time All-American former LSU softball player. She lead her team to 3 World Series appearances as a Tiger and has the record for career hits at LSU. After college she went on to play professionally for three years. Now she is a wife and mother and advocates for topics that she feels passionately about. Our conversation underscores the importance of embracing a well-rounded approach, which can help young athletes achieve long-term success and fulfillment, paving the way for a healthier, more balanced life.

Episode Highlights:

  • How parents can support their children athletically outside of organized sports.
  • Celebrating every part of yourself, not just softball
  • Importance of sleep for young athletes
  • How to avoid burnout

Connect with Bailey:
Instagram: @baileydomangue

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Speaker 1:

Welcome to the fearless warrior podcast, a place for athletes, coaches and parents who know the value of a strong mindset. I'm your host, coach AB, a mental performance coach on a mission, former softball coach, wife and mom of three. Each episode, we will dive deep into all things mental performance, mindset tools and how to rewire the brain for success. So if your goal is to gain the mental edge and learn the secrets of mental performance, mindset tools and how to rewire the brain for success, so if your goal is to gain the mental edge and learn the secrets of mental performance, you're in the right place. Let's tune in to today's episode. Bailey, welcome to the Fearless Warrior podcast. Thank you so much. Can't wait to chat. I know we've been chatting for a while. Can't wait to chat. I know We've been chatting for a while. I do this to all my guests. We end up talking for a long time and then we should have hit record sooner. Tell us where you're at. Where in the world is Bailey, and what are you up to?

Speaker 2:

So I live in South Louisiana, in Houma, and I have two little girls, a four-year-old and a two-year-old. They are wonderful. My husband and I have been married for just shy of six years, and so I have been out of softball gosh since 2019, played at LSU for four years, from 2014 to 17. And then I played professionally from 2017 to 2019.

Speaker 1:

I love that, and so your time at LSU. We were chatting about this. Tell us about your time at LSU and this will just be a quick blip of this conversation because we had talked about. There's so much more lessons for you post softball. But to give the viewers we have on our podcast, we have parents, we have players and we have coaches Give us a quick overview as a Tiger.

Speaker 2:

OK, so in 2014, I want to say, or maybe 15. This makes me feel like a dinosaur, but this just shows you how quickly our game has grown. I was playing during the very first year of the SEC Network, so my freshman year, I want to say. We had a handful or so of games that were on TV and or accessible via video to my sophomore year through senior year. I don't know that there was a game that wasn't accessible. So those my last three years 15, 16 and 17,.

Speaker 2:

We finished at the World Series. Everybody, everybody, wants, obviously, um, a national championship. We were just shy of that, but got to go to the world series three times. Um, you know, was a part of really one of the biggest times in LSU softball history and I love being a part of that. I finished as a two-time all-american and I had the most hits of any man that would tell us you. So it's a pretty cool fact about me there. I was a lifelong tiger, so going there was really just a dream, and so, if I can say anything, just if you're on fire about something, that's one of those aspects that aren't immeasurable. That aren't immeasurable statistic A kid with a passion about what she's doing and what she's fighting for can do tremendous things. And so I was that kid and um turned into a young woman, blossomed there through a lot of different ways um through softball, personally, faith wise Um, and it was an incredible, incredible four years Um and then went on to play professionally for three after that.

Speaker 1:

And I love your story because and you're open about this on social media let's zoom in on your freshman year there was a pivotal moment where you switched positions. Can you talk about that? Absolutely.

Speaker 2:

So I spent all of the fall playing left field and all of the spring practicing in left field, and left field was where I was. Game one comes around I was not in the lineup card. Game two comes around was still not in the lineup card. And game three, same thing.

Speaker 2:

Game four Coach Beth Serena came up to me and said, what do you think about playing right field? And I said, yes, sure, Play. Um played there started that fourth game. Um had a really great game, took advantage of my opportunities at the plate and um she always says she remembers that first at bat and um I don't want to put words through mouth, but she, uh, she remembers it and it was. It was a really good one. I think it was like a triple or a double or something, something cool. But she said something to the effect. I just remember the command that you had um up to up to bat, and that was my favorite part of softball was was hitting I'm a offense girl through and through and um. From there I was able to secure the position of right field and that was my home for the next four years.

Speaker 1:

Which is pretty incredible, because how do you know that that's coming? You just had to trust and have faith and you had an opportunity that you know. How many times do players have an opportunity to accept a role and still continue to be ready? Or the alternative that happens a lot is we, you know, ride the negativity bus. We, you know, misery loves company. It could have been very easy to say, you know, like why me and and and, oh, I've lost my shot and it's very apparent I'm probably not going to be a starter to then having an opportunity presented to you. What, what allowed you to have that mindset?

Speaker 2:

Honestly, not hearing my name was hard. Um didn't know what to expect. They don't, you know release who's going to be starting? Um, I feel like I competed in the outfield. Well, I knew what I could do offensively, but it just came down to the fact of I I'm a competitor like through and through, was, still am, and I wanted to compete.

Speaker 2:

I wasn't there just I said you know, I loved LSU, but I wasn't there just to be at LSU. I wanted to compete, I wanted to make a difference in the program, and so for me it was just you get an opportunity and you go in there and you compete, and it wasn't a right away thing. Where I had it, there was a very deserving senior that was at that position, had accolades herself and her and I went back and forth for a while getting starts and obviously, you know I was able to, you know, at the end, make my name permanent, and so it was just something that I continued to chip away at and it was just that competitiveness that just get better every single time, compete, compete. That competitiveness that just get better every single time, compete, compete, compete.

Speaker 1:

So that was that was what I did and I ran with it. I love that, and now you have this as part of your story, so take us into where you are now. I think you know we talked about this previously before we hit record this idea of you know you are done playing soft, but it's hard to squash this feeling of drive, of grit, of competitiveness. What has that kind of what have you taken from your years playing competitive softball and playing professional? How have you taken that into motherhood now, gosh?

Speaker 2:

I'm the mother of two girls and so that's also something special. But yeah, so now I am raising my two little girls, both of which do appreciate South Palm. My oldest loves going to the LSU games, loves watching on TV, and so I think now that puts me um one gets kind of the cool mom because you know, I have my history in softball. My husband has always played baseball at LSU and so it's been fun um tag teaming. You know those little, those little bits of um just competitiveness and also just um I don't know like trying to raise kids that understand almost the full picture. Um, so we'll practice in the yard and she loves to hit.

Speaker 2:

I've shared some videos of her hitting my social media. But you know, when some of the things that you know, other people that haven't been in the game don't understand is like, okay, if she misses a ball, well, your art pops it up or something. All right, hit this one on the ground, you know, and she hits it on the ground or it's, you know it doesn't look like a good thing. We'll be like, oh, that was a great adjustment, like good adjustment, so praising, I think, the process and um kind of teaching them in life. It's not necessarily just the result, um, how to like love the process, and of course she's four, you know. So there's going to be a lot of growth there.

Speaker 2:

But, um, the other day we were watching a game and somebody doing for a ball, and they didn't even catch it and it was foul. And I said, did you see the effort that they put in? Wasn't that effort great? Just like making you know, just making life about more, like being observant and being kind of fostering that studentship of the game of softball and or whatever she chooses to do, and of life. And so that's where we're raising, we're raising two little girls and, um, making sure that, you know, we give them the best advantage to be successful, whatever they choose to do.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, and she loves it because she gets to do it with you and it's not signing her up for organized sports, it's, she's in the backyard. So tell us about and that's part of your story too that drew me to you as well, as you're very open about. Tell us about and that's part of your story too that drew me to you as well, as you're very open about we played softball at a high level. You arguably played at the highest level. You played as a professional. Lsu made it to the College World Series. You would think, hey, let's sign her up as soon as possible. Talk about your kind of epiphany there and what you want to share with youth sports Absolutely so.

Speaker 2:

Youth sports are important and from the and what you want to share with youth sports. Absolutely so, youth sports are important and from the things I'm about to share, don't take from it that I don't think that they aren't um, I think they had their place, but for us, um, we have chosen to withhold from sports at this time. Um, we are looking forward to, in the very near future, putting her in something, because she's at that age where we want to, you know, foster a teamwork. But right now, my husband and I, we made the conscious choice just to withhold from youth sports because we really came off of a pretty demanding and busy season as a family, as a family, and so for us, right now, we are really trying to foster, well, one, the basics, and you know the understanding and she can tell you, you know which players like what, what position the players are at and what a foul ball is, and you know why did this person run, even though they didn't hit the ball, and how many strikes, just the whole basics of the game that you know. You get to enjoy these questions, that you forget, um, why they or what they are, what they mean and, um, you know we've been really focusing on that, and so we took the route that, um, we're going to foster and grow her love and competitiveness and skill mentality right now in the backyard as a family unit, because that's the most important thing to us and we'll we'll find a place for youth sports, but it just to us.

Speaker 2:

It felt like it was just kind of I don't know. For a lot of people it seems almost like a social gold star, is what I like to say. I like to call it a small big town, because everybody, I think, is expected that as soon as your child is two or of age, that you are signing them up, you're doing the thing, but that also means that you're running here, there and everywhere until late hours of the night. My husband and I both live that life. We understand, we get it and we know how demanding it is.

Speaker 2:

But for us to be able to sit around a table and have dinner most nights of the week, to talk about our day, to let our kids just be silly Like they're four and two you know they're still very young there's so much time for them to receive and to participate in the things that we know help bring success in those youth sports. But it's not a race and, if we can know, protect her, as you know and I wouldn't even say protect, but protect and or foster her in the healthiest way that we see fit, based on our experience and just the environment of what we see some youth sports being right now um, that's the choice that we're gonna make. It may not be popular, but we're okay with that because we know there's gonna be a time and a place and she's going to have more than enough time to grow and blossom. Not saying it's wrong to do it early, that's just our choice, you know, to foster the family unit first and then move forward to the things that we know. We have plenty of time to move forward.

Speaker 1:

It's easy to get swept up. We had we had that same feeling this fall, where we uh, our oldest turned six in April and he did his second year of T-ball and honestly, like looking back, his first year of T-ball really didn't.

Speaker 1:

I mean I didn't see any progress. I see so much more progress now that he's six, where he's really starting to look forward to T-ball where not that he they're looking forward to the snacks and the socialization and the other things. And what I find most interesting is his ability to pick up the game in the backyard when he's hitting with his dad and he's playing catch with me of just like. Well, here's another example and I'm kind of going off on tangents, but my two-year-old, their squat form, like they know how to move their bodies. Yeah, when a two-year-old squats down, it's perfect squat form, because nobody's teaching her how to move her body, she's just moving her body.

Speaker 1:

And so the same thing could be said for my six-year-old. When he's swinging a bat and he takes a hack and it just doesn't produce results, he's going to adjust what he needs to adjust versus and Bailey, this was. This is agonizing as former players, when you're watching somebody else move your child like a robot. When they're up to bat and of course, in T-ball they get one chance and you know if it's a swing or what. It it felt very robotic versus in the backyard.

Speaker 2:

they're going to be able to have reps and giggle, have fun and they're going to figure it out on their own and they're going to learn those body movements, like athletic movements to some are more natural and to some they have to be worked on.

Speaker 2:

And you know different sports and different activities and just allowing your child to literally be a kid helps them. You know form, those things that they need. And you know watching the game Like we love to watch ball and they love to watch it and we're we're talking to them. We're you know we're not just having it on impassively. You know we're telling them about the positions and why did this person do that. And you know praising effort and or you know what could they have done differently, or that was not a good attitude, or you know we're just we're helping build the foundation and there's going to be plenty of time for specialization and more hands-on and right now the protection of their innocence, of just being a kid, is just top priority on side of you know well, and that comes back to that decision of we had played all summer and they have practice one night a week and they have games one day a week and even, as a six-year-old, two days a week.

Speaker 1:

And then you add in the other things that our family is doing, multiplied by multiple kids, it's like I I'm glad we didn't sign him up for fall because we had the opportunity to just have more free nights.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, and if you want to be involved at church, if you want to do something extracurricular outside of sports, you know there's there's so many things that you can put your effort and energy and time into and I think each individual family has to make that choice as to what's best for them given their circumstances at the time.

Speaker 2:

Um, um, we could have signed her up for t-ball this year but, being quite honest, she doesn't even like to hit off of a tee. She likes, I'm gonna say, front throw, because she doesn't like front, like if it's too slow. She honestly doesn't hit as well and I don't want to see my kids and I'll start at four but like she has a skill because we've worked on it and so putting her in t-ball would honestly be backwards and just waste valuable time that you know she's in school, she, she socializes. That social aspect is there. We have friends, she sees her cousins often, like she socializes. But we just want her to be a four-year-old and love life. You know there's a beauty in those things that I'm not saying they're bad, it's just, you know, every, every family's choice has to reflect what is most important to them and right now, the family time is the most important for us.

Speaker 1:

And you make a great point on all of this is that we're not trying to persuade you one way or another. The conversation that you and I had was curiosity, like are you brave enough to question, well, what do we want to do? Just because he's now five, we don't have to sign him up for t-ball. Do we want to sign him up for t-ball? What does this look like? And um, just that curiosity to to say like, just because we played the sport, does it mean that that has to be their sport? Or even when you start that sport, or if they're behind. I think it's this temptation of keeping up with the Joneses.

Speaker 2:

And honestly, nobody wants to hear this, but a lot of times the premature involvement in things that are super demanding and drain your family life and drain your family life or, honestly, just because the parents want it, which you know can be your choice. But I feel like, you know, we and we got pushback. We had people that in our life that had no reason to but, you know, told us what they thought about it and they can think that and that's fine, and they can freak out when their seven-year-old has a bad game and because they don't understand, you know, um, and a lot of it. You know we, there's no reason for us to live through our children, um, it's about them. And so, you know, here recently she asked, hey, can I play ball? We're like, yeah, we'll sign you up, like before she liked it, um, but we have no reason to like live through our children, um, and I feel like a lot of times, people who don't have that experience and that could be a hard truth but a lot of people who don't have that experience don't have that fullness or maybe like that lack Um, and that's something to address too, because I know the culture of travel sports, even right now, it's just like really can be super toxic and no longer we can offset and or find a better way to go about that.

Speaker 2:

Um, I would love that because, you know, gosh it, it. We've had conversations where like we're not, we don't, we're not ready for this, because it just it's so, it doesn't seem like it's appealing almost because it's gotten so toxic and so that's. You know, we want to make sure we have a, we foster that healthy good, love the game, love the basics, love the process pardon her before we have to deal with a lot of the politics and dynamics that make youth sports really not fun sometimes.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, well, and for all the parents that are listening to this, if you're in the thick of this right now, it's October. By the time this airs it'll be November. But this idea of allow them to miss it If you love something, you'll miss it, but if you're playing it like it's a job and you're playing it 50 weeks out of the year and they get a week off for Christmas or a week off here and there, it's like we didn't. I mean, I tell this story often here in Nebraska. If you played in April, we had what was called the snowball tournament. You were like on an elite team, and now teams are playing in March and they're finding dome facilities to play in February, and if you're not kicking things off in January, it's like when did this season become year round softball?

Speaker 2:

And living in South Louisiana. We have fine weather for all year round. So I can say, as somebody who struggled with an arm injury throughout her career, and especially towards the end, their bodies need rest. Yes, basically For a functional way, but just they just need time to do other things.

Speaker 1:

You know, it's so helpful in some ways voice well, and I think we're seeing that now too. I give a few pitching lessons still, and I hope they introduce pitch counts, but even then, I mean, we're starting to see injuries younger and younger. I have a couple of athletes that have slipped discs and things that like this is your back like, not not just like a you know shoulder and a knee shirt, but like yeah yeah, I mean it, the injuries, all of it, the, the mental wear that it takes.

Speaker 2:

Um, you know, one of the most, the biggest, one of the one of the biggest things that I made the decision to do in college um, that made a lot of things come full circle for me and turn around and really push me forward was I had to make the conscious decision that I had to balance out things in my life a lot more, because, while softball is a good thing, sometimes too much of a good thing is not good. I had to restore the proper balance in my life in order to be the best version of me and even drawing back from softball a little bit, pouring into okay, I'm also a student, okay, I'm also a human being that has physical, social, spiritual needs and those are not being met because softball is literally every single thing. And so I drew back in a way that was still putting my best foot forward, but not overdoing it. I made sure that the time that I was at practice was the time that I was at practice and I was putting the absolute most into it, and the time I was working out was that. But I also left space to where if I wanted to go to a Bible study at church. I had time to do that and that was, you know, in leading a Bible study at church because you know our athletes, we needed something. And so, you know, making the choice to do that, making the time for that, drawing back a little bit to move forward, was one of the best things I could have done, and my game didn't suffer from it, it actually got better, and so it just allowed me to to really, you know, take a step back and gain perspective, but then also pour into all the different cups of my life, cause we're not just a one thing being. We have different parts of us that all need to be catered to.

Speaker 2:

And it was hard because I felt, you know that pool. I was like, oh no, I'm like this, like I'm not putting enough into the game, but it's like, no, you were putting so much into the game, you have got to put other parts, or the put into the other parts, or those other parts are going to go away, and I and you're not a robot Like you are a human being, and that's to be honored. And when it's not, that's when you see the unhealthy levels of things come to fruition. So, even at a young age, I think it's important to let your kids know like, hey, if you don't do two hours extra after practice, it's okay.

Speaker 2:

Like if you did your best that day and you were on it and you were feeling it and your body was in the position it needed to be and your reps were good. Like that's good. When you're in a slump, yeah, put in the extra time. And I'm not saying don't ever put in extra time when you're doing great, but like if you, you know your body is doing what it needs to do, your game is good, you're mentally sharp. Like you've got it, then you've got it when you need that extra time. Like the teeter is always tottering right. It's not going to be one way forever, all the time.

Speaker 1:

And so you gotta, you gotta do your best to balance it out, but what a gift to be able to discover that.

Speaker 1:

I think a lot of people never discover that. But if we can help our children discover this at 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, so that we're not sending them off to college, I think that's a scary thing that I'm seeing with a lot of my one-on-one clients is they're physically good, they're mentally good, they've got all the skills and freshman year rocks them of college. And it's like if we can prepare them now and start to understand like softball isn't the only thing. But it's tempting, right, keeping up with the Joneses. It's tempting to want to talk about softball in the car, on the way to practice, at the dinner table when they first wake up. And it's like when are you talking to your daughter about other things? Like ask her other questions, because she's going to start to associate mom and dad's love with my ability as a softball player. And I know parents, you're like no, I would never say that, but your actions and your conversations are making her think that.

Speaker 2:

Absolutely, and I'll be very honest. There was a period of time where I did not wear any of my LSU gear to school. I had to literally draw a hard boundary that I am still a normal person. Surely, like you know, people knew I was an athlete and generally you wear your gear because you're going from here to there and you kind of have to sometimes. But there was a period of time in the you know the period I was speaking about prior that I literally I just wore regular clothes and I was like I am still Bailey, like that is the most important thing about me and, um, you know, I saw it.

Speaker 2:

It was hard because you feel like you're disobeying, you feel like you're like not doing enough and you know your coaches are probably always telling you parents whoever like, do more, be better. All this better Isn't necessarily drilling. Like there's no reward for burnout, that does no one favors and like I can't tell you the transformation that happened when I got over the fact that you are not disobeying, like you were being yourself. You were, you were doing yourself and everyone around you the biggest favor, and that didn't look the same for other teammates but they also didn't allow themselves to be as well-rounded and there were different brick walls that came up at different times, and so my process didn't look the same as other people.

Speaker 2:

But I knew that in order to be my best, I had to make sure my homework was done. I had to make sure I was on top of my studies, because falling back and being, you know, last minute was serving no one, because then I would be flustered and I'd you know that I would be at practice thinking about all the things that I had to do that night and then I wouldn't get any sleep. And if I don't get any sleep sleep is so important and if I'm in a hurry I can't cook a good meal I'm going to have to eat takeout, and takeout serves no one long term. And if I don't go to church and I'm not, like my soul isn't being fed If I don't do this, like there is a balance it's not a consistent, all the time looks the same balance, but you have to find that for you and that's okay. And because like rest is also not a reward, like rest is necessary and burnout is not a badge of honor.

Speaker 2:

So I think the most successful people if you look at like the most successful people. So I think the most successful people, if you look at like the most successful people, they have their little routines and their ways that they implement. Like a lot of times you look at it it's they read. Often they prioritize sleep, they move their body and then they get after whatever it is that their thing is, you know. So those I have found have been some of the most consistent things and so you have to, you have to wear, you have to be well-rounded.

Speaker 1:

Absolutely. And also I think we forget that youth actually require more than eight hours of sleep. So there's they've done studies on it is that, depending on your daughter's age or son, or whoever your athlete is, especially now with young, young kids they're supposed to be getting 10, 11, 12 hours of sleep, and then they also have naps. But then once our kids get older, we just lump them in the. You know we need eight hours of sleep, but some of these kids aren't even getting eight hours and they need nine or 10 hours, especially after a game day or a tournament. If you get home late, it's like sleep is the most underrated mental skill, because if I don't work with an athlete that is well-rested, no amount of mental training is going to be able to be accessed because they're just right.

Speaker 2:

I mean, we have young children, we were in the newborn not that long ago and parents, if you're listening, try to bring yourself back to that. You are not yourself when you are sleep deprived. You are a shell of yourself. And I say that as someone who nursed, extended nursed my youngest and I have realized that I am a brand new person when I get a decent night's sleep, new person when I get a decent night's sleep. And I just think, I mean just think about the mental expenditure that you have to have to be at the top level and to be able to manage that expenditure in the healthiest way possible. And that starts at the, you know, at the beginning stages, to be able to do that Well, it's a learned skill, it's not something that just happens. Um and so, yes, sleep nutrition huge huge, huge, huge.

Speaker 1:

This just clicked for me and we can laugh about this. We'll. We'll do this podcast in 10 years, when we have teenagers. But it's this idea of like you have a teenager, you have a preteen, you are at risk of burnout, You're, you're sending them to multiple sports, You're asking them to be a student.

Speaker 2:

They're low on sleep, they're overstretched, and then we wonder why they're grumpy Gosh on top of, like all the biological things that are changing.

Speaker 2:

That just clicked for me. Yeah, and you know, we did not grow up with social media in our hands, praise God. I could not imagine the added stress that just adds just from scrolling and liking, receiving likes, posting things. You know the difficulties that come with managing that as your young brain is developing. I couldn't imagine. I know the struggles that I had as a had and or have as a young adult who, I mean this also makes me feel like a dinosaur but iPhones weren't a thing until I was in high school. I was in high school from 2009 to 2013. Like it wasn't that long ago.

Speaker 2:

Um, we don't realize how quickly um phones and immediate access has taken over our lives, and so to add that aspect in the things that they have to manage while their brains are still forming is it's unbelievable. And so I think, as parents, that is our responsibility to teach them, to show, to be examples of um and to be better when we need to be. Point out when we fail in that, in managing our lives, um, point out. You know I was, hey, sorry, you know I was a little snappy here because of this stress. That's not your fault, you know.

Speaker 2:

Hey, sorry, you know I was a little snappy here because of this dress. That's not your fault, you know I'm apologizing. You know when I don't. I need to do better at managing this, because you know I need more sleep or you know I was a little stressed about that, I'm sorry. You know, like showing modeling for our children what that balance looks like and that's, you know, going to be a huge thing that you know we have started, but you know we hope and plan to foster into our children as they grow. So that's another huge responsibility. But also realizing that they grew up and are growing up in a world that's very different than ours, and so I would say the stressors are maximized and what they have access to, you know, is also our responsibility as well.

Speaker 1:

Which I think goes back to that fuel of keeping up with the Joneses. So not only are we feeling that pressure of parents of like I have to sign my child up for T-ball, I have to sign them up, we have to get on this select team, this travel team, sign her up for lessons, just as much as we're feeling that as parents we have the ability to kind of sift and sort. They don't, so they're seeing their peers. I made this team, or I got this offer, or I'm going D1 and I'm going on this college visit. 99.9% of the athletes that I'm working with all hate the recruiting process. We hate it, but it's like but it's this glamorous thing Nobody talks about it.

Speaker 2:

You can be graded number one and two and three and four. I'm like the harshest thing that we had growing up was my space and if you were on your friend's top eight, if you were the same ranking as they were on yours, you know what I'm saying. It's cutthroat man, like I. Look at the kids now. When I went on my official visit, I think in LSU, I mean golly, they have all the money in the world for everything. I got a little sticker that said LSU football, bailey Landry on it and it was like recruit or something silly like softball.

Speaker 2:

Now recruits get a whole photo shoot, photo shoot With the uniforms on. I'm like I'm going to put the with the uniforms on. I'm like I would put the uniform back on. I'll call them a sassy pants. I want to put them back on and, like you know, do the thing. But it's just so funny because there's just, oh gosh, there's so much. And then you get into the NIL stuff. I don't even think we have time for that, but it just there's. There's so much gosh, and recruiting is so interesting and um.

Speaker 2:

But I will say that as a cool opportunity for young women to like engage with adults in a way that may feel uncomfortable sometimes, like, like I remember, um, and I shared a little bit of my story prior to, but, um, while I was getting recruited for LSU, they had a coaching change and so I had in, lsu was the school, it was plan A and only. And when that coaching change came at a very pivotal time in our recruitment journey, I had to reluctantly open up my horizons and entertain other schools and see, you know, if this is no longer an option, what are my options? And you know, I had another school in the SEC, very successful school, and I remember their coach called me and they're like, where are we at on your list? And I was like, I didn't know how to tell them like, you're number three, you know, like, and I think that's such an opportunity for growth for them to be young women. You know we had the hard conversation and that. You know we ended up closing up my recruitment with them. But, um, you know, luckily, coach Beth came along and you know the rest is history and so, um, I was able to go to LSU, but I just um, gosh, recruiting yeah, yeah, it's not easy.

Speaker 2:

The whole system, the whole ranking thing. I'm like, gosh, this is crazy because there's so many intangibles and like I kind of opened up with like you can look at stats. Of course you know myself personally I had the stats, like those immeasurable things, gosh, those count for so much because you take a kid that just is on fire for what they're doing. Passion makes miracles happen and like you see that all the time in underdogs and just everything.

Speaker 2:

So I would encourage anybody that's feeling a little down about rankings and or you know, statistics, statistics have their place, but life is bigger than that, and so don't see your value in that at all. It's great if you got it, but one of the most valuable things that Coach Beth shared with us at LSU was that when you allow people to tell them, tell you that you're really good, you also give them the place to tell you that you're really bad too, and so that was something that has stuck with me through so much. You know, with the emerging of social media and access to so much during my career, we really had to figure out how to balance it, as it was kind of happening, and I can tell you some of the most fruitful time was when I didn't check the things, didn't read the things didn't see anything. I just showed up and did what I needed to do, and that proved very well for myself and for our team.

Speaker 1:

For myself and for our team. But that's the message you're sharing loud and clear is that passion wins your love for the game. When you stepped away from the game in those small ways, like not wearing your gear, you found your love again, because then, when you did step on the field, you knew that's where you were meant to be.

Speaker 2:

Oh yeah, I was the proudest most Miss LSU, miss Louisiana, like proud as proud can be. But I had to take a step back and like I'm Bailey, I'm Bailey, and what does that mean?

Speaker 1:

And um, yes, yes, so this is a perfect segue and this is the question we ask all podcast guests, and I have a feeling you're going to love this one. If you could go back in time you're a time traveler you could go back to your past self at any point on your journey. What message are you giving her?

Speaker 2:

You made me cry, so just gosh, okay. So I think about you. Know, we talked about e-sports and I didn't even get to share this, but I didn't make the first team that I tried out for. So I was seven years old, so seven, um, I played like a year or so, so I guess around six or seven. I played with a rec team and that was my first playing. What's awful, I had an older sister watched her play, wanted to play because I wanted to be like her and I had my turn turn and then as I did it, I was pretty athletic, I did pretty good, and so I was like you know what I'm going to try out for a travel team? Well, I didn't make it and I took a little break and I came back and I tried out for either the same team or a different team or not for me, but I did make it and so I would probably tell that seven-year-old Bailey that was, you know, pretty down in confidence, I would say, because I didn't make the team and I just kind of that was my first lesson in rejection. I guess I would tell her it's going to be okay, you know, because you go from not making the first travel team, not being one of the best or top half of players on a team for quite a few years I would say I was just, I was pretty good, but I was not that dominant player until I was probably 13 or 14, which saying that now parents are probably like what? Um, but that's the truth and you can ask anybody who I played with. I was like.

Speaker 2:

I remember very specifically on one of the first teams I played with, um, after each tournament they would give like the standout player that weekend, the trophy, and I never got one the whole season. And at one of the Christmas parties one of the coaches was like oh, it's been. You know, we realized that one of our players never was recognized for our effort and I like, like I don't even want that, like don't give me, I don't want anything. Like if I wasn't the best, don't give it to me. And um, I just remember that like I took it but I was like this feels so icky, like I don't feel like I deserve this. And you know it was really after that. I think that was my 12 U team Um, after that is when I really started to stand out a bit more um from my peers and, um, you know, like I shared before I ended up going to the World Series three times, two-time All-American professional softball player.

Speaker 2:

I've played at every level that you can outside of the Olympics and you know for a kid that struggled here, there and everywhere, like I have the most hits as anybody has ever had at LSU. Yeah, and that's something I can be very proud of, because I was once the kid that didn't make the team, that wasn't in the lineup, that never got the trophy after the tournament, and so if I can go back I would just tell her keep working, keep working, you're going to be OK.

Speaker 1:

So good and give her a hug while you're at it. So good, and give her a hug while you're at it. Yeah, I think it makes it so much more special now to like think about, as moms, if we could go back now with a six-year-old. It's like could I go back? And you know, I see a lot of myself in my kids, so I think your message just like hits even stronger.

Speaker 2:

You're going to make me cry. I know I'm like thinking about my daughter right now. I'm like, oh my gosh, I just want to hug her Like oh, she never feels that way.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, yeah, bailey, thank you so much for your time and your conversation today. I love everything that you stand for and I hope you keep sharing. And, um, I know you're really active on Instagram. Um, is that the best place to to keep in?

Speaker 2:

touch. Yeah, absolutely, um, so my name. So while I played my name was Bailey Landry. That's my maiden name and now I'm Bailey domain. It's kind of hard to say, but if you search Bailey Landry, it's hard to say and spell. I don't know how to spell it until I think my husband and I were engaged, but, um, yeah, if you just search Bailey Landry you can find me. My, um, my name is at Bailey domain.

Speaker 1:

And we'll link that below, so all they have to do is click yes, amazing. Well, keep us posted and truly thank you for your time today, absolutely. Thank you so much for having me.

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Amanda Schaefer

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