COMPETITIVE PLAY - Learning HOW to be competitive is the key to becoming a powerful team. A powerful team is our goal. Everyone wants to win , but if winning was the only objective, then we could quite easily be selective and only play teams we knew we could 'whip-up' on. Instead, What we want is good, fundamental, solid play. If that is our focus, then with some good practice habits, and good attitudes, success will fall into line.

PRIDE - in self, and pride in the team is another life skill which our players can carry forward throughout their life. This skill will play a significant part in school and eventually in each player's work place.

SELF-RESPECT - is a critical tool to carry in the life-skill tool box. This tool helps adjust everything from morals to tenacity.

THE 6-INCH PLAYING FIELD - is the part of the ball field that is between the player's ears...the brain. Arguably, about 90-95% of the game takes place in this relatively small area, yet it is the most difficult part of this game to master. This is THE KEY component of this game. The only thing a player can control in this game is how they are going to respond to a situation. Everything else is at least partially up to chance. Knowing, expecting and recognizing the situation is where the 6-inch playing field comes into play. Mastery of this 6-inch playing field is the single most important fundamental of the game and is often left out completely. Mastering this small area includes, but is not limited to, knowing what to do with the ball, admitting mistakes/errors and shaking them off, concentrating not on hits, but Quality At-Bats, visualizing success, focusing and playing this game ONE PITCH AT A TIME.

Softball, like baseball, is one of the few games in the world that is designed for failure. Afterall, the best hitters in baseball hope to fail only 7 of 10 times at the plate. Constantly dealing with failure, be it offense or defense is frustrating. The only way to combat the feeling of failure is to focus on the positive. Quality-At-Bats will generate hits. Concentration on the current situation coupled with visualization and focus will generate the necessary defense. This game is played ONE PITCH AT A TIME no matter what else happens.

DIRT / GRASS STAINS - This game is won and lost in the dirt and in the grass. Winning or losing a game often comes down to a play or two 'in the dirt' or 'in the grass'. Once you reach a certain age group, everyone can catch a ball thrown or hit right to them. The game-breakers are the tough-to-handle balls...the balls hit or thrown in the dirt that have to be stopped...the hits that cause the outfield or infield to get dirty and give the additional effort to keep the ball from getting by. Those are the plays that win games. Those are the plays that stop losses. Those are the plays that make uniforms dirty. We want to see dirty uniforms and smiling faces...satisfied with a job well done! We want our parents complaining because they can't get the red dirt and grass stains out of the uniforms.

THE BOOK - Much of the focus we teach is rooted in an outstanding book called 'HEADS UP BASEBALL: PLAYING THE GAME ONE PITCH AT A TIME'. The Authors are Ken Ravizzi & Tom Hanson. ** If you are a coach, player or supportive parent of virtually any sport, you owe it to yourself and your team to seek out and read this book. It is written specifically for baseball, but the concepts are easily adaptable to other sports such as soccer, football, basketball and obviously SOFTBALL. It is available for about $15 at HOME BASEBALL (800-499-6909). This could be the best $15 you spend to help you or your child as an athlete.

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This mission statement was painstakingly prepared specifically for this TEXAS COMETS team. It has been through several iterations and modifications to reach this stage. It reflects the ideologies and the foundation of this team. It sums up the reason we are here and highlights our goals. If you like it and would like to use it, please feel free to do so as long as you credit the original usage of it back to this web site, and it's author, Ron Holt.