Anna Welsh

Best way to put it! Feeling grateful for His faithfulness! ❤️ Proverbs 19:21 “Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.”

I signed to UCLA my junior year of high school and was told I was going to start Day 1. Opening Day at UCLA? I was sitting the bench. 😭 I had 2 choices: 1. Complain, pout, and blame the coaches OR 2. Find the holes on the team and become valuable. So for 3 weeks, I sat the bench. I showed up early. Stayed late. Cheered for my teammates. Dragged the field every 3rd inning. Meanwhile, I studied the team. The middle infielders were doing well. Third base wasn’t. So I told the coaches: “I can play third.” Then I noticed something else: Offensively, we were either hitting home runs or getting out. I saw the gap. If I could become a tough out, get on base, and bring energy to the team… I could create value. Then we played Miami. The starting third baseman was hitting .115. They gave me a shot. I went 2 for 3 with a walk. Played solid defense. Brought energy. I never sat the bench again. Eventually, I became team captain… and we were ranked #1 in the country. One thing baseball taught me: Opportunities don’t always go to the most talented player. Sometimes they go to the player who becomes the most valuable.

“If nobody will help you, do it alone. There is no ‘I’ in team, but there is an ‘I’ in win.” — Michael Jordan

My manager asked me to learn to catch. My first reaction: Why? Davey Johnson looked at me and said, "I think it'll add value to you. And I think it'll let you see the game from a lens you've never seen before." I trusted Davey. So I said yes. Here's what I didn't understand until I got behind the plate: Before becoming a catcher I was always looking in. I was watching from a distance. Behind the plate, the whole game opens up. Everyone is out in front of you. You can read every hitter's swing. You're building a relationship with every pitcher. You see the defensive alignment. You understand strategy from a completely different angle. It changed everything about how I understood baseball. And it changed what I thought I could do next. I finally stopped trying to squeeze more out of a playing career that had run its course. I started thinking about coaching. About managing. A few years later I was a minor league manager. I don't think I get anywhere close to that without Davey Johnson asking me to learn a position I had no business playing and without me trusting him enough to say yes. Two questions worth sitting with today: Is there someone in your life who's earned your trust enough that you'd say yes to almost anything they suggested? And is there a lens on your work you've never looked through? @Mets

“Confidence comes from preparation.” — Kobe Bryant

He is right!

Junior Year At-Bats.

Thankful for Izzy & Eli today and ALWAYS ❤️❤️

10 Tips for Parents of Athletes: 1. Control your emotions. Be a consistent example of mental stability. Show them how to properly respond when things don't our way. They will be able to get the most out of their skills when they are mentally in control. 2. Support them away from their team. All players should practice their sport on their own time. They will always have more time away from their team to get better than they will while with them. Help them develop this great habit. Help them learn to take their development into their own hands. 3. Be realistic. Put them in a position to thrive. We want them to get better but just because we want them to be ready for a certain level doesn't always mean they are ready for that level. Just because that's where their friends are doesn't mean it's the right place for them at that moment. 4. Don't allow excuses and blaming. The longer they do this the longer they will stunt their own growth. Teach them the difference between the controllable's and the un-controllable's. Their attitude, effort, energy and focus. 5. Think twice about your conversations. What are you allowing? What are you participating in? What are you instigating? The tone, the message, the impact. Know this too, sometimes the best thing we can say is nothing at all. Silence is okay! 6. Sports are hard. If you played while you were younger, keep perspective on how hard it was. If you never did, I suggest you go out there and practice with them. Try doing everything they are trying to do. 7. Slow down!! It's a process. They all grow at different rates. Support them, encourage them, motivate them and help them be their best but be careful of comparing them to their peers. The process and journey is different for all. Some are early bloomers while many are late bloomers. The most important years for an athletes performance don't even happen until after puberity kicks in and again, that even hits at different ages. 8. Look for leaders. Place them in front of those who are great people. People who will help instill the same values you are trying to tech them at home. Raising children is hard. Never underestimate the power of outside voices. 9. Youth sports has a way of becoming a toxic enviornment. From gossip about other players to coach bashing to berating and belittling officials. Don't be a part of it. Don't get sucked into the emotions of it. If you want these years to be as enjoyable as possible, beware of the nonsense and stay away from it. 10. Please don't ever let sports come between you are your child(ren). Don't let your attitude about their performance cause strain in your relationship. This game is a temporary phase in their life and meant to be enjoyable. Your relationship is forever. Nurture it now to have for life.

@elhs_softball This is great! Congrats!!! 💙

The GREATEST to ever do it add another milestone!! Congrats to Coach Delk and Coach Lyndsie on reaching 250 career wins at East Lake!!🦅🥎💙

@BUCoachGriffin So pumped for the entire Griffin fam! We are now rooting for the Pirates!!!!!! 💛🖤

Probably won’t sleep tonight!

"I wish that we would stop calling it old school coaching and say that's how you should coach.. Be honest and in the moment.. The way Coach McCollum coaches is real and we should like real more" ~ Coach K #PMSLive

“If you don’t fail, you’re not even trying.” — Denzel Washington

Serve first. Win later. Most people want it the other way around. “Your job is not to be here for yourself. It is to be here for everybody else.” - Ben McCollum GOLD 🥇

Great listen for all coaches & players ⬇️

@noahrenes_ @Marcus_Freeman1 @CoachBJMary @NDFootball Noah!!! The Welsh family is voting for ND ☘️

I had a great time at Notre Dame today!! @Marcus_Freeman1 @CoachBJMary @NDFootball