I’m about to get REAL with you and let loose some topics that I’ve only really ever shared with ONE other person. I uncover some of the dirt I had to deal with mentally in my beginning time of starting Winning Softball. The truth of the matter is that now I use many of my doubts to get across a different message to a lot of my followers that I hope resonates with them and can be applied in their lives to help them gain confidence and reach their dreams. I use these doubts to make my message unique and to show that not everyone’s lives are picture perfect. You can reach all of your dreams even if you are a transfer, live in a state that snows 5 months out of the year, go to a small college, aren’t a world renown softball player and do not have a bunch of people working for you. I would love to say that I have completely overcome all of these doubts, and in a large part I have, but every now and then in a weak moment they can creep back in!! Ok..Let’s get into it…

DOUBT #1- I’M NOT FROM A HIGH PROFILE SOFTBALL STATE- Let’s face it. I don’t exactly come from California, Florida, Texas or any of the other high profile softball states. I come from a snow globe part of the USA called Buffalo, New York. To be honest, the weather is actually not as bad as people make it out to be, but In the beginning stages of starting Winning Softball I was nervous for people to find out where I was from for fear that they might not find credibility in my information. I hope that this is not taken in the wrong way. Our area has produced Olympian softball players, professional softball players and many NCAA collegiate coaches. I believe that there are excellent, top notch instructors in the area I live, but I am not sure if everyone realizes this. I realize that this opinion seems unfounded and a little silly now but it is one of the voices of doubt that clouded my thinking but the mind goes to crazy places when you put yourself out there.

DOUBT #2 -IM NOT QUALIFIED ENOUGH- It takes a lot of guts to start a page like Winning Softball. Yes, I might be helping some softball players, but there are always those people who become jealous of the things that we do or are too busy finding things wrong with other people rather than taking a look in the mirror. I know that I do not know everything in the world about softball. Actually, I pride myself in being a student of the game. I always want to learn new things about the sport. It’s what keeps the sport dynamic and prevents it from getting boring. It took a lot of personal development to gain the confidence to start a page like Winning Softball. You are in a vulnerable position where you lay your knowledge and beliefs out there for the world to see. It is interesting because I do not get a whole lot of criticism in regards to Winning Softball, but when I do, it is crushing. I could get 100 positive comments for every negative comment, but those negative comments seem to hit home. It is almost as if I feel like all of my insecurities have come to life with those piercing words and because this one person thinks that maybe everyone thinks the same thing. I have realized, however that certain criticisms can be used to help me and others are just made because people have too much time on their hands. Winning Softball was made to help softball players that do not have access to good softball instruction or to help players who are students of the game. If I can help just one person, I have done a great job.

DOUBT #3 - I DID NOT GO TO A LARGE COLLEGE- Make no mistake, I am so stinking proud of the college that I attended. We were a small school division 1 team that was the best team in our league each of the years I was there and made it to the NCAA tournament and were a top team in the country. We had the best team in program history when I played for Canisius. I  became an all-conference & all East Coast region player and I became a ESPN Academic All-American my senior year. I would have never been able to achieve these things if our team wasn’t as good as they were. I am so proud of the athletic career I had in college and believe our team could compete on the same level as any other team, but that’s not what everyone else knows because they probably have never even heard of the college, let alone know how to pronounce it. I began to believe the lie that if I didn’t come from a BIG top 10 college that people might discount what I had to say. The whole reason I started Winning Softball was to be a resource to those who needed help. I began to realize that these athletes can relate to my situation. Those that are from small towns are go to smaller schools might find inspiration form my story and realize that their dreams can also come true if they work hard at it.

DOUBT #4 —PEOPLE WILL JUDGE ME BECAUSE I TRANSFERRED COLLEGES AFTER MY FRESHMAN YEAR- This is something that I RARELY speak about to anyone. Over the years I have heard judgements about people criticizing others for transferring and sometimes it comes with a stigma that might not be true for the individual. Listen, people do not go into college thinking they will transfer. At the time of the transfer, it can be a scary and uncertain time. Some people believe that athletes who have transferred to a different college must have done so because they did not get what they wanted in regards to their athletic careers or that they must not have measured up to the college they went to. The truth is, that is not the case for everyone. There can be many different reasons that a person might transfer to a different college and it is often more complicated than a person might realize. I am so very thankful for each of my collegiate athletic experiences and believe that I was supposed to be at both of these schools for a reason. I believe both places have shaped me into the person I am and if I had to do it all over again, I do not think I would change a thing.

DOUBT #5 -THE QUALITY OF MY VIDEOS DO NOT MEASURE UP TO OTHERS- I post videos daily on social media and release free content on a regular basis. Often times I feel as though my work is not good enough to be published. I’m not a professional videographer and I am not the most well spoken individual. I make mistakes and switch up what I was trying to say in the captions.. I do not know everything there is to know about editing videos and rarely produce quality sound on them. I apologize if you have ever experienced one of my low quality films, but I just have to say that I’ve come to terms with the mindset that being done with a video is better than perfection. Getting the content out into the real world is better than never getting it out at all. I know a lot of people who have very quality videos, but they also have much more time on their hands or a full crew working for them. I do not have these things…yet :)

So there they are…these doubts are the things that make me real and different. I believe that I can help the softball world despite these doubts. I represent those of you who are fighting the odds stacked against you reaching your own personal goals. If I can help just one or two other people in their life or in softball, it is all worth it. I have knowledge, passion, excellent work ethic, experience and confidence to know that I can help those that are looking to better themselves in life and in softball. So although I may not have been an Olympian, come from a softball state, gone to a top 10 college or have the best quality videos, I can still make a difference  and reach the world with my message. I will keep on inspiring and helping small town girls with big time dreams.