USSSA Select 30 - MARLENA

        The Select 30 camp was like nothing I have experienced before, but by far one of the best things I have ever done. I had such a good time and the coaches there made the experience even better. They pumped us up during our games, made jokes, and still taught us something. They would let you go out and play and wouldn’t say anything to us until we came back in the dugout. I really liked that part because it let me play more relaxed without having to worry about adjusting mechanics or being critiqued in the middle of an inning. The competition there was phenomenal and I’ve played with talent I’ve never seen before. Every single girl there could play at the D1 level, I saw the best of the best. Girls from all over the country were giving it their all, and even they taught me so much. They made me push myself and want to work harder than I ever have before. Going there definitely humbled me and told me that if I wanted to play at the D1 level, I’m going to have to push myself even more. Another thing I learned was probably one of the biggest takeaways from this camp. How much your mental side affects you. Going into this camp I thought I was going to be one of the best people there. So as soon as I found myself falling behind in something, I lost confidence in myself. However, that made my performance even worse and the whole first day I didn’t play like I wanted to and I didn’t look confident. The next day I realized that I might not be the best player there, but I’m going to try my hardest and have as much fun as possible. And you could tell because that little change in mindset improved my performance a lot, and I looked and felt more confident. I met so many new people and everybody was so chill and nice. I was so sad I had to leave but I’m glad I’ve learned so much and can now bring everything back to my team. Select 30 really opened my eyes to things I didn’t know I had to work on and let me get a glimpse of what the college level and atmosphere will be like.