Choosing the Right Coach or Travel Program Matters

When you’re picking a pitching coach, hitting coach, or travel organization, don’t just look for one success story. Look for a track record of consistently developing athletes and helping them reach the next level.

Anyone can post a highlight. Anyone can luck into one standout player. That doesn’t prove a system works.

If the goal is college softball, real development, and long-term success, ask yourself:

 “Do they have one athlete who made it?”

 “How many have they helped—year after year?”

Because real development leaves a trail: multiple athletes, multiple classes, multiple commitments, multiple levels.

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Look at What Happens in the Lesson

Too many coaches run players through endless drills with minimal instruction:

Drill ➜ Drill ➜ Drill ➜ See you next week.

That’s not development—that’s supervision.

Drills don’t create growth. Feedback does.

Athletes need:

 A clear purpose behind every rep

 Real-time adjustments and corrections

 Individualized teaching, not templates

 A plan built for their body, their movement, and their goals

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And yes—it’s a numbers game. If a coach cycles 3–4 athletes through every hour, they might claim more “successes” just from volume alone. But volume is not development.

I choose the harder road—true 1-on-1 coaching with intentional feedback, accountability, and growth you can measure. Not a factory. Not a conveyor belt.

Because:

 It’s not about how many athletes a coach collects

 It’s about how many athletes a coach can elevate

Track record matters. Feedback matters. Development matters.

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Train Hard. Play Bold. Chase Greatness.

Such a great quote by Jon Gordon!

It just hits home for me and for the families I work with. Sometimes this sport (and life!) can humble you. One minute things are cruising along, things are going great, and then BAM things go bad. It’s continuing to put work in through those valleys, no matter what others say or do to you. I always say it, know your value, know your worth! Keep grinding toward your goals and dreams. The only person who can stop you is you. The last few months have been trying for some of my clients, some have committed to schools, others have hit the portal to find new homes. I’ve been with them and their families every step of the way.

In that time frame, lots of things are happening! I continued my education and became certified in Motor Preference Experts.

What an eye opening experience, as well as a game changer for me in helping my clients work within their specific profile. I’ve already seen some of my clients make some major improvements because of it!

Things have been busy. I’m still grinding, still working on learning, still growing, and still helping people reach their goals!

No matter what anyone says,
just show up and do the work.

If they praise you, show up and do the work.
If they criticize you, show up and do the work.
If no one even notices you,
just show up and do the work.
Just keep showing up, doing the work,
and leading the way.
Lead with passion.
Fuel up with optimism.
Have faith.
Power up with love.
Maintain hope.
Be stubborn.
Fight the good fight.
Refuse to give up.
Ignore the critics.
Believe in the impossible.

Show up.
Do the work.

You’ll be glad you did.

I have has some very meaningful experiences in the last couple of years, and as I have a chance now to reflect on them, it makes me grateful that I was able to catch some of these moments. For years, I have worked hard to continue to learn and grow in the game of softball, as well as my career as an educator. The growth mindset was a game changer for me.

Not just for the students in my classrooms, but for my clients and players as well. Softball is a game of failure, and learning from those failures to get better at what you do. Not only is failure a part of softball, it can also be a part of life. These failures are not what defines you, but merely help you grow! For the longest time, I’ve have lived by the motto of do not let others determine your worth. You determine your worth, and if you want something bad enough, you’ll find away to get it. I also believe that looking at the positive in every situation, is 100x better than looking at the negative. It doesn’t mean we don’t talk about the negative or the failure, but we don’t dwell. I’m sure that most of us go about our day doing 90% of things correctly, but why is it that we focus on the 10% we did wrong.

Apply this to softball, all we remember is what we didn’t do, not what we did right. I’d rather take the high road and talk about the things we did right, build confidence there, continue to grow, and stay positive.

In my opinion your team culture is who you are, it defines you, and it must start at the top. So let me put it to you this way, we want our athletes to bond, encourage, and support other teammates, but we as coaches don’t have to? You are your culture. You want people to open up, then you better open up. You want people to care for others? Then you better care for others, and not only when you have to.

Your players and students are not dumb! They know the fake from the real. Be genuine. It’s ok to let kids/players know you care about them. Do it in a humble way. Don’t make it about you, don’t make it about winning. Make them a part of the process, and the outcome.

Make it about them, always make it about them. Be Grateful that you have this opportunity to work with these amazing student athletes in front of you. YOU ARE THE LUCKY ONE! Not them!

Outstanding clinic this past weekend with Rick and Sarah Pauly, as well as some of the best Paulygirl certified instructors from around the country! The advanced portion of this clinic focused specifically on ceratin areas. We used 4D motion, DK balls, Pocket Radars, and a few other instruments to measure some of the players data.

We used drill sets and some of the data to help these areas for the pitchers in attendance! Awesome clinic, with some amazing results. It’s always an honor to work with my mentor and friend Rick Pauly. Below are some pictures from the weekend!

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Just posting some of the commited athletes I work with or have worked with! More to come as I get to them!

What a great weekend I had last weekend! I had the opportunity to work a pitching clinic in Ft. Wayne, IN with Rick Pauly and several other amazing pitching coaches from around the country. We had pitching coaches from Washington, Utah, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Michigan, West Virginia, and South Carolina.

 

I can’t even begin to tell you how excited and honored I was to be chosen to come! All of the coaches who came in have been working with a group called Fastpitch Foundations. We have been studying under the likes of Rick Pauly, Rich Balswick, and  Mike Muhleisen. We have former All- American and NPF pitchers as well, Anna Nickel, and Lacy Waldrop.

It was a beautiful thing when all the coaches there are teaching what the elite are doing. It was an incredible weekend, with kids from all over, New Jersey, Nashville, West Virginia, Missouri, Pennsylvania, and many other states.

 

I’m excited to continue my journey of learning, and growth!

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Twitter: @Coach_Bolden