Beyond the Cleats
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Beyond the Cleats
The Hidden Strength of Team Role Players
What happens when high school sports stars transition to being crucial but often overlooked role players in college? In this episode of Beyond the Cleats, Ailaina and I shine a spotlight on the unsung heroes of the team. We delve into the mental and physical shifts athletes experience as they move from starting positions to essential supporters. From the intricacies of substitutions in soccer and softball to our personal stories of frustration and growth, we uncover the significant yet understated contributions that role players make—both on the field and from the sidelines.
Competition among women, particularly in sports and the workplace, is fraught with emotional and psychological complexities. Ailaina and I discuss the often-unspoken threats that arise from female-to-female competitiveness and the importance of transparency and feedback in these environments. By drawing from our experiences, we illuminate the role of honest self-assessment and the challenges of overcoming biases in coaching and evaluations. We advocate for clear, consistent guidance from coaches and mentors to build trust and foster improvement, stressing the necessity for fairness and transparency in both sports and professional life.
Understanding and embracing your role within a team, whether you're a pinch hitter in softball or a security director at a concert, is paramount to success. We explore the pressures and responsibilities that come with specific roles and the importance of confidence and mindfulness in executing them. Through personal anecdotes and practical advice, we highlight how recognizing and valuing each team member's contributions can enhance overall performance. By the end of this episode, you'll gain insights into how to make the most of your role, contribute effectively to your team's success, and apply these lessons to your professional life.
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What's up guys, welcome to the Beyond the Cleats podcast. I'm here with Elena and today we are going to talk about the role of role players, what that entails, what it is, what the thought process is as a player going, you know, maybe from a starter in high school and then you get to a college team and you're entering kind of a role playing position, because it's definitely a shift, for sure. So, for anyone who doesn't understand what a role player is as it's been explained to me, it was always like something that I understood, but I didn't, it wasn't really coined till I got to college and they're like oh well, this is a role player. You're in a role playing position on on the team instead of an actual playing position. So essentially, it's the, the, the players who aren't, you know, the starting nine or what.
Speaker 1:What is in soccer? The subs, the subs, yeah. So starting 11, yeah, starting a leg 11. Is there 11 people on soccer field? Yeah, wow, I'm really. I did not know that. It's okay, um, but it's. I found it a lot different with softball being tough Cause it's like nine and then, like the, those nine are out there and you're maybe a. So what is the thought process I'm going to ask you cause I maybe so what is the thought process? I'm gonna ask you because I don't really understand, in terms of like substitutions, what is kind of that thought process, of being like that starting 11 versus like a sub.
Speaker 2:yeah, so in soccer there's only so many subs you can have like each half and stuff like that. So it also brings a component to it too, where you can only put so many people in and take so many people off. And like the first half you can come in and like you can go into a game and then you have to stay on and then like you can't go back off, I think, and go back on the game. The second half is like you can switch, I think, twice or something Like there's all these rules. I don't remember the whole thing.
Speaker 2:So there's a certain amount, so you can only be so there's only a certain amount of substitutions they have per game. Yeah, yeah, so you only get a certain amount and then, like there's like, especially for like d3, it's a little bit different too, because like you like I said, like you can come in and off, like at specific times, but you can't do it an excessive amount of time.
Speaker 2:So, like, if you're, if I was going to go into the field, like if I was going off the bench as a sub, I would like hope that it was like a long time, because I knew it wasn't coming out because, like you only get so many subs, or if I was coming off, I wasn't going back in the half and so, like I get like really frustrated.
Speaker 1:I was gonna say what you get frustrated if it was like five minutes.
Speaker 2:I'm like. You didn't even give me time to do any. I didn't touch the ball, so how could I have messed up in five minutes? Oh yeah, that's the immediate like. What did I do wrong?
Speaker 1:yeah, like which is true, which is the same way. If, like, you're told like, if you're like, hey, we're gonna have you kind of this role position and you're like, well, like like, why, what is the? That's a whole another conversation that we'll get to later.
Speaker 2:If I'm like you, know all that stuff yeah is it?
Speaker 1:I guess, if you're in the starting or if you're in the like the, you're not in the starting 11?
Speaker 2:is it almost like a like a hope that you're gonna get in, or like, oh, I hope they put me in, like the yeah, I think it used to be like that for me, like I'd be like, oh, like sitting there, like twiddling my thumbs, like hoping I like, you know, because the only thing I could really like relate to was if we were like what really winning and I got it and I would get in, or I was also a.
Speaker 1:So I was a pinch runner. So a pinch runner in softball is essentially, you know, when you got someone on base, you need to score a run, you need someone fast, I go in the game and I score runs. So that was always kind of like my mindset. I was like, oh, I hope someone gets on base. I hope coach puts me in and then they're in scoring position and then coach doesn't put you in. You're like, what are you doing? So I can really get on a little level?
Speaker 2:Is there only certain times in a game you can do that too, or how many times you can do it? Or is it like one person you can do it for, Like how does that work?
Speaker 1:So there's something in softball, so kind of two things. So one is called a flex, where whoever's batting, if they get on base, you can flex them and essentially run for them. So one thing that they'll do in softball is you, uh, I'll run for like the catcher, so they can go put their gear on, or maybe, if they're not, that there's fast catchers out there. I'm not saying there's not, there's a lot of either speedy or savvy catchers out there, but a majority would.
Speaker 1:They would just like flex me in, or you can only be subbed once per game okay so it's like you have the starting lineup and essentially they put you in the game yeah and then, once they take you out of the game, you can't go back in, so it's like that's the.
Speaker 2:That's like the second half of soccer you can go in, but you need, once you're out, you're out, which makes sense, but um, yeah, that's interesting, I think, and I think for me it started like I said. It started out that way, where I'd be like, oh, my god, like I hope I get in, like when I was a young, like athlete like where I'm like a freshman, like not getting like yeah, like nothing, like I get some, but like not and yeah, not a lot.
Speaker 1:It's like when you're blowing them out of the way, you're like come on, coach, put me here. Yeah, just put me a freaking left. Yeah, like right, I'm like, whatever it is, I don't care where I go.
Speaker 2:I could be a goalie for all I care like, put me on the field, put me in the game and then I think, as I got older and more, like you know, seasoned as an athlete and like in college sports and like I was playing a lot of minutes, then I was just like I knew I was going in. I was just about like when was I going in? And like when I wasn't starting anyway, it would be like all right, well no, I'm going in, I know I'm playing minutes.
Speaker 2:I know I was gonna play a half of a game, I just didn't know the time that I was gonna play. Yeah, which game? Half, or you know, or more than a half, depending on, like you know, coaching staff opinions and stuff like that.
Speaker 1:But oh, 100, yeah it's definitely like one of those things where it's almost like you got to switch your mindset because you're very competitive. Role players play such an immense part of the game that sometimes, like, we don't really realize, like in terms of, you know, if the dugout's up, that's, that's the role players like if, if you can't, we're getting our butts kicked yeah and those are the people on the bench, are the ones that are?
Speaker 1:they're keeping you up the motivators, for sure I know with um, at least in softball, we we had roles within, like being on the, we would do uh, we do like different charts. So we had like one person would be doing like a pitching chart, so every time our pitcher pitched they wrote down. So we had like our stat book and then, like, we had like our own little charts, same thing with like hitting. We had like our own ranking system of like a line drive is this point a grounder? Is this point? Someone would keep track of that.
Speaker 2:So there was a lot to do in the dugout, which, which is nice, it's fun you definitely want to be out there though, yeah, it's like, as an athlete too, it's like hard to like, like accept that role, that like you're not gonna be playing all those minutes and like, I think, as a young athlete, like you said, coming off like playing every second of every like yeah, high school to college.
Speaker 2:I think it's the biggest high school, like literally every second of everything. And then you go on this team and you're like, oh well, I'm playing like three minutes of this game, literally three. What do I do? Like I don't know. I think I. It was a little bit of a learning curve for me, like you know, like wanting my teammates to succeed, but I also wanted myself to succeed. So I'm like I want to like go prove myself on the field. But, like the same point, if my teammates are playing good, I'm like all right, like this is cool, like it's also good to watch, but it's like hard. It's really hard to like be supportive and motivational and there for your teammates when you're not playing all the time, when you want to play because you're an athlete and you like want to be in the field. Like it's hard.
Speaker 1:Oh, 100% To challenge. Well, and that's. I was a big Alabama softball fan and I even carry this to this day. It's called mudita and it's basically it's a. It's a buddhist um kind of uh, I don't know if it's like a motto or a mantra, so it's like a buddhist mantra and it basically translate to selfless joy.
Speaker 1:So mudita means selfless joy and essentially how alabama softball translated that to is like it's finding joy in the success of others. Their success is your success. Your success is kind of that kind of like mantra where it's like I want to beat you, I want to be on the field, but heck, if you're going to be out there and you're better than me, then I want what's best for the team, yes, and I want to support you and I want to uplift you, which, if I'm being, if I can be honest, it's that's still. It's hard to do, it's hard to really be in that kind of you know, again flipping that switch, but at the end of the day, you're all in, you're all in this together and I feel like the one advice.
Speaker 2:And you all want to win, so like that's the common goal, right? Yeah, you all want to win, like everyone wants to win.
Speaker 1:So you're all on the same path, all on the same you're all on the same train, Whether you're doing it or I'm doing it we're still doing it.
Speaker 2:We're still doing it together, and I think there's um side of this too. It's like, like I think for me in the military, like females don't necessarily have each other's back, like it's always like how far can I beat you?
Speaker 2:like how far can I beat you, I don't have any female like okay, I have some female like role models in the military, like, but they're few and far in between. I feel like most of them are like male and like that mentality of like I so many friends I talk about, like they're at different bases and stuff like that like I have zero female role models. They all just want to like they're out for themselves, that's it. And I'm like, oh, like that's so hard I bet that's so frustrating it hits me in, like my heartstrings.
Speaker 1:I'm like Especially being a female athlete, and if you're coming from an environment of like, we're all here to help when females are putting females down, it's the worst.
Speaker 2:Oh, there's nothing worse than that.
Speaker 1:I'm like we have so much that we're already going through.
Speaker 2:That's challenging, like from like that patriarchy that, like I'm like, come on, women, like support each other. Like support each other, like it's not that hard to be, like you know, like just a compliment, or like understanding someone's working really hard and being like I support, like you just killed that I'm gonna tell you, you killed that celebrating the little things in life is super important and I think, like from another female, it goes, it moves mountains. Oh yeah, hearing from another female like I, I see you, I know what you're doing and it's making a difference and I also can see you as a role model, is like instrumental here.
Speaker 1:Well, and I I think what gets lost in translation is you can like, if it's some like every, I'll be honest, everything's a competition. I'm super competitive, everything's. You can make anything a competition, but Healthy competition, yeah, exactly, healthy competition, and it's one of like you shouldn't have to put someone down to try to elevate yourself, like if you were put in that you know role, position or that job or that's you know a specific role, whether it be your team, whether it be you know your unit or you know in your division. Embrace your role, but do not be content.
Speaker 2:There's a difference yeah, and you don't have to step on other people's heads to get where you want.
Speaker 1:Like you can, you should be able to find another way without see what they're doing right and follow it and follow it something else like, yeah, it's, it's as simple as that and it, I think, the hardest thing to do. I I don't want, I don't want to call girls out, but I feel like it's as, as females, we're definitely more emotional beings, um, and I think we internalize a lot of things.
Speaker 2:Yeah Well, the threats are different when it's females. I feel like for some reason there's like a huge threat, a female-to-female threat. That's just like not talked about.
Speaker 1:And I feel and guys probably feel it too, and I feel like that's also coming from our personal experiences it's like you're sizing people up, everyone's sizing people up, and stuff like that. But it's like like you're just like you're sizing people up, everyone's sizing people up and, and stuff like that. But it's like figure out what they're doing. But even more so you have to, you have to be objective and it's the. It sounds so easy to do, but it's, it's not, and that it's it's 100, not like. You have to look at it in in like a sport context. You're a role player. You want your, you want your teammates spot all right, what are they doing? Good, what do I need to improve on? And that's a conversation you can have with your coach. I've had multiple conversations with various coaches from various teams. Like hey, like what do I need? And that's even in the work fit. What do I need to do? And what do you need to see from me to get from point A to point B?
Speaker 1:And people might disagree with me say well, say well, I'm doing X, so-and-so is doing Y, where are we? And what do I need to do to be in that starting role, be in that position. And if they can't tell, they should be able to tell you whether it's a coach, whether it's a supervisor, a boss. They should be able to tell you well, this is Y, x, y, z, this is Y sport. The one thing my dad always the number one thing my dad taught me is numbers. Don't lie. If you're able to objectively look at the numbers, yeah, and see what you're producing versus and again, this, this, you can people can disagree with me if you can look at your numbers and see what you're producing and you look at someone else's numbers and see what they're producing. And again, this is all within the same environment where I still want to uplift them. I'm not trying to bring them down, yeah, but I'm coming for your spot.
Speaker 2:It's about a healthy competitiveness what if you don't get that opportunity? Like what if the you just don't have the stats? Even there's no stats? That's like the hardest part I think, like, especially as an athlete or you don't have that same amount of opportunity like a perfect stat is batting average.
Speaker 2:Well, if you're a pinch hitter and you're maybe getting one at bat a game, yeah, but someone else is getting, you know, two, three at bats a game there's a huge difference yeah, there's a huge difference for statistically because sometimes I feel like stats can lie, because you can manipulate stats so that they support something and that's like you know, there's a lot of bias and stats. It's just like, uh, my side of things where I work in research, I totally okay.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you can manipulate stats.
Speaker 2:You can manipulate the numbers. I can say you know, I can twist a couple things and show that, like you know, I'm probably the best whatever in the world. And not that I'm the best at anything in the world, but like I could manipulate something and be like yeah, this proves I'm the best x, y and z in the world.
Speaker 1:That's a good point.
Speaker 2:That's a good point. Um, maybe I'm just trying to challenge your mentality a little bit. No, I'm oh, challenge it, I love, I love, I love that. Um, but I do think it's important to note that, like, sometimes the stats shouldn't even be a proponent and it's like and sometimes it's not even just you, it's like coaching biases, it's things like that. It's like that's fair, coach, have favorites like this.
Speaker 1:Like you don't want to have favorites I know I'm a coach like I don't want to have favorites and it's and again, it's so hard, objectively, even like when I was coaching, like I had this one like a little girl on the team and she wasn't like the best player, but she was just such a hustler. Yeah, I love, I love those kids and it's like, oh, and eventually like, and she listened throughout the entire season, got better, got better and she was hitting better than like one of our, like other kids on the team because they just wouldn't listen. Yeah, and you could tell at a young age like they're either going to get it or they don't. Or they're either gonna get it or they don't, or they're either gonna listen or they're they're not gonna.
Speaker 2:Coachability issues but but to your point it's it's again. It's super hard to be objective, yeah, and really sometimes you just sit down with a coach and they're like just spewing a ton of things at you that just don't make any sense. I'm like okay, so it's not that I'm not I'm a bad player, this, that, whatever it's like. I think that the the best thing a coach can do for a player is give transparency on like oh, 100.
Speaker 1:It's happening because I've had coaches that just walk around everything.
Speaker 2:I'm like, okay, I'll bring up a point and they'll be like, yeah, this is this, is this. I'm like that has nothing to do with. I just said please, just, please, just yeah, or they're trying to make you feel better that's the thing I'm like. I don't need to be feel. I'm a competitive athlete. I can take the constructive criticism and I would much rather you be like hey you suck at this, let's get better at this.
Speaker 2:And oh, 100, you know like, and go that way and give me a tangible goal to achieve for, like you know, the next season or the next, you know, the spring or whatever the summer. Whatever I'm trying to do, I would much rather have that and I try so, so hard to do that with my, my athletes just be like, well, hey, like, the reason you didn't play or you didn't play as many minutes is because, like last game, you did x, y and z and that's not what we're looking for. And like we told you that we weren't looking for that. And I can pull up film, I can pull up all the support to show you that this wasn't happening and that's why it's not happening. Yeah, it's not because you're a terrible athlete or this is the worst thing you do is again.
Speaker 2:Transparency is the biggest thing, but and you'll stop I'm gonna go back to my number, so it's gotta add up like yeah, well, it's different, it's not always just the numbers, it could be film, you could go off film or I'll give you a perfect example.
Speaker 1:I had a, a coach um, where I was told I'm doing really well in practice, but you're not really doing well in games. Okay, next year, oh well, when we put you in, you're producing and you're doing well in games, but like you're not consistent at practice, like it's just like this weird transparency and consistency. I think that's all all all players need is transparency and consistency.
Speaker 2:It's like if you just tell me what I need to do when I I can work on, like then and sometimes it's literally that someone's better than you, and like that's a hard reality in itself.
Speaker 1:But that's what's being objective Like. It's one thing to sit here and be like you know what. Yeah, so-and-so's got better on me.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:I'm like dang.
Speaker 2:And it sucks.
Speaker 1:They got a really good swing like yeah, and that's hard to admit, but again, that's how you get better. You're like, okay, chasing that they're doing better than that they're you know drop stepping better, like okay, that's what I got. That's what I gotta work on or yeah, yeah, like, even even like being a pinch runner, like oh so, and so they have a little bit, uh, better awareness thing. I'm like okay, so I'm like I'll watch them and yeah okay.
Speaker 1:So in that situation at like that, that's how, if you come from that not only from a player, but from a coach and like hey, watch, watch, so-and-so, I'm like, hey, they're doing this a little bit better if you can get a little, yes, and that's creating that that healthy environment. Now, that's not to say we all disagree with our coaches. We um definitely have all had those moments where we're just blown off steam. It's like coach so-and-so is a freaking barber.
Speaker 2:I'm sure my freaking players do it all the time.
Speaker 1:Like, what the hell are they thinking? Yeah, which, I get it, I get, it's a. What did you say? It's like a camaraderie builder.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, you build like relationships with your with your teammates based off of the mutual like I guess not like I don't know what the word would be like you just like don't always see eye to eye with your coach, and sometimes your coach has to be the bad guy, and that's okay.
Speaker 1:Like somebody's gotta be the bad guy, if you think about it, just to, to get it all out and unfortunately it's usually your head coach and like I feel so bad for my head coach.
Speaker 2:He's a great guy. He does, um, he's. I am so fortunate to work with him like. He has taught me so many things I didn't even think about like. And just running a soccer team. He just like knows it like the back of his hand, recruiting everything, like. There's so many things I can learn from him. Such a a good coach. Yeah, but the team is sometimes ruthless.
Speaker 2:I'm like, hey, listen, he has the best. He only thinks about you guys. I guarantee he only thinks about you. You are. If he's not thinking about his family, he's thinking about you guys and he's probably thinking about that. You guys just as much. Like there's probably an overlap. Yeah, a little bit. I'm like a hundred percent. I'm like you guys just need to realize that he has your best interest at hand, because if I can sit here and be like he's gonna carry us through anything, you can sit there and be like he's gonna carry us through anything, but you do got. You guys do bond over the fact that, like he's probably the one there's definitely some bonding uh yeah yeah, there is.
Speaker 1:It is different on different teams. You know, some people keep their opinions to themselves. And then there's, like other players I've played with and experienced, I'm like, like they say it in the dugout, oh, I'm like, is he gonna hear that? Yeah, oh, like some teams I've played on, they were a little bit more subtle and this is this is more like high school and college. You know club ball. You know it was parents, so you could talk shit about, I guess, your parent or like their so-and-so's parent or whatever. But I think at the end of the day, you may not disagree with it, but you have to like, you have to respect the decision.
Speaker 1:You might not like it. It might be the most wackadoodle thing in the world and you might disagree with it, but there there's a, there's a hierarchy and there's knowing the role of the coverage.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, understanding the role the coach is playing understanding always the team, not just the individual, and that's a hard reality as well. As like to realize that, like at the end of the, that if you're bringing down coaching to like the the nitty-gritty, like the very, very like you know broad line of it, or like I guess it would be narrow, whatever doesn't matter, it would be like the goal of a coach is to win games the Mm-hmm.
Speaker 2:The goal of a coach is not to do like. I mean, there's a ton of things for coaches to do 100%. That's like the very first like goal is that a goal of a coach is to win games.
Speaker 1:That's objective one.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you want to win games and that's like the very basic point of which coach you want to win, win games.
Speaker 2:You know, and everyone wants to win. The coaching staff wants to win. There's no one that doesn't want to win, especially if you're a competitive athlete in college Like, who doesn't want to win? Yeah, 100%, it makes it way more fun. 100%. But fostering that environment is, like you know, it's everyone's role and it starts from the coaching staff. It starts from what the coaching staff wants to, you know, breed and foster to the team, and then the team has to buy in from the coaching staff.
Speaker 1:It's the buy-in that really makes the difference between a good team and a great team biggest thing that's helped me, not only as a player but also just in the workforce, is by understanding everyone else's job I could do my job better. A perfect example is like as an outfielder. So as an outfielder as a center fielder I was you could see everything where the play is going on and, depending on where the balls hit, you have to react and the whole place move, though everyone shifts into certain positions. So if I know, okay, hit the left field, there's a runner on first, all Alright, I gotta back up. Second, oop, she's rounding. I gotta go that way because she's shifting, because the third baseman is shifting back, but now there's no one to back them up.
Speaker 1:It's For me. It's helped me by understanding all the other puzzle pieces, I could do my job better. It's the same like I do a lot of exercise testing for my work. So we put them on a treadmill, we have a whole bunch of equipment on them and you have your computer person, you have your safety person, you might have another one taking like we have like other different charts that they like point at and you can't do all those roles at once, but understanding what each of those persons are doing and staying, it's almost like staying in your lane. You gotta stay in your lane oh yes, certainly that was.
Speaker 2:That was great. Actually it's a great. It's the same thing for soccer.
Speaker 2:You know, you shift like the ball gets passed to one side everyone shifts the second, one person doesn't shift, or one person like it's like a little bit complacent or like lazy or whatever. Yeah, no one's lazy, whatever, um, you know. Second, someone slips up like the whole thing's broken down and that's how goals are scored. That's exactly how, um, and I think it goes for, like, like you said, the professional life is the same way, like um, knowing your role and not like overstepping. I think I had that problem when I was like a security director, because our assistant security director at um, the concert venues I worked at, as it was really hard for for me to go from that supervisory role to like a management role, because I wanted to do everything, because I knew wanted to do everything, because I knew how to do everything, so I knew how to do it quicker managing people is a it's a skill in itself.
Speaker 1:I'm yeah like coordinating and project management. It's yeah it was.
Speaker 2:I mean, it was so different. It was like I would go and I and I found myself being exhausted because I would do my job as a manager and then also do the 15 other jobs in the venue, because I was like I can do it better, like, and it's like, all right, I gotta take a step back. I gotta trust that my people will do what they need to do.
Speaker 2:100 and trust is huge and it's in a sport team too you gotta trust the person next to you is going to do their job so that we can be productive and we can save energy and we can win games like that's how you win games is by trusting the people around you it's just.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think was it bill belichick.
Speaker 2:He's like do your I don't know do your job do your job so that other people can do theirs, or something like that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah just just do your job, if everyone, just I. I don't know who gave me this advice, or maybe it was an advice I heard, but it's like if everyone does their job, you might actually look like a team that's you way, way more likely to win games and at the end of the day, and to to bring it, to bring it full circle with like a role player.
Speaker 1:Role player like, just when you get called upon, do your job to the best of your ability. And sometimes that can be a lot of pressure, like in softball. If you're a pinch hitter and you get called in to go, the only reason you're getting called in to go pinch it is because they think you can, you know, make something happen. Like I was a slapper, so I just got on base. I'm not hitting home runs, but they believe okay, in this situation, meaning you can get on base. Or they're calling you in because they know they need a run, which will usually be at the, the lower end, where, like it's you know, the second to last inning, zero, zero ball game, and you just have to kind of embrace that role and really just just relish it yeah and oh yeah.
Speaker 2:The pressure of that must be crazy.
Speaker 1:I can't imagine like oh but yeah, it's not like that.
Speaker 2:They don't be like like you go win the game. I mean sometimes goalies. They'll be like oh go, be like the PK goalkeeper. Like could it be me? Oh my gosh, I can't even imagine the stress if you were just a PK goalkeeper. Like what Props to them. Because I can't even think about that. I'm like good thing, I'm not a goalkeeper. But that, even think about that.
Speaker 1:I'm like good thing, I'm not a goalkeeper but that's like true, like the pressure of that must be, like really it definitely it can be, and it's just kind of like just switching it off. It's like all right, great, you put me in, and then they don't put you in.
Speaker 2:I'd be like, is that what you did?
Speaker 1:like you just like talk yourself, like it's just not that, like it's just something like it was really down, so a lot of people wouldn't believe me I it was actually so we were. We were at around. This reminds me of a memory. So we were at a round table, um, uh, at DePaul, and we would go around, uh, and one of the questions was we were like really into mindfulness. I think it was like our second year. I think our coach like really got into mindfulness, which I completely agree with. I think it it's awesome, and we went around saying, like what is our thought process in the um, like when we go up at bat, and it's actually super interesting because so many have people have. Some people are more like I'm gonna do this for the team, I'm gonna hype myself up. Some people are like oh well, like are more like kind of mellow, and my dad actually was.
Speaker 1:He knew when I was thinking he would literally see the film and be like I knew you were overthinking that at bat and he always said and even um, my batting coach, coach boostos, she's like awesome, just awesome person, um, have a plan. So I just simplified it to like okay, in sla you can do a lot of different things. You can bun, you can do what they call like a chop slap, where you basically bounce it, or you can do what they call hard slap, so you do kind of a liner. Basically, I'm just trying to hit the ball and get on base for them to hit me in. So I just made it that simple. I'm like'm gonna put the ball here. So I told when they came to me I'm like I'm not really, I'm like I'm just thinking of where I'm putting the ball. I just remember the reaction was just kind of like quiet. I feel like people didn't believe me. I'm like it's, it's, it's that's some, it's it's not, it's not that deep man.
Speaker 2:Elena, this is an awesome conversation yeah, no, I think it's been good. I mean, we talked about like you know roles and like embracing that sort of thing and like knowing you know who we are, um, and that like we all have a role to play in sports, and it's not necessarily what you probably thought going into like being a college athlete, but like just embracing that specific role that you have, whether it be know in the sports realm or professional realm.
Speaker 1:Embracing your role, embracing Mudita and never be satisfied.
