Player's Perspective: Playing with Confidence

This is a player's perspective entry by McKenzie Hamacher. I asked her to consider the following questions and write a response from her perspective:

What gives you confidence when you are in a game?

What gives me confidence in the game is all the hard work and hours I spend in the off-season preparing myself for the upcoming season. Knowing that I have done this gives me the confidence and desire to be the best that I can be. Also, the support of my teammates and positive atmosphere of the crowd/coaches gives me extra support.

What type of demeanor do you try to have when you are on the field in order to keep yourself and your team positive and confident?

I always try to keep calm, positive, and have a confident demeanor during the game, even when things are not going my way. For example, whenever the umpires aren’t making the calls that I want I try to stay positive and adjust my game and attitude. Don’t wear your emotions on your sleeve as it will filter into your game performance. One bad attitude on the field can tear a team apart in no time.

When you make a mistake during the game, how do you put it behind you so that it does not affect the rest of your game?

I always try to learn from my mistakes. During a game whenever I make an error/throw a bad pitch -- I have to move on and stay positive so that the next play/pitch can be successful. I never really put the mistake behind me, I just put it out of my mind until after the game where I can work on the problem and hopefully correct it. I feel that one mistake isn’t going to ruin a whole game, and you have to rely on the rest of your teammates to be supportive. You need to learn from your mistakes but don’t let it affect your game.

I think if we “all” work hard this season, stay focused on our goals and
find confidence in our game -- we will be successful in 2008! Go Helias
softball!!!

-McKenzie Hamacher