Ever wonder if there's more you could do to bring out the best in your players? Ever ask yourself if there's something you should be doing that you aren't? See if you know the 5 Ways to Bring Out the Best in Your Players.

Here's a list of 5 simple things that will really make a big difference in how much they believe in themselves, and in their own ability to be successful:

• Catch Them Doing Something Right - Just like the quote at the beginning of this article states, the key to developing people is to catch them doing something right!  Instead of stopping practice to yell at a player for missing a groundball or throwing the ball to the wrong base, try stopping practice just to point out that someone did something right! "Hey Cindy, way to risk it on that dive!" "Hey Kristen, that was fantastic explosion through that swing!". The more you notice the more I want to please you and when you notice the good things it creates a culture of success!
• Remember That They're Trying to Succeed - I learned this the hard way. I used to be the coach that yelled at her team when they were horrible and had a bad attitude. Then suddenly I realized that my players weren't trying to play bad, in fact they were trying to succeed but failing miserably at it. That's when I realized that my players desperately needed my encouragement instead of my criticism and discouragement. No matter how much or how little your players like softball, nobody tries to be horrible at things so when your players struggle or even fail, they need your support and encouragement to try harder the next time so they don't give up.
• Keep the Emotion Out of It - To help ensure your teaching point is heard try relaying your message without the emotion attached to it. Too often we've got a great point but our frustration or impatience creates so much emotion that our point is lost in our emotion. Pull out the emotion you no doubt feel and instead try relaying your message as if it was going to a third party that had nothing to do with the original mistake.
• What'd You Learn? - A great trick to help your players eliminate their frustration following an unsuccessful attempt at something is to immediately ask them "what'd you learn?" If they aren't learning something from what they just did their opponent surely is and their opponent will take advantage of that information as soon as possible to try and beat them. So instead of getting mad try asking yourself, "what did I just learn?".Then apply the knowledge to the next swing, or pitch or groundball and watch your performance improve immediately.
• Be Nice - I know this probably sounds ridiculous in regards to something that can improve performance but I really do believe that being nice makes a difference in your success. Being nice doesn't mean you aren't going to compete hard and work to beat your opponent, but it does mean you're going to cooperate with your teammates, do what your coaches and parents tell you, respect the umpires and generally have a positive attitude. Being nice means you're going to show up to games and practices with a smile and act like you really enjoy being there. Being nice means you aren't going to hog all the shade and water on a hot day but share some with your coaches and teammates. Being nice means you aren't going to think you're any better than someone else just because you're successful at softball. Being nice means you're going to respect your teammates and coaches by practicing your skills away from team practice so you continue to be able to help your team. Being nice means you might not like the role your coach has given you but you're going to respect your coaches judgment, not criticize her/him behind his/her back and practice your butt off to change your role (if you don't like it). Being nice means you're going to treat your bench players with the same respect you treat your star. Being nice means that you play hard for the entire game to show your respect for your opponent. And being nice means you're going to treat everyone you meet as important as everyone else since it's not our position in life that matters but the life in our position.