"You Can Sleep on the Plane"
"You Can Sleep on the Plane"
By Nic Nelson - Head Softball Coach - Lake Land College
If you have never been to St George, Utah, then you are missing out on some of the most gorgeous landscapes you can ever imagine. With high deserts, mountains, canyons and unbelievable rock formations, it’s just a great place to explore. On one of our trips to the NJCAA D1 National softball tournaments, I decided to reward our players by taking them on a side trip to the Grand Canyon. Of the 22 players, coaches and the bus driver (Captain Jeff as the girls called him), I was the only one who had ever seen it. At 9:00 am the day after we finished playing in the tournament, we loaded the bus up and headed off to the Grand Canyon.
I was sitting in the front seat talking with Captain Jeff, admiring all the great scenery. About an hour into the trip I looked back and noticed that all my players, but two were asleep. “Are you kidding me?” Here we are in one of the most beautiful places in the world and all my kids are sleeping. I told Captain Jeff to pull over at the next rest stop, because everybody needed a bathroom break. Now keep in mind, it was high desert, early in the morning, in the middle of May, so it was a little bit cold. Therefore, the purpose was not to go to the bathroom, but to get them off the bus and wake them up, so they could experience something they had never seen before and may never see again. As they were rubbing their eyes walking off the bus, they were in awe of the view. When we got back on the bus I asked them how many of them had ever been there before and of course none of them ever had. I asked them how many of their parents have ever been there before and only a couple raised their hands. Shoot, Captain Jeff, our bus driver who has been everywhere and my two players from California had never been there before. So, I told them they should take the opportunity to see the sights because they may never get out there again.
One of the great things about my job is watching the excitement of my players as they experience doing and seeing things for the first time. Wow, it was so cool to see my player's eyes and reaction to the first time they saw the awesome sights on the Grand Canyon. Once we got to the North Rim they were ready and looking forward to the new adventure. For the next four next hours we all explored, took some great photos and made a lifetime of memories. The whole idea of college is experience and discovery, and they were given an opportunity to experience and see something that a whole lot of people have not nor will ever get a chance to. None of this would have been possible if it were not for their success in softball.
In my recruiting emails to potential LLC softball athletes, I talk about the qualities I look for in softball players. One of those qualities, and it's a big one for me, is that the player has a quest for knowledge and discovery. Every good softball athlete I have ever coached has had this quality. These athletes always ask questions, looking for whatever they can do to be better, absorbing anything they can learn, wanting to be better, never being satisfied and always wanting more.On my team that year was All-American outfielder, Michele Glenn, and Kimberlin Wallace, who was named the Defensive Player of the National Tournament. Any given day you could find them on their own hitting balls off the tee or having others hit balls to them. In practice they wanted balls that would challenge them to be better. In pre-game warm-ups they would want to make great diving catches. They were constantly working to improve themselves. Both Michele and Kimberlin had that quest for knowledge and discovery and, by the way, they were the two not sleeping on the bus. I have found that some of my best players are the ones just not sitting around the apartment but out looking for the next great adventure.
This fall we were headed to Carbondale, IL to play Southern Illinois University in one of our fall scrimmage games. Sitting as my co-pilot for the trip was shortstop Katie Watson from Louisville, Ky. Now let me start by saying nobody wants to be my co-pilot, because the co-pilot has the responsibility to do whatever I need done. You're also the DJ for the trip in charge of keeping everybody happy with whatever songs they want played. Plus, you don't get a chance to sleep. As co-pilots go, Katie, I must say is not too bad. What I really like about Katie is she is always asking questions and she is good at it, because usually the questions are about me and what I like or have done (Yes that’s called brown nosing but Katie knows who writes the line-up.). Anyway she wanted to know where I came up with the phrase "just living life" which is a phrase I use when people ask me "Whatcha doing or what’s going on". I told her it came from a time when I was in Havana, Cuba at an outdoor restaurant in Old Havana. Sitting at the restaurant I was just watching people, something we all like to do. People were walking and moving everywhere so I asked my interpreter, Scott, what he thought all these people were doing. He responded "just living life" a statement that has always stuck with me. Then Katie started asking about overseas trips I had taken softball and baseball teams on. Over the years, my good friend Eric Ostling and I would organize softball and baseball teams and take them to play in countries like Australia, Cuba, Japan, Canada, and England, as well as the state of Hawaii. We would tell people that softball and baseball were not the reasons for trips, but were a vehicle to discovery, exploring and learning new cultures. With players, families, and people who just wanted to tag along, these trips usually had 80 to 90 people on them. What people liked about our trips is that they were very well organized and packed full with a lot of things do to and see. Every time we went to Australia we would take one day and go to the beach for surfing lessons. Talk about an experience! In Australia surfing on the Great Barrier Reef, life doesn't get any better for a high school softball or baseball player. On the bus on the way to the beach I was sitting next to one of our softball player's dads who was talking to me about how much he was enjoying the trip. He was enjoying the trip because we were doing and seeing a lot, but was complaining there was little time to sleep. I asked him “How often are you in Australia? See and do everything you can because you can sleep on the plane.”
I asked Katie to look at the back of the van and tell me what she saw. She said, that everybody was asleep, except for Emily Bishop who was studying (that’s why she’s a 4.0 student). That's my point; they are sleeping through life. What if all of a sudden a T. Rex jumped from the trees and ran across the road in front of us. They would miss it and the chance to be able to tell their grandkids of the time they saw a T. Rex run across the road. She looked at me like I was strange and laughed, but she got the point. We never know when the next great experience is going to happen that might excite or move us. Some of our best experiences just happen, because we are in the right place at the right time. The ball hit just the right distance for a great diving catch, a grand slam in the bottom of the seventh to win a game. So, why would we take the chance and miss it? Later that day between games I asked her what she was doing she replied, "Looking for the T. Rex, coach," This is the new saying on our team now.
Researchers who figure these kinds of things will tell you that your average lifetime is 79.5 years and that in that lifetime you spend 26.5 year sleeping. My players and assistant coaches will tell you that I really don't sleep much. I go to bed around midnight to one a.m. every night and get up around 6 every day. Most of this comes from habit, but I have always liked getting up early to see what the next day has to bring. I remember one time I couldn't sleep, so I got up at 4:30 a.m. and went into the office. When Stacy Birk, my assistant at the time got to the office there was a long list of items for her to do. After reading the list she told me to sleep in longer the next day. In the book 'The Time Keeper' by Mitch Albom, he tells a fictional story of Father Time as he sees him. At one point in the book God tells the old man there is a reason he limits your time on earth. The old man asked what the reason was, in which God said "to make each day precious". As you read the book you start to think how you spend your time on earth. Mr. Albom tells you that you can live 100 years and do very little or nothing from others or live 33 years and have a big impact on the whole world depending on how you choose your time.
As I said earlier, I believe some of our greatest experiences just happen, right place at the right time. But I also believe we can increase the odds of being in the right place at the right time. I know if you never venture out of your apartment the chance of those things happening are really low. But if you get out to practice and look for a new adventure you increase those chances to make that awesome diving catch, to save the game, hit the walk off grand slam, or see a T. Rex running across the road. As the author Mitch Albom says, how we spend our time is up to us. Athletes of all sports spend years working towards the ultimate goal of receiving a college athletic scholarship. Once they get it I find that some don't truly appreciate or understand what they have just earned. The college athletic scholarship is an opportunity to learn, discover, explore and gain new and exciting experiences. Athletes on scholarships are getting something that a lot of students have to work two jobs to get and yet scholarship athletes are getting paid to do something they love to do. Every January 15th, I mail a letter along with our National letters of Intent to our new recruits. In the letter I say, "Where you choose to attend and play college softball is also where you choose to make some of your greatest memories and new life time friends." Just ask any past college softball player to tell you some story that happened to them and I bet it will involve a time when they were in college and their college softball team. How you choose your time is up to you. You can chose just to sleep through it or live it. The choice is yours but remember, “You can sleep on the plane.”
"You Can Sleep on the Plane"
By Nic Nelson - Head Softball Coach - Lake Land College
If you have never been to St George, Utah, then you are missing out on some of the most gorgeous landscapes you can ever imagine. With high deserts, mountains, canyons and unbelievable rock formations, it’s just a great place to explore. On one of our trips to the NJCAA D1 National softball tournaments, I decided to reward our players by taking them on a side trip to the Grand Canyon. Of the 22 players, coaches and the bus driver (Captain Jeff as the girls called him), I was the only one who had ever seen it. At 9:00 am the day after we finished playing in the tournament, we loaded the bus up and headed off to the Grand Canyon.
I was sitting in the front seat talking with Captain Jeff, admiring all the great scenery. About an hour into the trip I looked back and noticed that all my players, but two were asleep. “Are you kidding me?” Here we are in one of the most beautiful places in the world and all my kids are sleeping. I told Captain Jeff to pull over at the next rest stop, because everybody needed a bathroom break. Now keep in mind, it was high desert, early in the morning, in the middle of May, so it was a little bit cold. Therefore, the purpose was not to go to the bathroom, but to get them off the bus and wake them up, so they could experience something they had never seen before and may never see again. As they were rubbing their eyes walking off the bus, they were in awe of the view. When we got back on the bus I asked them how many of them had ever been there before and of course none of them ever had. I asked them how many of their parents have ever been there before and only a couple raised their hands. Shoot, Captain Jeff, our bus driver who has been everywhere and my two players from California had never been there before. So, I told them they should take the opportunity to see the sights because they may never get out there again.
One of the great things about my job is watching the excitement of my players as they experience doing and seeing things for the first time. Wow, it was so cool to see my player's eyes and reaction to the first time they saw the awesome sights on the Grand Canyon. Once we got to the North Rim they were ready and looking forward to the new adventure. For the next four next hours we all explored, took some great photos and made a lifetime of memories. The whole idea of college is experience and discovery, and they were given an opportunity to experience and see something that a whole lot of people have not nor will ever get a chance to. None of this would have been possible if it were not for their success in softball.
In my recruiting emails to potential LLC softball athletes, I talk about the qualities I look for in softball players. One of those qualities, and it's a big one for me, is that the player has a quest for knowledge and discovery. Every good softball athlete I have ever coached has had this quality. These athletes always ask questions, looking for whatever they can do to be better, absorbing anything they can learn, wanting to be better, never being satisfied and always wanting more.On my team that year was All-American outfielder, Michele Glenn, and Kimberlin Wallace, who was named the Defensive Player of the National Tournament. Any given day you could find them on their own hitting balls off the tee or having others hit balls to them. In practice they wanted balls that would challenge them to be better. In pre-game warm-ups they would want to make great diving catches. They were constantly working to improve themselves. Both Michele and Kimberlin had that quest for knowledge and discovery and, by the way, they were the two not sleeping on the bus. I have found that some of my best players are the ones just not sitting around the apartment but out looking for the next great adventure.
This fall we were headed to Carbondale, IL to play Southern Illinois University in one of our fall scrimmage games. Sitting as my co-pilot for the trip was shortstop Katie Watson from Louisville, Ky. Now let me start by saying nobody wants to be my co-pilot, because the co-pilot has the responsibility to do whatever I need done. You're also the DJ for the trip in charge of keeping everybody happy with whatever songs they want played. Plus, you don't get a chance to sleep. As co-pilots go, Katie, I must say is not too bad. What I really like about Katie is she is always asking questions and she is good at it, because usually the questions are about me and what I like or have done (Yes that’s called brown nosing but Katie knows who writes the line-up.). Anyway she wanted to know where I came up with the phrase "just living life" which is a phrase I use when people ask me "Whatcha doing or what’s going on". I told her it came from a time when I was in Havana, Cuba at an outdoor restaurant in Old Havana. Sitting at the restaurant I was just watching people, something we all like to do. People were walking and moving everywhere so I asked my interpreter, Scott, what he thought all these people were doing. He responded "just living life" a statement that has always stuck with me. Then Katie started asking about overseas trips I had taken softball and baseball teams on. Over the years, my good friend Eric Ostling and I would organize softball and baseball teams and take them to play in countries like Australia, Cuba, Japan, Canada, and England, as well as the state of Hawaii. We would tell people that softball and baseball were not the reasons for trips, but were a vehicle to discovery, exploring and learning new cultures. With players, families, and people who just wanted to tag along, these trips usually had 80 to 90 people on them. What people liked about our trips is that they were very well organized and packed full with a lot of things do to and see. Every time we went to Australia we would take one day and go to the beach for surfing lessons. Talk about an experience! In Australia surfing on the Great Barrier Reef, life doesn't get any better for a high school softball or baseball player. On the bus on the way to the beach I was sitting next to one of our softball player's dads who was talking to me about how much he was enjoying the trip. He was enjoying the trip because we were doing and seeing a lot, but was complaining there was little time to sleep. I asked him “How often are you in Australia? See and do everything you can because you can sleep on the plane.”
I asked Katie to look at the back of the van and tell me what she saw. She said, that everybody was asleep, except for Emily Bishop who was studying (that’s why she’s a 4.0 student). That's my point; they are sleeping through life. What if all of a sudden a T. Rex jumped from the trees and ran across the road in front of us. They would miss it and the chance to be able to tell their grandkids of the time they saw a T. Rex run across the road. She looked at me like I was strange and laughed, but she got the point. We never know when the next great experience is going to happen that might excite or move us. Some of our best experiences just happen, because we are in the right place at the right time. The ball hit just the right distance for a great diving catch, a grand slam in the bottom of the seventh to win a game. So, why would we take the chance and miss it? Later that day between games I asked her what she was doing she replied, "Looking for the T. Rex, coach," This is the new saying on our team now.
Researchers who figure these kinds of things will tell you that your average lifetime is 79.5 years and that in that lifetime you spend 26.5 year sleeping. My players and assistant coaches will tell you that I really don't sleep much. I go to bed around midnight to one a.m. every night and get up around 6 every day. Most of this comes from habit, but I have always liked getting up early to see what the next day has to bring. I remember one time I couldn't sleep, so I got up at 4:30 a.m. and went into the office. When Stacy Birk, my assistant at the time got to the office there was a long list of items for her to do. After reading the list she told me to sleep in longer the next day. In the book 'The Time Keeper' by Mitch Albom, he tells a fictional story of Father Time as he sees him. At one point in the book God tells the old man there is a reason he limits your time on earth. The old man asked what the reason was, in which God said "to make each day precious". As you read the book you start to think how you spend your time on earth. Mr. Albom tells you that you can live 100 years and do very little or nothing from others or live 33 years and have a big impact on the whole world depending on how you choose your time.
As I said earlier, I believe some of our greatest experiences just happen, right place at the right time. But I also believe we can increase the odds of being in the right place at the right time. I know if you never venture out of your apartment the chance of those things happening are really low. But if you get out to practice and look for a new adventure you increase those chances to make that awesome diving catch, to save the game, hit the walk off grand slam, or see a T. Rex running across the road. As the author Mitch Albom says, how we spend our time is up to us. Athletes of all sports spend years working towards the ultimate goal of receiving a college athletic scholarship. Once they get it I find that some don't truly appreciate or understand what they have just earned. The college athletic scholarship is an opportunity to learn, discover, explore and gain new and exciting experiences. Athletes on scholarships are getting something that a lot of students have to work two jobs to get and yet scholarship athletes are getting paid to do something they love to do. Every January 15th, I mail a letter along with our National letters of Intent to our new recruits. In the letter I say, "Where you choose to attend and play college softball is also where you choose to make some of your greatest memories and new life time friends." Just ask any past college softball player to tell you some story that happened to them and I bet it will involve a time when they were in college and their college softball team. How you choose your time is up to you. You can chose just to sleep through it or live it. The choice is yours but remember, “You can sleep on the plane.”
