Alex Sobczak of Michigan Finesse was selected as the MVP of last weekend’s Louisville Slugger Hit Club, but all 10 players were fantastic on and off the field.

The 1^st Team FloSoftball All-American and Michigan’s “Miss Softball” got the most points in the Hit Club Competition last Saturday and just days in advance of heading to the Univ. of Michigan writes, “The Hit Cub was the best ending to my summer, and will impact not only my game, but my life.”

Alex recaps the event below and adds, “I hope this blog embodies my love for what the Hit Club has done.”

***

The Louisville Slugger Hit Club was three days spent celebrating the top 10 hitters of the 2015 class.

If there is one thing I took away from this experience, it’s that our confidence is fragile. We won’t always succeed; actually, college softball is filled with challenges as well as failure.

These next four years won’t be easy, but they will be worth it. While this weekend was packed with fun activities such as Disneyland and the Dodgers/ Angels game, we 10 players walk away holding on to the lessons given to us by Sue Enquist, Ken Ravizza, the Total Package, and Jessica Mendoza.

All great hitters share doubts and the nine athletes I got to know, as well as myself, can attest to that.

In the wise words of Sue Enquist, “Always let the strong voice get the last word.” It is not always our performance that defines us as players, we only get to rent good hitting days.

It is our work ethic, positive attitude, and gratefulness that exposes our character. Our greatest battles aren’t on the field, they are in our head.

Sue Enquist taught the 10 of us girls to always give 100 percent of what we’ve got on a given day, and to get at least one percent better in whatever we are doing. If we do that then eventually we will have our time. We might fail at times, but our time is coming.

Like Ken Ravizza told us, we’ve got to be comfortable being uncomfortable. Failure is nothing more than positive feedback. Hitting is challenging, but if you think about it we only have to beat the pitcher once. We just need one pitch to win the fight, one pitch to change all momentum.

His words left a lasting impression with me. As incoming freshmen, we might be nervous or scared, but we belong here. We have worked to be here, on our fields, wherever that may be.

We are competitors. Competing doesn’t mean dominating, it means leaving everything between the chalk lines.

The Louisville Slugger Hit Club also got the pleasure of meeting four outstanding role models, the Total Package. Consisting of Jen Schroeder, Katie Schroeder, Morgan Stuart, and stand-in Delaney Spaulding of UCLA, the Total Package shared advice to us about not only softball, but college in general.

Hit Club members were fortunate enough to hear from four of the best college softball has to offer.  They prepared us for what to expect in college, not with the typical “it’ll be the best four years of your life,” but with the personal struggles and triumphs in their college experience.

These four are some of the most empowering women I’ve gotten the opportunity to hear speak.

Sue Enquist challenged us to think of something to be thankful for every night, and for several nights I chose the Total Package’s speech to us young athletes. Their information was so real, unfiltered, and empowering.

These women are what I want to embody when I’m older. They have given back so much to the game, and to us incoming players. They have made strides for the softball community, and were a great addition to the Hit Club experience.

On the third and final day we were given the opportunity to work with the one and only Jessica Mendoza. She is the superwoman of softball, and my hero for the strides she is making for women everywhere.

The Hit Club gave us the opportunity to take batting practice while she gave us pointers and coached our swings. She radiates passion for the sport, and gives so much back to the game. In the cage she gave me small corrections, which sharpened my play and I know all nine other Hit Club members would agree.

Jessica Mendoza has a lasting affect on those she works with and impacts thousands of softball players nation wide. I was fortunate to have been one of the many.

As a group, we left practice motivated to push ourselves even further and worker even harder. The two hours flew by, and were an absolute perfect ending to the adventure Louisville Slugger, PGF, and FloSoftball gave us.

I am so thankful for the gear supplied to us by Louisville Slugger. Thank you for giving us future players the opportunity to celebrate our accomplishments before we begin our softball journey all over at the college level.

Thank you to PGF for the transportation, and hospitality throughout the weekend. Not only did we get the opportunity to learn about the inner works of PGF, but also to witness the donations their organization makes to cancer research, mostly breast cancer.

Jennie Ritter with Louisville Slugger and Brentt Eads from FloSoftball are two of the most humble and selfless people I’ve come to meet during the Hit Club this past week. They have given everything to this sport, and us 10 Hit Club athletes.

No words can describe these two individuals. They are the first to support and reach out to us athletes, yet expect nothing in return.

Softball is making strides because of all of the individuals involved in the Hit Club this week. Their passion for our sport are creating opportunities all over the country, and not enough praise can be given for their work.

Lastly, to the nine girls I met… thank you. All nine of you guys are absolute studs and the future of softball. I am honored to have been given the opportunity to work along side all of you guys.

It has been a pleasure to learn from your beautiful swings, and improve my own game because of you all.

More than anything I’ve enjoyed getting to know you guys as individuals. You are not only incredible athletes, but also people. So humble, kind, and absolutely hilarious, I will really miss you guys.

See you on the ball field ladies, I’ll always remember having the time of my life with you all!

Alex Sobczak
Finesse Gold 18U