Deb Donlea

GAME DAY!!🔥🏀 No. 7/8 @WartburgWBBALL is at HOME against Dubuque in A-R-C play tonight! Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m. inside Levick Arena. Don't forget to wear pink in support of the Kay Yow Cancer Foundation! #Play4Kay 📺bit.ly/3L46Y4j 📊bit.ly/3SIaTZk

If I could go back at age 57 …. this is what I would tell my 16 year old self as a HS baseball player who wanted to play D1 and play in the Big Leagues. Big dreams for a very little guy…. I graduated HS at 140 pounds with very little coaching or baseball IQ. I could switch hit, run well, had a plus arm…but needed my own advice below. It would have helped tremendously. Hope it helps someone on that journey now… 1.You must be willing to be different. The best are the best for a reason. Sacrifice has a steep price tag and it is paid mostly in sweat equity. 2.Every day is gift. If the day is wasted, it is gone forever and others (my competition) advance ahead of me in pursuit of my goal. 3.It’s about process, not about how I feel. Get done what needs to be done and do it well. Rise early and compete. Even when I don’t feel like it. 4.Enjoy your teammates. Smile, laugh, don’t take yourself to serious and encourage my buddies, especially when they are down. 5.Take at least 200+ ground balls and 200+ swings a day (above practice time). Find ways to make them challenging, competitive and game speed. 6.Watch as much high level baseball as possible. Watch as a player, not as a fan. 7.Lift hard and with the purpose to improve my balance, coordination, quickness, body control, power, explosiveness (power), flexibility, grip strength and pure strength. Have a plan in the weight room then execute it to perfection. 8.Long toss… 3-4 times a week for eight weeks prior to the season and continue in season. Gradually increasing distance over the weeks. I would do low intent throwing on other days to improve short arm stroke, repeatability, accuracy…from all arm slots. Build up my bullets so my arm is ready for the demands of games and practices. 9.Get adequate sleep. 8 plus hours a night. 10.Eat nutritionally with plenty of fruits vegetables and lots of quality water. 11.Know that age matters for the draft. Even though you are a very late developer physically, they won’t care or take that into consideration. So get physical. Be a fit 185 instead of the 163 you were when you graduated from UNCW. 12.Be more even keel. Save the emotion for when it is really needed. Don’t live and die with every game and base my personal worth on how I played each night. 13.Choose a degree that I’m passionate about and I will actually use. 14.Take time off each season to rest my mind and body. 15.Most importantly get to know God and get close to Him. Play every pitch for an audience of 1.

Hunter Bowers fighting for every inch 😤 #IAfootball | #iahsfb