“Whoever you look up to, take mental notes on how they play the game,” explains Jenna Lilley, the outstanding infielder from Hoover High in North Canton, Ohio. “Then maybe one day, some young aspiring player will be taking notes on how you play ball.”

Jenna is one of the top high school and club softball players in the nation and has helped Hoover win three straight state championships including the 2013 squad that compiled a 32-0 record.  The lefty hit .697 as a junior and was named the Ohio State Player of the Year and a MaxPreps All-American. 

Lilley has committed to the Univ. of Oregon and is also excellent in the classroom with a 3.9 GPA. 

In this blog, she relates how one of her favorite things to do is go watch the pro players to pick up things they do on and off the field…

 

Click here to read Jenna’s earlier blogs and those from our other standout players!

Learn more about Jenna and her athletic family in this piece by her mother, Debbie, called A parent’s perspective: softball sacrifices

See our video interview of mother and daughter shot this summer at PGF

 

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We all have that one person that we look up to, the one that want to be like when we grow up. That athlete that inspires us to become the players we are today. Today’s softball players are very fortunate; we have so many awesome SOFTBALL players to look up to. Twenty years ago, most girls’ role models were baseball players.

Personally, my favorite players to model after and games to watch are in the National Professional Fastpitch (NPF) league. In the summer, besides playing in my games, going to NPF games is my favorite thing to do. I live 15 minutes south of the Akron Racers games and am frequently at Chicago Bandits games because of my summer ball schedule.

I enjoy going hours early and watching the full warm-up, taking in little details on every single player. I love how all the girls play with so much passion—it truly is inspiring. Salaries aren’t why they play the game; all those girls are out there because they really do love softball with all their heart.

I think younger aspiring players can learn so much from going to NPF games. Those are 80 of the country’s best players. I pay special attention to the little things the players do; for example, their routines before every pitch. Natasha Watley does the same routine every time she steps in the box. Caitlin Lowe takes the same steps to prepare for the next pitch in the outfield. I like watching little things like that. Little details are vital in this game.

I also watch how they carry themselves in the box, on the basepaths and on the field. Vicky Galindo is ALWAYS smiling, I’m not able to tell whether she just struck out or hit a home run. I really like that about her, she does an amazing job of keeping an even keel and that’s something I have been working on.

Whenever Megan Wiggins steps in the box, I as a viewer in the stands can tell she is totally confident in herself. Her “swagger” in the box makes her much more intimidating.

Anyways, those are just some examples of things I watch for on the field. I take into my mind the little things those GREAT players do. I try to do the same sort of things, but be myself at the same time. But whether you’re watching the college world series, Team USA or NPF games, we can all learn from those great players. They are on that stage for a reason, and that reason is because they are talented softball players.

Maybe you don’t style your game exactly after “so and so” but you can take bits and pieces from all the great players out there. After all, it is no secret that the greatest players in the world do a lot of similar things. Whoever you look up to, take mental notes on how they play the game. Then maybe, one day, some young aspiring player will be taking notes on how you play ball.

I was that little girl that chased every foul ball they could to get signed, just so they could go through the autograph lines at least three times after a game so I could say hi to my favorite player!

I am thankful to have lived my whole life 15 minutes from a pro team. Growing up around the NPF and the Akron Racers has really helped me develop my passion for the game. Being able to look up to players in the NPF has inspired me to work as hard as I do now, in hopes of being like them one day and inspiring another little girl.

After all, I’m still that “little girl that chases every foul ball just to go through the line three times” at heart.

As Always,

Jenna