Softball Quotations | Page 2

Never in my 20 years of coaching this sport have I had one player - let alone two - taken from a field via ambulance. The most painful, emotional night in my softball life.

Nice Sunday afternoon softball game, where everybody got to play.

One of the goals we always set is to improve from the beginning of the season to the end. Lawrence Central softball has never won a sectional title, so that's one of our goals.

Baseball deserves to be in the Olympic Games. I think there's some reorganization that needs to be done internationally and domestically. But softball is and was ready to be in the Olympic Games.

Because she sees a lot of pitches, she can communicate that with the rest of batters. She loves to play the game of softball and that has rubbed off on her teammates.

I have been around this game for a long time. I have watched a number of talented softball players, but to me, Katie is becoming one of the best in South Florida. She is that good.

Growing up, softball was always my second sport. I decided at the last second to play.

Growing up, I watched softball and U.S.A .softball, and that was my goal of being able to represent my country and wear the red, white, and blue out there, and I think it is one of the highest honors to be able to go out there and compete for your country, and it was something so very special, and it was everything I dreamt of and more.

From top to bottom, one through 12, our kids are very talented. We have 12 softball players, which is a nice feeling. A lot of them have played together on Perry's summer league (Northern Illinois Thunder) team.

I entered swimming this year, ... Bill and I used to spend some of our time in Green Valley, Ariz. When we lived in our winter home in Arizona, I did track and field, swimming, and softball throw. I also competed in the National Senior Olympic Winter Games in Breckenridge, Colo., where I entered and won the figure-skating championships.

He has a great softball mind. He's also very community-minded.

he had heard from several IOC members who said they were confused at the time of the voting, believing softball was merely an extension of baseball, and now regretted their vote.

having done very well in the last 10 years in developing softball not only in the international level but also in the national level.

We're optimistic it will be voted in Turin, and baseball and softball will be reinstated, ... We were encouraged.

Hockey is hot again. February is off to a good start, too. And we haven't even really got into baseball, softball and golf sales yet.

I was just answering the phones, and the gentleman on the other end wanted to know when softball season was going to start. It was the fall, and he had a couple seasons to go. I told him what I knew about it, and he wanted to know where he could get the information. Then he told me he was calling from overseas.

It a privilege and an honor to be invited with so many great players around the country right now. We have all put in a lot of hard work and to be recognized by USA Softball is special. I was not expecting this, but the opportunity to play with Desiree one more time after my college career. The chance to play with her again this summer in Taiwan at the World University Games would be incredible.

I think it scares a couple of us. We were around when softball was made an Olympic sport, and we were so happy. It's just something you've always got to worry about.

It is great to play softball down here. I don't mind the drive. It's a great bunch of guys.

I was devastated, obviously. I was very disappointed. There is not much more we can do right now but strategize and try to fight to get softball back into the games.

I thought the worst of the worst. And you don't think it selfishly. I just know how important softball is to Brittany and after missing last season, I knew how painful it would be for her.

I think we needed this practice to relax. We were putting too much pressure on ourselves and this will help to remind us how fun softball is supposed to be.

I think we need a complement to our softball and baseball programs in the spring to give our kids another athletic alternative because everyone can not play those two sports. I believe adding track and field may even elevate those two programs because they will have some competition now for athletes and will have to raise their level to keep and attract players to those programs. I think that is healthy competition.

Lauren has really burst on the scene in the county. I've been around fast-pitch softball for a long time, and I haven't seen a freshman come in and do what she's doing this fast.

I think they doggoned whipped our butt, ... They have players who can play in this league. That quarterback (Jon Grant) played lights out. One throw he looked like a women's softball pitcher (passing underhanded) and he hit it. We have to deal with the why and be mature about it. This is where we're at.

Jessica is the true example of a Virginia student-athlete. Her passion and love for the University of Virginia and the softball program is unmatched. Her leadership will be greatly missed when she leaves.

Jamie is the epitome of what the award means. She is at the top academically, athletically and, in the community, has represented herself and her institution with great pride. I am very proud of Jamie for this honor and congratulate her for such perseverance and dedication to her career as a softball player and teacher.

Lara Ford pitched a decent game; she still walked too many but came up with the big out when she had to have it. That's the first time we've beaten Advance in softball in quite a while. If we can cut our walks down to five or six a game, we'll be pretty good.

I think Ed and I made a good team because he wasn't a yes man for me and I wasn't a yes man for him. If I did something that he didn't agree with, he'd tell me. Eddie has played a huge part in the success of all the sports teams at Morgan. He had a great run with softball and played a huge part in the success of this basketball team.

I saw someone on the overpass and as we went under and came out, something yellow, kind of like two times the size of a softball . . . I just saw it in a flash . . . came and just crashed into the windshield.

People are moving here and they're getting involved in the community. Their kids are playing baseball and softball and taking advantage of the recreation activities.

Our goals are always the same: Play in the last game of the year. We're young but we have a lot of potential. If we stay healthy and eliminate mistakes we'll be a very good softball team by the end of the season.

Our team is way too good to be having two or three errors in a game. We should have just three or four for an entire tournament. Our goal is always to play errorless softball and I'm hoping that the things we did this week in practice will make that happen.

Our numbers are such at the middle school that there probably will not be a middle school girls softball team. And that's hurting our numbers at the high school.

People in Hawaii have a built-in twinkle in their eye, and bring a sense of play and ohana to their work. When you leave work for the weekend in Boise, Idaho or Delaware, Maryland, you don't see your coworkers again until Monday -- that's not true of Hawaii, which has the most bowling and softball leagues of any state in the union.

My sister and I would always be playing softball and I appreciate everything I have learned from her. And my brother and I would always be playing each other on the basketball court. I could beat him until he grew too tall for me to guard.

The point of the game is not how well the individual does, but whether the team wins. That's the beautiful heart of the game, the blending of personalities, the mutual sacrifices for the group success.

The ($500,000) would be nearly equivalent to our baseball budget or our softball budget. That's how big a deal this would be.

The ASA Major Championship is the pinnacle of women's major softball during the summer. I'm really proud of all the players that contributed to that team.

Most of our girls are accustomed to playing several games in a short time frame. As a coach and as a team, you want to play games. Plus, you might see a different brand of softball than you are accustomed to playing, and that can be beneficial as well.

We really believe our Illinois softball team can beat anyone on any given day. We do know, however, that we have to be playing good softball to do that.

We provide a lot of softball equipment and technical assistance to China and we are also sending coaches. It is very important to get young people interested in it.

We played a very good softball team today. And I think we'll learn a lot from this game.

While Ashley is a quality shortstop, she can also play second, third and even first if needed. That is the kind of softball player you want on your team. She is also a first class student and person as well.

We even have some of the boys peeking over the fence watching our games. That did not used to happen. We kind of got their attention. Everybody knows about the baseball program. We're trying to establish that respect for our softball program. Support has been tremendous. What's neat is that some kids are stopping me in the hall and telling me they are coming out for softball next year.

We played solid softball this weekend in all phases of the game. We couldn't have had a better tournament.

We have been working really hard since the first day of school. We are just ready to go out on the field, win some softball games and be very competitive.

We're very proud of these two young ladies, not what they do just on the field, but also they're great people off the field. Coach Phillips is getting two quality people to play softball for him. We want to thank him for most definitely picking up two of the best pitchers in the state of Arkansas.

We have a very young team. Only four players have softball experience. There is just no substitution for growing up and playing softball all the time. It will hurt us.

The one thing with this team is that they are a team. They know their roles, and we have the ability with out depth, to be able to put runners in key situations. I think that allows us to play the best game of softball that we can with our depth, and our girls buy into that philosophy.

You look at their numbers and you'd think we were in a softball league when it's over.

You look at their numbers and you'd think we were in a softball league. They have some young guys who can swing the bat. We fattened up some averages, that's for sure.

We were able to put a few hits together for a few runs there late. But we could've scored more earlier had we been focused the way a high school softball team needs to be.

I'd rather have more heart than talent any day.

My advice is that going to the Olympics and winning a gold medal are great goals, but the real goal should be to be the best that you can be.

You don't have to win to be a winner. If you give 100 percent, getting yourself mentally and physically prepared to play the game, if you look in the mirror and can say you give it everything to win, that's it. You're not going to win every time.

A tie is like kissing your sister.

Everyone wants to win, but I think winners believe they deserve to win. They've made the commitment, they've followed the right path, and they've taken the right steps to be successful.

What you do when no one else is looking will determine how good you'll be.

Today is a new day. Even if you were wrong yesterday, you can get it right today.

To be perfectly honest, no knock on my girls, just give all the credit to Lancaster. We haven't figured her out for 14 innings now. We didn't get enough lead-off hits, we didn't get enough girls in scoring position with less than two outs; we just didn't do enough things to win a softball game tonight.

We wanted to get in as much softball as we could before spring break.

Both teams hung in there. I admire River Ridge. They battled and didn't give up. It was a well-played softball game with a lot of defensive plays on both sides.

We all thought it was funny when Caitlin said her off-season training for softball (at Marist) involves a lot of swimming workouts.

Wrestling's on the horizon, ... Soccer's right around the corner. It's a sport that's real popular with younger people and it's relatively inexpensive to operate. It'll take more interest before we can consider fielding softball and baseball teams.

We're taking our lumps. A lot of it is just playing together and being outside. Softball is a game of timing and you can't get that from the Barnett Center.

This year probably wouldn't have been as bad, but my first year here we didn't even get on the track until May (because of the weather). I hear how softball is always changing their schedules. Obviously it's a lot better that we don't have a meet here.

We went from a softball field to a real baseball field. It's a pitcher's ballpark. They can throw with a little confidence now.

We're very glad to have this group on board. I think with the experience they have and the level of softball they have played at, they will be of great benefit to this successful program.

Vicki is a basketball player who's never played softball before. She's really quick, so our goal with her is just get her on base and move her around. Now that she's starting to hit that's really going to be a help.

We think our spring league is the best in the state. Our softball youth just keep getting better and better and better. The athletic growth of these players has been phenomenal and we feel we have been a part of that.

We'd have a lot of trouble going back to the old school now. And everyone will feel great about this after we go through next year. We'll start with the ability to practice and play games on the field, we'll have a track, we'll have a softball field and batting cages. Next year will be even nicer because we'll have everything in place.

We had problems in Athens where people didn't know anything about softball or baseball or fencing. But I don't worry about Vancouver at all.

Bob told me that had he known playing softball would be so much fun, that he would have retired much sooner to enjoy playing the game.

Fast-pitch softball is a pitcher dominated game. You're going to have to be able to handle no-hitters. The team that made the fewest mistakes won.

Every year she has improved physically and as a softball player. This year, however, she has a noticeable desire about her that makes her a better leader, besides what she does offensively and defensively.

The result was very close in both cases, with a difference of only one or two votes. I think we and softball deserve another chance.

There's still a lot of softball to be played. We would like for the tournament to be here but our goal is to qualify for the tournament.

I started school here and all of my friends are here. And I'm already in the softball program.

I've been coaching Marissa in softball since she was about 7 or 8, and she's a very good ball player. I felt this would be a great opportunity to go to Europe and put a finishing touch on her youth career before she goes to college.

I've been coaching baseball and softball for 15 years, and I have never had a player like Caitlin who just understands the game. She understands what it takes to be successful, you can't teach that. You can only hope other kids will feed off that. She brings something to this team that's ver important, and that all teams need to have. She's a special player.

I've never seen anything like it in a girls fast-pitch softball game in my life. Seeing back-to-back in a girls game was amazing. And we had a good first, too. It was wild.

It was an excellent softball game. Becca (Almond) wasn't at her best tonight, but the girls were able to do what they needed to do. We settled down, made our plays. I appreciate the composure our kids showed to get it done.

The softball team played well, then not so well, then got hot again. They got hot at the right time.

The softball gods were with us in the seventh inning.

Sara has battled through adversity and has provided our program with the passion that is needed to play at this level. She has left her mark on the program in the record books and will always be mentioned when people talk about the Virginia softball program.

Offensively, we are playing very solid softball - getting people on, moving them over, and getting the big hits when we need them.

Southern Illinois is a great program with great coaches. They play solid softball. We just have to play our style of softball if we want to win.

And the other thing we do: we periodically have softball games with the band, because they're all baseball nuts that helps to keep the spirit alive.

As a former (boys) tennis and softball coach at Northwest, I can speak to this. There were times I had to dress our student manager in order to have enough to start softball games. While we want people to have opportunity, where are the numbers?

That's what softball is all about - taking advantage of what is given.

That's how softball should be played. Both sides played well. Both pitchers pitched well.

This is great. I'm so excited. We're home and we're playing Mid-Con teams. Life couldn't be better. Softball is so fast-paced and intimate, and people are going to love this team.

They said I had to play softball here so I made the switch. It wasn't difficult to change to an underhand motion. I've always pitched.

A lot of people don?t realize that slow pitch softball has come a long ways. You?ve got to see the competitive levels to realize how far. You have to be on top of your game to compete.

The young girls and the senior girls were all nervous. Softball is 80 percent mental, and the other 20 percent is fundamental.

They are students, and that comes first. What we do is meet for about an hour to maintain team chemistry, have fun and relax. Softball is secondary during that time. We do it this way every year. It's a tradition.

There was really nobody in house that wanted to take it. And instead of advertising outside I decided that I would like to do it. Baseball and softball are my love.

This is their job. They do softball six days a week. My biggest thing I'm trying to do is get them motivated to play. They don't know who Nevada is, they just know they're in America.

This is typical of most Midland College-Howard College softball games. It comes down to execution, who makes the errors and really who wants it. I thought the girls did a really good job and the work we did this week really paid off.