One of our newest bloggers to the Full Count Softball corps of talented writers is Delaney Elling, one of the top 2016s in the nation.

Delaney, who plays club ball with Wagner’s 3n2, is from Washington, Pa. and is a 6-foot first baseman/catcher who is talented enough to play in the Big Ten at Penn State and smart enough to have been offered by Stanford as she has a 4.0 GPA and scored 30 on her SAT.

She plans on majoring in Bio-Medical Engineering and was recently honored as one of the 2016 Hot 100 recruits, the very best prospects in the nation for the junior class.

As a sophomore this past spring Delaney was named a Pennsylvania AAA All-State 1^st Team catcher after hitting .684 with 32 RBI.

In this blog she talks about what she’s done—and learned—this fall and how being committed now gives her a different approach and perspective on the recruiting process…

Be sure to check out Delaney’s previous blogs and those of our other standout bloggers!

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Wow, it has been an exciting fall!

The changing color of the leaves—at least they change color here in Pennsylvania—brings an intense few weeks full of travel and recruiting. I recently finished up my fall schedule in Watkinsville, Ga. this past weekend and am still trying to catch my breath.

After coming back from a long summer it can be arduous to push yourself and better yourself during the short break in between the summer and fall. While I believe everyone—no matter what sport or activity they participate in—needs a break, that does not mean anyone should ever slack off on their efforts to better themselves.

Personally, I believe in two training mentalities: hard and harder!

Although it can be difficult to find the motivation to train in the few off-weeks you have—when all you really want to do is watch the new season of American Horror Story—try to do something that betters your game. Because, as we all probably know from experience, it feels so, so much better to be the girl with the hot bat rather than the girl who can’t seem to touch the ball.

As a committed player, competing in the fall is not about getting myself recruited anymore but about helping my teammates find their perfect match. Now instead of stressing and becoming anxious because of the college coaches watching, I find solace in seeing my coaches’ familiar faces.

Seeing any college coach in the stands watching your game can be stressful. As I said, I definitely find myself more relaxed on the field this year in comparison to last fall when I was still trying to find my spot in college softball. Don’t get me wrong, though: seeing my future coaches still bring anxious thoughts to my mind, but now the sight of them also brings excitement.

Recently, my father and I had a conversation about this specific topic. We were discussing the differences in players’ reactions to seeing college coaches when they are going through the recruiting process and when they are committed to a college.

Something that stuck with me through this conversation was that he said, “Once a player is committed, a future coach does not only come to watch your games for evaluation but also come to show their support.” Now, whether he was right or completely missed the mark is debatable but that comment allowed me to switch from an anxious mindset to a relaxed one.

One of the great parts of the fall, for me at least, is getting the chance to see old teammates, future teammates, and some of the people who helped you along the way. In the past few weeks I have seen numerous old friends that I have missed, met future teammates that I can’t wait to get to know better, and had the chance to catch up and talk with some people who had a very large influence on my life.

My main goal from this fall was to have fun. As cheesy as that sounds, I think it was the best thing I could have picked to aim for. A perfectionist at heart, I find myself getting caught up in the negative aspects of my game or stressing out over things that I can’t control. Personally I know that I play 100 times better when I am relaxed and having fun with my teammates as opposed to being nervous and tight.

Although my fall had its ups and downs (the downs even got so bad my future college coach even checked to see if I was okay… whoops) it was a lot of fun with a great group of girls by my side and left me eager to start the summer season.

Delaney Elling
Class of 2016
We are… Penn State