There are two types of comfortable

“There are two types of “comfortable” when you are an athlete. One comes from confidence, the other comes from complacency. Confidence can endure adversity. Complacency crumbles form adversity.” - Rice Baseball Pitching Coach Colter Bostick 
 
 
I couldn’t have thought of a better message to describe the two ways an athlete can go AFTER they commit to their school of choice. We work and work and work for most of our high school lives to be offered a scholarship or a roster spot. What do we decide to do after you’ve earned it?
 
Those who make an active choice to continue to work just as hard after they commit as they did to earn that opportunity earn their confidence. Those who sit back, take their senior year “off”, and show up to fall season unprepared will feel confident, yet are complacent. As soon as they begin to face the adversity that
 
At the end of the day, committing to a school does not guarantee anything. It doesn’t guarantee playing time. It doesn’t guarantee that your new coaches won’t ask you to change how you do things. It doesn’t even guarantee that you’ll be welcome to be part of that team for more than one year. (Did you know that scholarships are renewed on a year-to-year basis? If you’re not holding up your end of the bargain your coach can pull it?)
 
It does not matter how much you prepare to step foot on campus as a freshman, you’re still going to struggle. You’re (probably) away from home for the first time with all new teammates and expectations from your coaching staff for the first time. That’s a whole lot of new in a very small span of time!
 
“Under pressure you don’t rise to the occasion, you sink to the level of your training.”
- Anonymous Navy Seal
 
We can “want to” all we want. You can want to start. You can want to perform well. You can want to be the best player at practice the first day in the fall. Want to is great, but anyone can want something. Anyone can want to be a starting collegiate softball player, but what makes the few who actually are different? It’s the work that they put behind the “want to.”