Cat Osterman says she doesn’t expect her players to pitch the same way she does, but won’t lower expectations simply because they are pitching for a Division II school. By Graham Hays

A number of events and conversations recently have led me to rack my brain about why many coaches claim “kids just aren’t the same these days.”  I’m quick to blame the technology era. Cell phones, video games, and the like have replaced the days of wall ball, kick ball and home run derby. Even in these silly little games, as kids, we got something out of it. Believe it or not, even though I don’t hit, I learned more about hitting playing home run derby with the boys than anywhere else at a really young age.

Now days, the art of practicing, is becoming lost. When a child lacks entertainment, rarely do you see them out shooting hoops or hitting off a tee. You don’t see buddies out playing catch. I can remember seeing the boys on my street playing catch with each other, whether it was a football or baseball. At least 3 of us had basketball hoops, so often you could find us in a driveway playing 3 on 3 or Horse. It really just isn’t the same.

Many times a parent or instructor will make the comment “you wouldn’t understand, I bet you were always really good.” I can’t talk for 100% of my peers, but I can bet most of us weren’t amazing softball players out of the womb. I know I wasn’t, so when someone tries to credit our status as elite athletes to something that “always was” they are far from the truth. If you ask me to recall my memories, I can recall more about practices growing up than I can games. Why? Practices had a purpose, and they were frequent.

As a college coach, all too often we see teams that just play. You have to play to be seen, so week in and week out they play tournament after tournament. My guess is they get one practice in between tournaments, and if they are lucky all the girls are there. How do you improve as a team if you can’t practice what goes wrong in a game? This is where it differs from when I was growing up. We didn’t play EVERY weekend, we had mid week practices and weekend practices. You have to practice more than once a week for improvement or change.

I truly believe the art of good practices and productive practices both on a team and individual basis is becoming lost. Athletes have to practice. Practice doesn’t make perfect. Practice makes permanent. Perfect practice makes perfect. Those last three sentences are the words of the best softball coach in the country, Mike Candrea.

We’re in a day and age of instant gratification, but sports doesn’t evolve that way. The fun part about sports, the blood sweat and tears that produce improvement, aren’t going to speed up. It seems, in this age, the amount of blood, sweat and tears are decreasing for video games, texting and facebook. I challenge any parent reading this to assess how much time your athlete puts in to improving. Don’t count just going out and swinging 10 times to say she hit. How often do they practice with the purpose to improve at something?

I’m not saying this applies to every young athlete out there, because I have witnessed those die hards who would sleep on the field, only to wake up and start practicing again. Unfortunately, athletes like that are becoming the minorities.

To be good at your sport, you have to put the time. If you ask any of us that have made it to a higher level, we will preach on about our practices both with our team and at home. Lessons are great, but if you don’t practice in between them, what good do they do? No level of success comes without hard work, dedication, and an expectation of excellence. Another quote from Coach Candrea that has stuck with me is, “We strive for perfection in order to reach excellence.”

Practices are the fun part of our life now as professionals. There’s passion and energy to improve and learn from others. It was the same way when we were younger. Practice is where you are tested. Where expectations are set and you start your progression to meet them. Expectations aren’t pressure; they’re a way to measure you’re improvement. Parents, how far can your child go, if there’s no destination near or far set for them? They’ll most likely stay stationary.

As a coach, I hear more parents complain about too high of expectations or how the pressure of expectations is getting to their child. Question for you parents: do you face expectation at work or in real life? Do you think your child learning to deal with it early on might be a benefit. Ask any coach, our concern is not only to make your athletes better players in their respective sport, it’s to make them better people and equip them with things that will roll over to real grown up life!

Coddling of athletes in practice doesn’t help anyone, individual or the team. Practice is where we are pushed to our limits. Why? Because then in a game it seems easy. If you keep a high level of expectations (goals) you have something to CONSTANTLY work towards. Something to ALWAYS be practicing for. Something to compete with yourself and others daily to reach.

I challenge all coaches, parents and athletes alike to take a step back and look to see if you or your little athlete is practicing enough. Is their a purpose behind the practice or is it just going through the motions? What’s your expectation for the day, week, month, year, and eventually you’re career.

And lastly, parents don’t enable your kids’ laziness or accept excuses. In the long run, it doesn’t help them in sports or life. Make them be accountable and responsible for their practice. Help them set goals, push them to achieve them, but enable them to work towards it independently.

I can say from experience, my dad had his ideas of what he thought my career could be, he never voiced those. He just made sure if I were using his time throwing I would be giving 100%, and if I didn’t practice in between lessons, we wouldn’t go to the next one. Simple things like that fumed my work ethic, dedication and love for what I do. While my dad is my number one fan, at the right time, he was also my number one critic. Not because he was angry or upset with me, but because he wanted me to learn and realize what we needed to PRACTICE next.

I could go on and on…  maybe next I’ll blog about purpose or specifically about practicing pitching, as I think that’s a little lost as well, but for now I’ll leave you with an interesting link I found on parents of athletes:

http://www.thepostgame.com/blog/more-family-fun/201202/what-makes-nightmare-sports-parent

I fired myself up to practice…. #8

2012 has been great thus far, and I hope it has for all of you as well. With the new year, spring season has come, which means softball. The Hilltoppers’ season hasn’t started the way we would hope. We currently have a 2-4 record, but have a 4 games in the next three days, so we have the chance to add to the W column!

Coaching isn’t new to me, but it’s always a challenge. Athletes tick just a little bit different, and finding out what motivates them is the biggest piece of the puzzle. I find that I take coaching more personal than I should. Any failure feels like somewhere I didn’t do my job in preparing them, but at the same time I’ve recognized that a lot of the feelings I get as a coach are because we don’t control anything that happens in the game. As a player, you play the game. You are in control. As a coach, you have to take confidence in the fact you’ve given your players all the tools to be successful.

Last night kicked off another career opportunity for me. The Longhorn Network has reached out to allow me to be the color analyst for Longhorn games when I can. When not coaching with the Hilltoppers I get to commentate at UT. It’s an exciting position, and I’m eager to learn and improve.

Rehab is going well. I am able to run again, and lift a little. Throwing is coming along slower than I’d like, but not slower than projected by the doctors, so I’m on pace. The next few weeks should be some big steps.

I wanted to answer some questions for you guys again, so here they are:

Danny Speegle asked: Outside of sports, what is another talent or interest that you would have enjoyed as a career?

Sports have been a major part of my life for as long as I can remember, but when I was younger I enjoyed art a lot. That may be why I still paint from time to time. I believe being an artist or a photographer would be a fun career.

Steve Nick asked: What’s your favorite pizza topping?

If we have to go with traditional toppings, Pepperoni is my absolute favorite. However, my favorite pizza is buffalo chicken pizza, mainly from BJ’s but I get it at Double Daves and Dominos too.

Jim Burton asked: What’s the perfect relaxation day for you?

Most people like to sleep, but I think that’s wasting away the day. I enjoy the outdoors so hiking is fun and relaxing. I enjoy food, so follow that with a great meal somewhere fun. I could also spend a day reading by the pool!

Thanks for reading… #8

So I know I promised this a while ago, but things got a little more hectic than expected, and I refused to take my computer on vacation. But a new year, so a new blog!

Well, my new year has started off quite interesting. I had surgery to remove my first rib in order to relieve my Thoracic Outlet Syndrome. I had a wonderful doctor, Dr. Gregory Pearl, who did such a great job that my pain has been minimal. He has worked on a number of MLB players, and said everything went smoothly. Now, if my muscles would just relax and not freak out because a rib is missing. This procedure should alleviate all the problems that have been creeping up on me the last 2-3 years. I’m glad to know what the cause was, and to know it should be fixed. I can’t wait to get a ball back in my hands.

2012 brings about a chance to get better at a number of things. I agree with a lot of people that resolutions are silly, and you should make changes when you see they need to be changed, but I’m committing myself to a number of things. I want to read more, a book a month is my goal. I want to be committed to a healthier lifestyle. Eating foods that are better for me, using organic foods, and even committing myself to working out year round. I’m also committing myself to being more engaged with the people around me, therefore I am putting down the cell phone and limiting texting and social media. There are a few others, but those are what I feel are the most important.

I also plan to start my Masters in the subject I always intended to get it in. I am going to take the GRE this month, and apply to get my Sports Psychology Masters from none other than the University of Texas. It’s amazing how life takes you back to your original passions. Sorry MBA, you are not for me.

In a month the St Edwards Hilltoppers will begin their season, and I am ecstatic. I cannot wait to see the team that we put on the field, and see how well we compete. Lindsay and I are so excited for this opportunity. If we could start practice tomorrow we would!

I know I said on my facebook I would answer a few questions in my blog, so here it goes:

Danny Speegl asked: Of all the places you have travelled to in your softball adventures, what has been your favorite?

There are two answers to this. Italy and Greece. I loved Italy, but we got to do the most sight seeing there. We went for 3 weeks, and played 5 games, so we had a chance to go visit Pisa, Rome, Venice and Florence. I also turned 21 there, but there was no big crazy birthday bash.

Greece is also included, not because we won the gold there, but because it was absolutely breath taking. Because it was business when we were there, we didn’t get to sight see much. I swear it looks just like when they show it in the movies. We had a 45 min ride to the field every day and I would just start out the window at the bright blue water, and the country. Once I retire, Greece is my first trip!

Hal Harris asked: What would you want to be when you grow up if being an athlete/coach weren’t an option?

This is hard because sports have always been my passion, and I’ve grown up wanting to be a coach because I watched aunts and uncles coach. However, if it weren’t an option, I think I would have been a lawyer. Especially when I was younger, I loved to argue and make my point!
Jeremy Rust: Are you still an Astros fan?

Yes! I love the Astros, and I’m going to have to learn who is actually on our roster now, but I’m not fair weather! I’ve loved them since I was young. I used to get my homework and pitching done so I could watch their games on TV. Of course there will never be days like those of the Killer B’s.

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season. I am going to try to blog more, and actually follow through on that word. I have some topics in mind! In the mean time, keep in touch on my facebook page www.facebook.com/catosterman and on Twitter catosterman.

College season is only a month away, and the summer will be here before we know it! Can’t wait to get back on the field.

Be yourself and love the life you’re living…
#8

I am much better at writing than I am speaking, and today I tried with all my might to convey so many thoughts, but I feel like much is left unsaid. With that, I am going to share the bulk of my Hall of Honor speech, but also my true thoughts and emotions on this amazingly humbling occasion.

I tried to wrack my brain for stories to share during my speech, but I couldn’t come up with just one or two. You’d think after taking 6 years to go through school you would have enough to talk for hours. I can remember specific games or stories off the field with my friends, but nothing I thought symbolized my career at UT. When I discussed it with friends two themes kept popping up:

1. My undying love for the University of Texas and
2. How much I firmly believe my career would not have taken the path it did if I had chose to go anywhere else.

I will forever say I was Coach Clark’s easiest recruit. I decided in 4th grade I wanted to go to UT, but I don’t know if there was any real reason. If I had to guess, a friend of mine wanted to go to A&M, and I just wanted to be difficult or different! Softball wasn’t even in the picture then, so just think how easy a sell UT was once that yellow ball was in the picture! My time on 40 acres was filled with many wins, some losses, ups and downs, but what it game me is something I never dreamt of, and something I can never repay for.

Being a Longhorn puts you on a stage for the world to see; it gives you a platform to become something more than just another student athlete. Between the amount of TV exposure the University gets and the nation wide base of fans… correction world wide base of fans… being a Longhorn opens so many doors. I honestly believe my time here catapulted my career to a height I didn’t imagine. I had a dream to make the 2008 Olympic team. I firmly believe that my first two years at Texas forced me to grow and develop to be ready for that feat in 2004. Had I not been thrown into the fire so quickly, would that have been possible? I’m not so sure. For opportunities like that, I will be forever grateful.

I have to thank my family, mom, dad and my two brothers for their undying support. They along with my grandmother, who passed away, have been my number on fans. They followed me around the country every summer to watch me play, and help me achieve my dream to be a Longhorn. They’ve seen 1000 games, and will be there for a few more. From my dad I learned what it means to give 100%, I learned a work ethic that many have complemented. From my mom I learned what unconditional love is, and determination. Believe it or not, I learn a lot listening to you talk about your job, and I’m inspired more than you know.

Randa Ryan and her academic staff, thank you for your continuous support! It took 6 years, and A LOT of study hall time, but I did it! We got me across that stage.

Amy Folan and UT’s compliance office! Thank you for making my “red-shirt” year possible and making sure every thing I did was legal!

My teammates and friends, I know I can be difficult, so I cannot thank you enough for standing beside me along this amazing journey, for pushing, and more importantly understanding me and everything that encompassed my life.

Last but definitely not least, Coach Clark, Coach Looper, and Coach Hill… thank you for expecting the most out of me, pushing me to reach limits I didn’t think of. Coach you joke about my check list of things I wanted to accomplish, but you didn’t let me settle for anything less. You all taught me more than just the game, you taught me about life, and helped me grow into more than a player, but the person I am.

I want to share a story from when I lived in Chicago. I was shopping on Michigan Avenue one day, in street clothes, when I man comes running up to me. He’s frantic, saying “I know you… I know you…. You’re that pitcher from Texas!” I looked him in the eye and said “yes sir, I am ‘that pitcher from Texas’” and I can stand here and say I will always be proud to have that title! Hook ‘Em!!

Granted my speech didn’t come out as smoothly as writing it did, but I truly believe I was destined to be a Longhorn, and I am so proud to say I bleed burnt orange forever. I will forever be indebted to UT for what it gave me, and will continue to represent my University with pride.

Her focus was on her catcher, and occasionally, if she was trying for a rise ball, she might even acknowledge the batter’s hands. But that’s it, no eye contact or even a nod.

The view was different for everyone else – and still is. The legend of No. 8 is both towering and daunting, much like the figure opposing batters encountered every time she toed the rubber.

A three-time National Player of the Year, four-time All-American and 2004 Olympic Gold medalist, Osterman is one of the most decorated student-athletes to ever compete at The University of Texas.

“You could tell me to throw something, and I was going to find a way to throw it and they’re not going to be able to hit it,” Osterman says. “I always had a game plan, but a lot of knowing what I wanted to do next was a gut feeling.”

The only softball individual to ever win National Player of the Year honors three times, Osterman shouldered the Longhorns to three trips to the Women’s College World Series (2003, 2005 and 2006) while earning USA Softball’s National Player of the Year honor in each of those three seasons.

She still holds UT career records in victories, ERA, shutouts and no-hitters and holds the NCAA record for career strikeout ratio per seven innings. Osterman posted the lowest ERA in the NCAA in 2003, 2005 and 2006 and remains the only player in NCAA history to lead the nation in ERA on three occasions.

Osterman took a year away from college in 2004 to train with the USA National Team, and became the only collegian and youngest member on the Olympic Team that won a gold medal in Athens.

“She’s one of the most competitive, driven athletes who has ever come through The University of Texas,” UT head coach Connie Clark said. “She’s been a great ambassador for the game of softball, and she just embodies everything you think of when it comes to Texas and being a Longhorn.”

Growing up in suburban Houston, Osterman “pretty much lived for sports growing up.” Her first love was basketball, and she even played goalie in youth soccer leagues. But a pitching lesson for her 11th birthday set her on a path that has impacted the rest of her life.

Osterman came to the Longhorns as a coveted national recruit and put her stamp on the program almost immediately. A 15-strikeout performance against Stephen F. Austin in February of her freshman season produced the first perfect game in UT history, and was just one of nine flawless gems Osterman orchestrated.

As a sophomore in 2003, Osterman registered a 32-6 mark and a 0.38 ERA in leading the Longhorns to their second-ever appearance at the Women’s College World Series.

In her final two seasons with the Longhorns, Osterman won 68 games, fired 50 shutouts and 11 no-hitters in leading UT to back-to-back Women’s College World Series appearances.

Osterman earned the 2005-06 Honda Softball Player of the Year Award and the 2006 ESPY Award as “Best Female College Athlete.” On the conference level, she won Big 12 Pitcher of the Year honors in each of her four seasons and remains the only athlete in league history to win a major award four times.

Osterman was named Big 12 Conference Female Athlete of the Year a record three times (2003, 2005 and 2006).

“It’s been a fun ride. A lot of good things have come from it, and I definitely think it’s because I chose to go here,” Osterman said. “I could have put up the same performances elsewhere, but Texas offers the fan base and national recognition. All of that put together gave me an opportunity that I never dreamed of — I just wanted to go play in college, and I wanted to wear burnt orange.”

Osterman graduated from The University in 2007 with a psychology degree, and has competed professionally with the USSSA Pride of Orlando, Florida, in the National Pro Fastpitch League and most recently in Japan. Osterman served as an assistant coach at DePaul University for three years, and is currently an assistant softball coach at St. Edward’s University in Austin.

The first half of Japan season wasn’t as successful as I would like it to be, but I did enjoy being over there. It was very interesting to live in another culture for so long. By the end of the first half of season, I was getting accustom to life there, but I was also itching to get home.

I returned to the States, and competed in our NPF season with the Pride. Again, my pitching wasn’t as consistent or as good so I am accustomed too. I kept working through it, trying to figure out if it were mechanical or just old age setting in. It was a challenege to work through, but towards the end I was feeling slightly better, but then I became injured. In the championship series I was pitching, and the best way to describe what happened was I felt something pull tightly in my arm, and even after a few minutes it was still throbbing.

After season ended, I came home to Austin to start to figure out what was wrong with my arm. After MRIs came back negative, I went up to Dallas to a specialist. Without hesitation he diagnosed me with Neurogenic Thoracic Outlet Syndrome. The simple way to explain it is that pressure has built up around my nerve bundle causing my nerves to not fire correctly. After talking with the specilist, this explains why I was having so many problems with my arm over the last 8-10 months. It explains why I couldn’t feel some things in my arm, and why I was always aching or in some sort of pain/soreness. The treatment for TOS is daily rehab or surgery. We are attempting to resolve this through rehab, but we’ll have to wait and see how it responds.

Because both of the doctors I saw said not to throw for 6-8 weeks, I was unable to return to Japan for the second half of season. Toyota Shokki still made the playoffs, and finished 3rd! They had a great run!

Lindsay and I announce our positions at St Edwards

Since NPF ended, I have been back in the Austin area working at St. Edwards. I am happy to say that I do still have a passion to coach, which excites me. We have a solid team, and my good friend/boss Lindsay Gardner and I have big visions for what lies ahead.

In the time I have been home, I witnessed the huge wildfire that swept across Bastrop State Park, and devastated our community. I grew up in the suburbs of Houston, so life in smaller towns is an eye opening experience to me, but it was so touching to see how an absolutely devastating situation caused so many to come together. It motivates me to get involved and help out.

Odds and ends… since the fire displaced many, I rescued a dog that needed a home. Ember is a collie/golden/Catahoula mix. She has way too much energy, but is absolutely adorable! I’m training for a half marathon. It’s a new challenge that keeps my competitiveness flowing.

That’s all for now… check back soon.
Cat

Osterman joins Gardner on St. Ed’s staff: kxan.com