James Whidden

🥎 Dad

[Nick Schwien @NickSchwien]

@thekcdiamonds @KaylieWhidden

[Brooklyn Whidden @brooklynwhidds]

Excited for Easton Invite this weekend! Schedule below, ready to compete! @NEGOLD15U @NebraskaGold @govalorsoftball

[James Whidden @james_whidden81]

@stef_ewing Why players sit for entire games in pool play after working their butts of sending emails, working out all offseason, going to camps to try and get a college coach to come watch them play is beyond me.

[Brooklyn Whidden @brooklynwhidds]

Super excited for a busy Sparkler week! Games schedule and Workout info below⬇️, would love to see you there. @NebraskaGold @NEGOLD15U

[Brooklyn Whidden @brooklynwhidds]

💥Organizational workout!💥 Details below, would love to see you there! @NebraskaGold @NEGOLD15U @CoachMcFalls @CoachJayGwyn @coach_heard @Jen_Daro @Coach_mcGuem @stef_ewing @MarcKKendrick @CoachSanders22 @coachrenae1618 @CoachTonyAustin

[Nebraska Gold ‘10s @NEGOLD15U]

Rain stay away! We’re ready for some softball this weekend

[James Whidden @james_whidden81]

Stud

[Brady @BradyVernon]

Maestretti, a former four-star recruit, grew a lot in her first two years at Utah.

[James Whidden @james_whidden81]

@SoftballPortal Bad angle but looks foul

[James Whidden @james_whidden81]

@SoftballPortal Don’t blame the umpire on this one, dude missed his spot by 3 ft. Hard to register that ball as a strike watching the video, let alone behind the plate

[James Whidden @james_whidden81]

@emma_king_16 @SoftballPortal @D1Softball Wishing you the best Emma!

[Big Ten Softball @B1Gsoftball]

🦡 11 Runs
🦡 15 Hits
🦡 B1G Upset W

@BadgerSoftball’s 1️⃣1️⃣ runs are the most they've ever scored in a #B1GSoftball Tournament game 🔥

[James Whidden @james_whidden81]

@BradyVernon One of those teams played UCLA and Nebraska

[Wisconsin Softball @BadgerSoftball]

🔼 2nd | BOOOOM! 💣

@KaylieWhidden put us up early!

Wisconsin 2, Minnesota 0

[Justin McLeod @justfactsmaam]

Kaylie Whidden's first career home run was off Jordy Frahm on April 12. Her second career home run was this walkoff shot on Sunday to give @BadgerSoftball the series win over Michigan.

[Wisconsin Softball @BadgerSoftball]

WALK OFF WHID!!

[James Whidden @james_whidden81]

#CLUTCHGENE

[Wisconsin Softball @BadgerSoftball]

Just watching this on repeat 🤷‍♀️

@KaylieWhidden = CLUTCH

[Wisconsin Softball @BadgerSoftball]

Happy to be back in action! ☀️

We're all tied up after three in game one.

#OnWisconsin || @UWHealth

[Wisconsin Softball @BadgerSoftball]

⬇️ 5th | Kaylie goes yard!

First career bomb for the sophomore! 💣

[Brady @BradyVernon]

Quite a comeback for the Badgers to secure the series and are certainly trending toward an at-large bid.

[Patrick Jones @pjonesbaseball]

I had a conversation with a Power 4 college coach who’s been doing this for 25+ years.

We were talking about the mentality of high school players during the recruiting process.

Here’s what he told me:

“What these kids don’t realize is…

I don’t care how many followers you have.
I don’t care how many home runs you hit in travel ball.
I don’t care how many offers you have.
I don’t care about your ranking.
I don’t care how hard you can hit a ball.
I don’t care about your metrics.

The only thing I care about is this:

Are you going to produce in between those white lines when we play this season?”

Then he said something else that hit:

“They’ve been so protected that the first time they fail, they quit… or they transfer.”

And here’s the part that matters.

The biggest development mistake I see?

Players don’t plan for failure.

They plan for success.
They visualize success.
They expect success.

But they don’t prepare for 0-4.
They don’t prepare for getting booed.
They don’t prepare for sitting the bench.
They don’t prepare for struggling for 3 weeks.

So when it happens — and it will — they panic.

Instead of executing a pre-made plan, they try to create one while emotional.

That never works.

Failure is coming.

The question is:
Did you already decide how you’re going to handle it?