Sue Enquist, Hall of Fame former UCLA Head Coach, 11 x National Champion talks with the Hit Club about what responsibilities come with being great. If you're a high school senior or older you're almost at the end of your softball career. You've come this far with success in your rearview mirror. When you leave for college with a new program and new coaches, how will you adapt to change? Sue Enquist lays out the roadmap for how you can separate yourself by your work ethic and how you treat the people around you.


You are reaping the benefits of this softball explosion because it’s only been recently that in the last 10 years. It used to be a west coast sport dominated by the west coast. Ironically our worlds are all colliding because Jennie Ritter was many of you know this was an iconic player that played for the University of Michigan.

And you are going to learn through life that change doesn’t occur unless somebody kicks the glass ceiling. The glass ceiling of belief. The belief that you’re capable of winning. The belief that you’re capable of deserving more. The belief that you know that there is a higher level.

And it’s actually belief that precedes execution. And then to execute when no one in the history of the game has ever executed. It’s fun that you have someone who has been a part to the start of the explosion and someone who was responsible single handedly. Jennie Ritter was in the circle for Michigan when Michigan upset UCLA in the finals of the World Series.

Jennie Ritter: By the way that’s how we met.

But the reason I want to recognize Jennie is I really want today to be about BELIEF. And really crystallizing knowing what you’re good at and clamping on to it. Know what you’re good at. Clamp onto it. Know what you’re good at. Clamp onto it. If you know what you’re good at, you can go into many different systems that will speak a different language.

And they’ll tell you that the sky is black. The sky is black. I got you coach. Right on. You’re going to go in there and do what you’re told to do. But at the end of the day, you know what got you there.

So you got Plan A and Plan B and you got 911. Plan A I’m going in there with what got me there. Plan B, they’re (coaches) now saying that the sky is black. Kinda weird I don’t really know it. That is what life is all about. You will meet and be with people whether it be softball whether it be history class whether it be a boss.

The great ones are nimble. You adapt and adjust everywhere you go based on what’s being asked of you. But at the end of the day you’ve already mastered your fundamentals. And I will already assume that you’re a good person. I’m gonna assume that you have your priorities. And I already know that you’ve been able to execute physically on the field,

So that’s your little package that you put in your back pocket. And you keep it there for the rest of your life. And my goal is for you when we leave here in 90 minutes. My goal is for you is for you to go I do have a hop in my step. I’m legit. And it’s fueled by this self-discipline to go out and do the right thing on and off the field.

But I also want to be clear about what’s coming. Because what’s coming is the same old environment with new clothes on. So you’re looking ahead right and you’re like I don’t know anything about that college game. It’s just new clothes. It’s just a new jacket it’s unfamiliar. When you open up that jacket and you look at the fundamentals of everything. You’re gonna go, “Oh this is the same. This is the same.”

I gotta take care of the people that I’m with.

I gotta make good decisions.

I gotta be confident when there’s an unknown.

And I do that by relying the fundamentals that got me to this point. Because in that next step, it’ll also not be perfect. Some of you have been the go-to your entire life. You’ve been the girl. Every team has the one. Some of you may have been the one. Meaning, I play well the team wins. I’m the go-to. I bat one, two, three, four.

Now next step, you may look and go ooh there’s my three spot. The coach may put you in the seven spot. And you be the person that simply says that I’m going to continue to master what I’m doing until the door gets cracked. Boom I’m coming through.

And you have the right at any point in your career regarding anything to work hard, come early, stay late. Ask all your assistants what you need to do, when you need to do it. And then, when you exhaust all of those things then do you ask to actually sit down and have a coach articulate why you’re not playing or not in the position that you want to be in.

But I’m gonna guess all of you, you already get it. You know what’s coming. Many of you are like straight up I was top recruit. I’m going in there I’m gonna be the one. But you TRAIN always to be the ONE. So you may be the go-to in your high school or your club team but made you the one was how you trained.

You’re going to go to a newer environment but now all of a sudden there are a bunch of people that are kinda good like you. You might go “Whoa I’m not feeling like the one.” But “The One” is the mindset. Be the one.

You train to be “The One.” I train every single swing to be the one. Whether I’m in the seven hole whether I’m second out of the dugout. Monday through Friday. Every swing counts. Every sprint counts. You already do that I bet.

So I’m going to share with you a mindset. I’m going to talk a little bit about mechanics. I’m going to talk a little bit about mindset. And if we have time we’ll go ahead and do some Q&A. And then I’ll do little breaks so we’ll have Q&A based on topics that I’m going through.

Any questions so far? Anybody need any cheatsheet? So if you ever wanna know anything coming just go hey coach I want the cheatsheet on how do I manage the senior All-American that want me to booze with them every night?

So no one asked me that so…So I’m just curious does anyone want to know?

Question: How do you manage coming in and not trying to step on anyone’s toes?

The neat thing about the game is the game has lots of room for lots of toes. So as a female athlete coming in, you just be in charge of what got you to where you are. You will never worry about stepping on anyone’s toes as long as you keep an eye on your toes.

And then I’m going to ask all of you. The good news is that you’re part of the Hit Club. The bad news is there’s a responsibility that comes with it. Because I want you to be able to say that, I learned this from the hit club.

I want you to commit to me. After every practice, you’re the last one to leave. And going out the door you turn to the staff, you turn to the trainer, or you turn to the field guys and say, “Is there anything else that you need from me?”

That’s a big commitment. Because you don’t know what’s going to be at the other end. They may ask you to pick up the 400 cups that are in the stands. Are you in? Can you commit to that?

To ask the coaches after every single practice, “Is there anything else that you need from me?”

Because your goal is to start establishing a new level of separating yourself from everybody else. Not in terms of just getting favors, but that’s what champions do. They come early. They stay late. And then they’re fueled by the humility that they still serve the game everyday.

So I retired 10 years ago and I serve the game everyday. I hate to. Look at what it gave me. I must. I couldn’t not care if I tried. What if what I said to you. Do you play tomorrow? Do you have a game tomorrow? Next day or anytime? When you played the last time?

What if I said to you, “Just don’t care. On the game tomorrow, just don’t care.” In your head, what would you say? Not possible right.

Champions couldn’t not care if they tried. That’s how they’re wired. And so fuel that everyday with asking your coaches, “What else do you need from me?” Meaning I’m still ready to serve the game. Does that make sense?

They may say go pick up the balls. They may say go pick up the paper. They may say thanks for asking. But be that person that says, “I’m going to continually serving the game.” Because the game has given us an awful lot. Does that make sense? We can go ahead and do that. We’re in.

Because we’re the hit club. Okay I’ve got a hop in my step. But she loaded a lot of stuff on me. At the end of the day, when your career is all done, they will not judge your barrel angle on a curve ball. They’re not gonna judge how many RBIs you had.

They’re gonna simply remember these two things. The positive words out of your mouth. And how hard you worked. That’s all they’re going to remember. And then last, the third thing is how you made them feel.

So when you come back in twenty years to your alumni, they’re going to remember there’s Sue she hustled. She stayed positive. And she always made me feel better about myself.

It’s one thing to be good. The greatest of the great make others better. That’s why I’m going to always ask to to say, “What else do you need from me?” You may see a teammate struggling. “Is there anything that I can do for you after practice?”

So you can be the top 10 out of a quarter million people or you can be “The One.”