Erika Piancastelli - Stelli Swing

In this episode, AJ Andrews interviews Olympian and professional softball player Erika Piancastelli to explore her journey through the sport. They discuss the role of mindset, confidence, and training in her success, as well as the support systems that have helped shape her career.

Also, Erika reflects on breaking barriers in softball, her experience competing in the Home Run Derby, and the emotional path that led her to the Tokyo Olympics. She also shares insight into the unique challenges and rewards of performing at the highest level of competition.

 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Dropping Diamonds with Aj Andrews is an iHeart women's sports
production in partnership with Athletes Unlimited Softball League and Deep
Blue Sports and Entertainment. Welcome to Dropping Diamonds with Me
Aj Andrews, who we dive headfirst into the world of softball.

(00:22):
Today we are joined by Mabella, Erica Piantelli and my
Beautiful in Italian. My Beauty in Italian. You know I
spent some time.

Speaker 2 (00:35):
You said that real, Well, yeah.

Speaker 1 (00:37):
Thank you, thank you. Erica Pianca Stelli. She is an
Olympian member of Team Italia. She's a miszuno, a fast athlete,
and she also goes out and plays at Mexico. Also,
if you just sort of see out the corner your eye,
the best thing you've ever seen in your life, it's
probably her. Ladies and gentlemen, Erica Pianca Stelli, Well, thank you.

Speaker 2 (01:00):
Thank you for having me. I'm so honored.

Speaker 1 (01:02):
I'm so excited to talk all the things with you
because I just, I don't know, I just think you're
the coolest.

Speaker 2 (01:09):
I appreciate that.

Speaker 1 (01:11):
Before I start my podcast, I typically start with a
quote and an affirmation, and so a quote that I
kind of started for us today is it takes the
same amount of energy to create a negative thought as
it does to create a good one.

Speaker 2 (01:26):
Pick the good. What do you feel like is a
good affirmation?

Speaker 1 (01:31):
We can kind of grasp from that quote, and I
think it being the second day of the year, we
can start.

Speaker 2 (01:38):
Going with just being grateful for another year and all
the opportunities that were about to receive this year. I'm
excited for just a new chapter and a fresh start
and just being the healthiest version we can be in
twenty twenty six.

Speaker 1 (01:54):
Heck yeah, okay. I think in regards to being abundant
best version we can be this year or affirmation I
like to rhyme, so affirmation will be today. I choose
to turn each negative thought to a positive. Good energy
is all I have to give in an abundant life

(02:15):
I'm about to live. I love that.

Speaker 2 (02:17):
I don't know how you do that so quick. I
love that.

Speaker 1 (02:19):
I need to make it like I'm gonna make like
a a rap. I'm gonna make an end of the
year like a recap and a full rap of all
the affirmations.

Speaker 2 (02:28):
Just do a little Spotify Spotify playlist, put it on
a repeat.

Speaker 1 (02:31):
Dropping diamonds, just a little. Actually we should look into
that Tarry anyway, Erica. Is there a quote or like
an affirmation that you've really kind of lived by throughout
your career that's helped you throughout the tough days, the
long days that are neverly abound to come with softball.

Speaker 2 (02:49):
There's many quotes that I think I resgnate with, but
the one that I always seem to fall back on,
especially on the hard days, is the quote is just like,
it's never work when it's you're doing something that you love.
I don't know exactly what word for word it was,
but it was like, you can do a job and work,
and if you don't love it, it feels like work.

(03:10):
But when you're doing something that you're passionate about it,
it never is going to feel like work. And to me,
that's what softball is. It's my job, and on the
hard days, it feels like a job, but I'm so
passionate about it that I'm able to just push through
and realize how lucky I am to be doing this
instead of a typical nine to five.

Speaker 1 (03:30):
Oh. I love that because it's so easy in those
moments when it gets hard to complain or to feel like, oh,
I'd rather do or be anywhere else right now than here,
And it kind of brings you back to your center
of gosh, how lucky you might be doing something I
actually love though. How lucky.

Speaker 2 (03:49):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (03:50):
And then there was one thing that just kind of
reminded me of that is, at any given moment, you're
living one of your dreams, you're living one of your
prayer exactly and exactly, you know, a reminder to be
thankful in that during the hard days. I actually just
recently saw that one, and I remember sitting there like
reading that and me like, dang, if I just like

(04:10):
ten years ago would have thought that I'd be where
I am today, my mind would be blown.

Speaker 2 (04:15):
So it's always a good good thing to remind yourself
of why do you.

Speaker 1 (04:19):
Think your mind would be blown? What is right now?
This moment you feel like it's like, ah, heck, yeah,
I'm doing this. Younger younger Erica would be like yeah, girl.

Speaker 2 (04:28):
Well one the Tokyo Olympics. That will forever be something
that's going to blow my mind. But even just recently,
going to the Bahamas for the home run derby with
players Alliance, to me was such a wow moment because
I was in the Bahamas hitting home runs, like who
gets to do that? And it was just such a cool,

(04:48):
amazing experience. And being able to be surrounded by so
many legends and so many amazing people and to feel
like I belonged in that space, I think was the
biggest wow moment for me of I never would have
thought that ten years ago to be doing what I'm
doing right now, and to be traveling the world and
still playing at this age and still getting better and

(05:10):
better every single time, and just putting on a show
and hitting home runs, and it's just not something you
really think about when you're thinking ahead putting on a
show and hitting home runs.

Speaker 1 (05:20):
I feel like it needs to be like your moniker,
Like that is what Erica pian Cacelli hits home runs.

Speaker 2 (05:26):
It's like, that's what I do. And the home Run
Derby that.

Speaker 1 (05:30):
Erica is talking about, it takes place in the Bahamas
Every year. Major league and minor league baseball players come
down to Nasau, Bahamas to hit home runs on the
sand into the water for the dom' Blink home Run
Derby Titan with Also Players Alliance, And this year it
was the first year that they had women hitting home runs.

(05:52):
And I was a part of trying to find amazing
women to come out to the Bahamas. And I remember,
like a year ago or two years ago, I remember
seeing Erica comment under one of the Derby posts. It's like, yeah,
you guys should have girls come hit or something. You
said something along the lines of like girls can do
it too, you need to bring us out.

Speaker 2 (06:14):
I think I said, like where the women at yeah.

Speaker 1 (06:16):
Something, And I was like, you know what, Erica, You're
right here we go, Erica, what are you doing December
whatever or whatever? And she comes out.

Speaker 2 (06:26):
And when I tell you, you had everybody's jaw on it.
I already knew what it looks like.

Speaker 1 (06:32):
So watch you hit. But everybody that was unfamiliar was
just like wow. They wanted you to go up against
the boy. So like, I'm pretty sure she could she
could take she could be the overall winner. We don't
even have to split it into softball and baseball. For
you that experience talked about it being a wow moment
and feeling included what was maybe one of the bigger

(06:54):
moments or where you felt like wow, I not only
am I accepted here, but I'm loki praised.

Speaker 2 (07:01):
Yeah, definitely during my first round. I think I had
a really good first round, and I was nervous going in.
It's just like there's a lot of people, you know,
there's a lot of big names, and I want to
do good and I want to perform and swing my best.
And when I was up there just swinging and hearing

(07:22):
everybody's reaction in the back, I think is what like
confirmed it for me. But just being on that stage
and being able to put on a show and just
have really good results and feel super calm. I've never
felt calm in a home underby. I'm usually a little nervous,
which is normal, a little anxious until I get started.
But I felt calm the whole time, and I was

(07:43):
just like, I feel like I belong here, and just
being able to yeah, hear the praise in the back
just definitely boosting my confidence for the next round and
the round after that. But it's just my biggest thing
for me in any softball space is or why I
love being in a baseball space as a softball player
is just reiterating the fact that women can do it too,

(08:05):
and that women are athletes and that we can do
a lot of things that I are slowly being more
aware to the men but they just don't realize how
good we can actually be. And being able to hear
that praise from men and from MLB players, and just
being able to be like, yeah, I mean, I've been
trying to tell you guys, and it's just like being
able to put it out there and actually perform that way.

(08:28):
I think was the biggest wow moment for me, is like, Okay,
I proved it, and now I think people really understand
that because not only me, we all every single woman
out there that was a part of the home un
derby was just putting on a show and being able
to even witness just the comments that the men were making.
I was like, yeah, yeah, this is a good step
for us because I like that there's a difference between

(08:50):
softball and baseball. It is two different things. But I
don't want to keep hearing conversations of will men do
it better? Or men can do this and women can't,
because we can do the exact same thing on the
exact same stage, and one day I would love to
compete with the men and just kind of make that
an exciting thing and see how that goes.

Speaker 1 (09:11):
I love that you say that because it would be
an exciting thing because she probably went y'all like not
even like.

Speaker 2 (09:20):
Tino. She she she probably win.

Speaker 1 (09:23):
But speaking of the people that were there that were
had their money on you, now mind you, Charlie's, Pelacio's,
Silent Ray Spinoza and Morgan Howe also competed and they
did amazing. But it came down to the two finalists
and it was Morgan how and it was Erica Bianca Stelli.
I went around and asked a bunch of the MLB

(09:45):
guys who they got, and Mo had a lot of
people that had it on her, but so did Erica. C. C.
Sabathia was one of the one of the big names
that had his money on her. Chris Young was another
one of those names that had their money on her.
And so, I mean it was just Eric, I don't know,
you came out and other people there out there, Gary Sheffield,

(10:07):
Eric Davis, and we had a lot of support from
Major League Baseball players that were once again reitering, reiterating
what we already knew. The girls do it big, and
we do it I won't say better, but we do
it really good up there. Yeah, yeah, I mean, dare
I say better? Dare I say better? What do you

(10:29):
feel like is the lesson in that you know, going
up and showcasing your skill sets to your point literally
on the same exact stage. You also competed in Homer
on Derby X where you did the same thing, competing
again with and against men, and you showcased your skill set.
You are one of the women continuing to pave the
way for young girls to know that they are truly limitless.

Speaker 2 (10:51):
I think for me, it's just yeah, pushing that limit
and creating those spaces. We can't just keep waiting to
get invited to those. It's just I want to be
a part of the conversation. I want to be where
the men are. I believe that we deserve to be
where the men are, and that we put in the
same amount of work and the same amount of training,
especially as athletes. And I think the biggest moment for

(11:13):
me where I realized that to keep pushing the limit
was I think two years ago I started working out
at Exos, which was a It's a pretty well known
training facility for NFL and then also MLB players that
live in Arizona for spring training will go and train there,
and I wanted to bring my training to the next level,
and I wanted to be training with the big names,

(11:35):
and so I decided to, I guess, invest in myself
and go to Exos. And I was the only softball
the first softball player they've ever had there, and then
one of the only women training with the men. And
at first it was super intimidating, and I felt like
I didn't belong because I think everyone was just like
who's this, Like why is she here? But the minute

(11:56):
I started to train, in the minute I started to
just be that athletic person that I am and move
the way that they did, I think they the respect
was there and they just kind of welcomed me as
one of their own and one of the other guys.
And that's where I realized, we just have to enter
the room and then we'll get respected and we'll get
our spot at the table. And being able to do

(12:18):
that and go through every single workout and keeping up
with the guys and hearing from them and be like WHOA, like,
you actually make us better. You're pushing us because we
want to go as hard as you go. I think
hearing that then just allowed me to be like, Okay,
I now feel more comfortable going on stage with and
competing against men, or going to events and being maybe

(12:39):
one of the few women athletes there, and it just
gives you that confidence of it's not it's just more
in your head. I think as women, I think we're
in our heads of will we even be like talk
to we be liked, will they respect us at all?
But it's yeah, once you show up, I think you
prove to them that you belong exactly in the same space.

Speaker 1 (13:00):
Not only do we belong in those spaces, but it's
almost like we pave our own way there because to
your point of being able to train with guys. I've
gone out and trained with football players working for the
Combine before and it was the only woman doing it.
And I was like Ryan Clark for those that may know,
he used to put on something about rouge and used
to train with a lot of them, and it was
always like, not only was I keeping up, I was

(13:22):
faster than some of them. I was able to move
weight better than some of them, and maybe their stuff
was heavier, but like, as far as what we could
both deal with, it was the same, right, and then
I'm moving that kind of weight. But when we talking
about setting like our own lane. I hope for young
girls like watching you and watching women in any capacity

(13:43):
go out and dominate, whether it's against men, against other women,
or against themselves. It's a showcase that to your point,
you just have to show up. Like as soon as
you show up, you are now paving the path to
what could be greatness to whether it's a man or
a woman is watching you for as an example. And
when you think about you paving your own path and

(14:04):
how you've been able to be example, maybe just for yourself,
your younger self, what do you feel like is the
path that you were paving currently paving? What would you
name it?

Speaker 2 (14:16):
I don't know. I would just.

Speaker 1 (14:18):
That girl. Yeah, I don't know what you've seen before.

Speaker 2 (14:26):
I like that girl. I mean that's what I feel
like right now, especially having been in those spaces more
and more, I do feel like, Yeah, like I'm that girl.
I'm that girl that's keeping up, I'm that girl that's
pushing the limits. I'm I do feel that when I'm
in those events, at those events or doing those type
of derbies. And I mean personally for me, you've been

(14:49):
a huge role model in that just even seeing you
doing MLB stuff and being on TV and just again
being the only woman that you see in those events
and being able to just hold yourself to such a
high standard. Is like, I see that, and then I
get my confidence to do the same thing. And now
I don't think I can be on TV or talk
in front of people like that. I don't. I don't

(15:11):
have that confidence. But I do like to perform and
I do like to swing it and prove to myself
if I can do it as well. I think the
biggest thing is it's a competition with myself is can
I put my money where I'm talking about? Can I
do what I say I can do? And can I
prove to myself that I can't compete with the men?

(15:32):
So at the end of the day, it's also a
little game with myself, and it's how far can I
actually hit this ball? How hard can I throw this?
Can I lift what they're lifting or can I move
the way they're lifting? Can I beat them by one second?
And I think the competitive person that I am, the
athlete that I am, I think that's what helps me
stay motivated and continue to enter those rooms. Let's take

(15:54):
a quick break to hear a word from our sponsor.

Speaker 1 (16:05):
For those who don't know, Yes, Erica is Italian, but
like truly she was born in Italy, was born in
Italy moved to California because you know, we were like, yeah,
I'm Italianah yeah, yeah, well I mean okay. She was
born in Italy and moved to California when she was
five years old and growing up having to learn two

(16:26):
different languages, two different cultures. Confidence is something that I
imagine is something that you've had to really establish at
a young age. How have you been able to establish
our confidence and then maintain it, especially in a world
that is doing his best to knock confidence out of
woman left and right.

Speaker 2 (16:45):
Man, it's been hard. I was never the confident girl.
I was very shy. I was very soft spoken, very quiet,
kind of in my corner growing up. I don't like
attention a lot. I didn't like to be in the
front of the room. I didn't like speaking. I was very,
very shy. And I think once I got to college

(17:06):
and I started to figure myself out and realize who
I am, who I want to be. And then not
only that, but on the field, I also started to
perform and I was growing into my body and realizing
how strong I could be and how powerful I can be.
I think that's really when the confidence started to hit.
And then it just grows and grows the more I

(17:28):
play and the more experience that I get in this game.
But it's hard to maintain. As in, there's so many
moments in our sport. And you talk about this all
the time too, is our sport is a game of failure,
and I think there's so many moments in our sport
where the confidence is fake. We have to fake it

(17:48):
to make it. I guess that's the quote everyone says,
But you truly do have moments where you don't feel
confident at all. But in order to play this game
and in order to be successful in this game, you
have to have that confidence, and you have to have
that swag, and you have to be true to yourself
when you're playing. I think the older I get now,
I kind of know how I can get there quicker,

(18:10):
and maybe on the days that I'm not as confident,
I know exactly how to maybe fake it a little
quicker to get there. But confidence is a huge thing,
and you only get that by again doing these experiences
and stepping outside of your comfort zone and doing things
that maybe you thought would hold yourself back, but then
the minute you do it, you're like, whoa, you just

(18:30):
get this confidence boost of like I can do it,
I can be a part of this. I can put
on a show with the men. Like that's such a
huge confidence boost from me. And then from there, I
just keep trying to build and build.

Speaker 1 (18:41):
I read something once and I talked about like those
nerves you get when you're about to do something new
or something that you've never done before. It is not
because you're incapable. It's because your your future self is
excited to finally meet you. Like it's like your future
self is already doing that thing, right, and so it's
like now you're finally getting there. So it's just your

(19:02):
future self is excited to meet you, and that's the excitement.
We interpret as nerves, but it's really an indication that
we're exactly where we're supposed to be and we just
have to keep going. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (19:13):
I saw that similar quote, but it's like when you
get nervous or your heart starts racing, it think of
it as like you're inner self clapping you on. Oh
I love that, And the minute I read that, I
was like, that's so true. It's like they're just like
little claps, like they're trying to tell you to keep going.
So it's such a perspective change, isn't it.

Speaker 1 (19:31):
Like it and soda. Just think how you could just
read one thing and be like, huh, well that just
changed my brain chemistry. Thank you, random person on the internet.
Appreciate that.

Speaker 2 (19:41):
That's why I love. That's the one positive thing of
social media is the things that you can learn from it.

Speaker 1 (19:47):
That confidence that you had. I'm surprised I'm not seeing
the Don't Blink chain that she won. Oh it's right there.

Speaker 2 (20:00):
Funny funny you say that I haven't. I literally wait,
look at that is what she won for winning.

Speaker 1 (20:09):
She's the inaugural don't believe home run Champion. I was
wearing that all day long until I had to get
over to Erica. I was so sad.

Speaker 2 (20:17):
No, it wasn't, you know, it wasn't really sad, but
I was like, oh my god, this looks so cool.
It looked great on you. I was like, well, look
at that, look at aj with the chain.

Speaker 1 (20:23):
Look at it. But it looks good on you. You
deserve it more than I do. I have to show
you this is a surprise.

Speaker 2 (20:31):
M A. It's gonna be so cute.

Speaker 1 (20:36):
Okay, Well, the confidence that Erica has and talk about
the support system that she has within it. One of
her supporters was at the home run derby with her
her wonderful boyfriend and anyway, I recorded his response.

Speaker 2 (21:01):
I'm just flying on the wall.

Speaker 3 (21:02):
It's crazy to see and it's amazing.

Speaker 1 (21:05):
He's gonna keep doing her thing, tuning.

Speaker 4 (21:07):
In the women's.

Speaker 3 (21:07):
Sports and super extremely proud of me. He's always working,
always out there, hustling twenty four seven.

Speaker 1 (21:16):
It's just in her blood.

Speaker 3 (21:17):
Why he absolutely deserves all our heart, hard work, in
the spirit that she puts in to this sport and
everything that she gives doing to our teammates or herself
or our family.

Speaker 2 (21:29):
It's amazing to watch.

Speaker 1 (21:30):
And I'm just happy to the cart and theday Man.

Speaker 2 (21:32):
What absolutely my world, my heart, I love her, my girl,
I love you. Oh my gosh, schat baby, Why does
that make me emotional?

Speaker 1 (21:50):
He's so cute, He's so cute. He was the sweetest.
He was there the whole time, cheering on. I was
just watching him watch you as you were getting presented
as the winner. And that's when I was like, tell
me how you feel.

Speaker 2 (22:06):
No, He's truly like the one of the biggest reasons
like I am where I am, especially in this last
couple of years. It's like being a professional athlete, not
only in softball, but you always feel alone, as in
your training you're alone, your journey you're kind of alone.

(22:28):
And then having him always pushing me, always by my side,
always excited for me and supporting me, coming to visit me,
and being able to travel and come watch me play.
I feel like he's my constant besides my parents. He's
my constant person and I can always go to him
on the good days on the bad days, and I
think having that has helped me so much, especially in

(22:48):
the downs that this sport brings. It's been really beautiful
to have someone that I could share that with and
not be judged or not kind of push to the
side about it is. He just takes it all in
and just knows exactly what to say and how to
make me feel. And seeing him at the derby, I
saw I think that someone sent me a picture of
him recording me while I was swinging, but he was

(23:09):
so into it and I was like, that's that's my baby.
That's that's my man. Oh he's so cute.

Speaker 1 (23:17):
I love love one day anyway, but no, but it
truly is. It's so special to be able to share
those moments but someone that really gets it. And I
love how one of the things he said in the
video is like watch women's sports, right. It's so cool

(23:38):
when like you have someone that not only supports you
as a woman in sports, but wants you to dominate
and it's so proud of you when you do. Your
parents also, people that have been there from the start,
wanted to help you dominate. I mean they both played
at a high level. Your mom competed in the Olympics,
your dad in baseball. I mean, if there was one

(24:00):
person destined to be successful, it sounds like it's you.
What are some of the things you've learned from them?

Speaker 2 (24:08):
So much? They're amazing people. But they have been so
patient and so calm with me and my journey, and
they've made it a point that it's my journey, it's
how I want to do things, it's my timing, and
they don't force things on me. And growing up, they've
never forced softball on me. It was something I chose
to do. And you would think having two parents that

(24:30):
have played baseball and softball, that that would be like, oh,
my daughter has to play. But for them it's like
pick a sport. Whatever sport you want to play, will
support you. And I tried multiple sports, but at the
end of the day it was me as like, no, Mom,
I want to be like you. I want to play softball.
And then in that they just pushed me every single day,
and I think it was nice to be able to

(24:50):
have people that understood exactly what I was going through,
especially leading up to the Olympics in Tokyo. Having my
mom at my side, being able to ask her all
the questions. It's like having a like a book with
all that apt.

Speaker 1 (25:05):
Yeah you hadt before, Chatt gubt.

Speaker 2 (25:09):
Right, and she was just like yeah, I mean she
would tell me her experiences and she would just prepare
me for what was to come, even just going there.
Obviously our experiences are different, and my Olympics was completely different,
as in it was during COVID, so we didn't have
the fans, we didn't have the same atmosphere that my
mom had. But just being able to know that at

(25:30):
any given moment, I can go to her and ask
her about something, or vent to her about something, or
maybe the days that I just feel like I'm not
good enough, that she understands exactly like, oh, I felt
that same way, and it's just having that reassurance. Reassurance
has helped so much. And again, they just have been
so patient and so happy and they're always excited for

(25:52):
anything I do. I could literally say, hey, Mom, tomorrow,
I'm going to go give a softball to a five
year old that I don't know, and my mom will
act like it's the Olympics in Los ange Like we
just qualify for the Olympics in Los Angeles. Like they're
so excited for every little thing that I do. And yeah,
they're my biggest supporters in life in general.

Speaker 1 (26:15):
I love that you being able to have that kind
of support system is truly unlike any other because to
your point, you can get very lonely being a professional athlete,
being an Olympian, being in these positions where you're literally
the top of the top is you say it gets
lonely at the top, It's a very true statement. And

(26:36):
for you getting to the top of the Olympics in.

Speaker 2 (26:40):
Tokyo, take me back to the moment.

Speaker 1 (26:42):
When you're competing with Team Italy and you qualify, the
team qualifies, you realize probably one of your lifelong dreams
is being realized and you're going to the Olympics.

Speaker 2 (26:56):
What was the emotions So funny thing is the week
of the qualifiers. Every we had a game every single day,
and the bus ride going to the field, I would
cry by myself, obnestly in my seat every single time,
just thinking about the moment of like if we qualify,
if we qualify, like I would get so emotional about
it that that's how excited I was and felt ready

(27:19):
for that moment. But then the minute happens, I'm like,
I'm gonna ball. I know I'm gonna ball my eyes,
I'm gonna cry. It's gonna be a beautiful moment. And
then you just see me with the biggest smile on
my face, no tears, Like my eyes were completely dry.
I was just smiling and laughing and just yelling the
whole time. And I like a little girl in a
candy shop. That's what it felt like. And I didn't

(27:39):
get the tears that I wanted, but I think I
just had them early on. But it was such a
special moment because I knew that the team that we
had in that moment, the team that qualified, the things
that we went through as a team, and the ups
and downs, especially as softball in Italy is not a
huge sport, so every single day we're fighting for recognition,

(28:01):
we're fighting for the chances, we're fighting for money, we're
fighting for just opportunities to get the same respect in
the sports world in Italy. And being able to prove
so many people wrong in that moment and qualify for
an Olympics was so surreal, so beautiful. And then I
had my parents were obviously there, and so seeing my

(28:22):
mom in this stance too, I think was the super
special moment because it's like, Okay, you did it, and
now I did it, And I think just having that
connection in that moment was super beautiful. And again I
guess I just don't cry when things are super excited.
I cried leading up to it, but I was everyone
was in tears, and I'm over here just like so excited.

(28:43):
But it was a beautiful, beautiful moment.

Speaker 1 (28:45):
You cried, you cried out el was like, listen, I
had all my tears came out in preparation for this moment.
You were meeting came out ago, Yeah, exactly, you knew
what was happening. So it samus out the way, starting
to be happy, right for the pictures. That'd be mine
for the pictures.

Speaker 2 (29:01):
I was the only one looking great for the pictures.

Speaker 1 (29:04):
Oh, I mean, And that was the first time softball
I've been back in the Olympics, that Olympics twenty twenty,
and it was just like a crazy, crazy year, I imagine.

Speaker 2 (29:15):
I still am baffled with how that went down, but yes, crazy.

Speaker 1 (29:21):
How did it go down? I mean, it's COVID. For
everyone know COVID. It's the restrictions are nuts. We're all
wearing face mask everywhere, can't really have fans in certain elements,
certain places. You're all the way in Tokyo, Japan. How
was the experience of the Olympics that year.

Speaker 2 (29:41):
It started with when COVID first happened and they canceled.
They initially canceled the Olympics, and so in that moment,
I remember being in lockdown in Italy. It was super
strict in Italy at the time, and I hadn't left
my apartment in two months. We're over here just like
trying to keep working out because we still think that
Olympics were going to happen, and then on TV they're like, oh,

(30:03):
the Olympics are canceled and they might get postponed or
they might just be canceled indefinitely. And so in that moment,
you're like, the one time softball gets put back in
the Olympics, the one time Italy qualifies, and we might
not even get to go. So I think that started
the journey of what are we doing? And then when

(30:24):
they confirmed it for another year, it was like, Okay,
we get a whole other year. You have to stay
motivated for another year, you have to keep grinding for
another year. You have to keep doing the Olympic training
that I mean Olympic training or training for anything really,
but training at a high level. It's a lot on
your body, it's a lot mentally. And having to almost
be at the finish line and then have to do

(30:45):
a whole other year of that when you weren't prepared
for that I think was the hardest thing. But then
when you get there and you soak it all, it's
all worth it. I mean, you get there, you're surrounded
by the most amazing athletes from all over the world.
The cafeteria. I think the biggest thing I always talk
about is the cafeteria because it was just a free

(31:05):
for all. So you enter the cafeteria and there's five
thousand athletes just eating together from all types of dude,
playing all types of sports, from different countries. You see
like different plates, people that had to carb up and
people that maybe had to eat lighter, and it was
just an amazing thing to be like, Wow, I'm one
of one of the few athletes that actually get to

(31:26):
go on this stage and be playing at this level.
And it was just a pinch me moment every single day,
every single day you're in the village. I think the
hardest thing was playing with no fans. But for me,
I think it was hard just because I knew what
the experience was like talking to my mom and hearing
her emotions within how those experiences were. I had that
kind of in the back of my mind already, so

(31:46):
having that movie in my head and then going there
and it being a completely different movie was the hardest thing.
But again, I wouldn't trade that whole experience for the world.
It was. It's a once in a life time experience.
I don't think any other Olympics will ever be like that,
So it's it's nice to be able to be one
of the few.

Speaker 1 (32:06):
I guess you're definitely gonna have a unique experience compared
to any other Olympia more than likely, which you know
will always make you special in that cafeteria. I know,
like you obviously don't care because you know you have
a boyfriend or whatever. But the for the single ladies,
what sport should you know? You probably you know whose

(32:30):
table might want to join?

Speaker 2 (32:33):
Oh, sport, all of the I mean, there was not
one person that was not athletic in that room. I think,
you know, athletic.

Speaker 1 (32:42):
And yeah, cute, good, good looking.

Speaker 2 (32:47):
You know, and you know, you know, I might be biased,
but the Italian table looked pretty good. I love love
the Italian table. Oh argin Tina had a good table
as well. But you know, there's lots of good tables,
lots of good tables to sit at.

Speaker 1 (33:09):
Oh that's so funny. I just imagine a seen in
mean girls, and that's what like the cafeteria looks like
just walking through and just look at those are the this,
those are the that. That's your Tina table. Just don't
tell me I can't sit with y'all. That's it, that's
all I want.

Speaker 2 (33:27):
Ha.

Speaker 1 (33:29):
There's more to cover, but first let's take a quick break.
Olympics making it to the highest level. But it all
started at good old in Lake Charles, Louisiana, at McNeese University,

(33:52):
and the people in Louisiana now call it Magnese. They
don't say magne If you didn't go to McNeice, you
probably say McNeese, But if you did, it's mac niece.

Speaker 2 (34:00):
For this, I don't know, macnie cow girls, What.

Speaker 1 (34:06):
An experience was that like? Being going from all way
from California to Lake Charles, Louisiana and playing. Also, just
to note what she's accomplished at MacNeice, she owns three
macneese career records home run record, RBI record and record
and walks because that many people did not want her

(34:28):
to hit a home run, so they just walked her.
She also holds three macneese single season records, again home runs,
run scored, and of course walks. Going from across the
country to small town Lake Charles and making the impact
that you did. What do you feel like McNeice, How

(34:48):
important was McNeice to your softball story?

Speaker 2 (34:51):
The most important step. I think for me, McNeice is
where I figured out who I was. I figured out
what player I wanted to be, and I had the
right people around me to push me to get there.
I think McNeice was where I became the athlete that
I am. I think I always had the fundamentals. I

(35:13):
always had, you know, the things my parents taught me,
and they taught me a lot. But McNeice was my
chance to grow by myself and to make the changes
that I needed to make at the pace that I
wanted to make them. And my coach, coach James Landerneum
He's a huge mentor for me still to this day,

(35:33):
my biggest supporter also just always texting me and always
checking in and seeing where I'm at. And I think
he was the one that always knew how to push
me to take that one extra step and to take
that one extra rep or to go one percent harder.
He was the one that knew how to do that
for me and just gave me that confidence of you
can keep playing, you can keep playing after college. And

(35:55):
he was the first person to really put the seed
in my head of professional softball. I always growing up.
For me, softball is just always fun. I've always wanted
to play. It's where my friends are. I enjoyed it
every single second, but I never actually took the time
to be what can I actually do with this sport.
I don't think it was talked about a lot. And
having my parents also coming from Italy, they don't really

(36:18):
know how it works in the States. They're just going
with it, like play softball. And so when he planted
that seed in my head and showed me like, you
have the talent, you have the work ethic, you can
really do something and keep playing if you love it,
I think that was the moment I was like, you
know what, I could keep playing. I could keep doing this.

(36:40):
I want to keep getting better. I want to this
isn't where I want to end my softball career. And
having his support through all four years has been amazing.
And I yes, I had a lot of success at mcnees's,
but I also grew a lot and was humbled a lot,
and Coach James was the first person to kind of

(37:02):
reel me back in and be like, this is what
you're doing, but this is where you want to get to.
And so I think he helped me a lot, like
really take in that success and keep growing from it
and not be content with what I was doing and
always want to get better. And he again, he's the
one that taught me the leg caick, So a lot

(37:22):
of credit goes to him in my career and then
having that beautiful swing. But yeah, McNeice was a huge, huge,
huge part of my journey of me getting to where
I am today.

Speaker 1 (37:35):
Can you break down like why was he incorporated the
leg kick? Because I mean, I'm gonna drop a video
and hear for you guys have a visual but stelly
swing is I mean think think Griffy type stuff, Like
she just has a very pretty swing and it's just
so powerful and it does damage every time. And I'm

(37:55):
curious that the invention of the steally sing and why
was he wanted to implement that?

Speaker 2 (38:03):
It was so random. It was he was talking to
a bunch of baseball guys and they had brought up
the leg kick. And he's very experimental. He wants to
try things. He wants to try every drill and just
kind of see where we're at and what we think
about it, how we like it, and he got I
think all the power hitters that we had. It was

(38:25):
my freshman year, and I think it was five or
six of us power hitters or who he thought would
become power hitters, and he's like, Okay, you guys, I
have a leg kick. I want you guys to try today.
Go all out, really try it, and then let me
know if you like it. If you don't like it,
we'll just let it go. I was the only one
in the group that actually understood the leg kick and
helped it. Actually helped my power a lot in that moment,

(38:49):
And so after that day it was just me with
the leg kick, and the other girls kept their normal
swing with which worked for them, but for me, the
whole time at McNeice was like an experimental leg kick.
Every time we were just analyzing it and how we
can make it better, and how it was helping my power,
and how I was helping me gain more power and
load more in my swing, and then I just kept it.

(39:10):
I didn't know how to not swing like that anymore.
But if you notice, if I were to pull up
videos from all four of my years, every year the
leg cack changed, it was a different style or a
different type of leg kick. There was always just some
growth with my leg cack and I think that's what
I love the most about it is it's so adaptable
and he allowed me to become adaptable with it. It wasn't

(39:31):
just like a certain style that I had to do
for all four years. He was very allowed me to
kind of be myself and be free with my swing,
and it helped me my whole career. I mean, I
was known for the leg cack in my whole professional career. Unfortunately,
now I do not have light cake anymore. I'm always changing,
I'm always adapting. I'm always trying to understand what my

(39:53):
body needs at the time, getting older and timing changing
and all that. So I've adapted my swing a lot.
But it's all thanks to the leg kick that he
taught me that I'm able to understand what my body
needs and how I can maximize power with my swing.

Speaker 1 (40:10):
Throughout learning about your swing and how it changes throughout
the years. What is it that you are searching for,
Like when you're making these different changes to your swing,
what is it that allows you to settle in Okay, Yes,
this is what I need. This is the change. Is
it based off of the pitching that you're getting? Is
it based off of what you've been struggling with, like,

(40:31):
how do you determine when you want to make a change.

Speaker 2 (40:34):
I think initially it was always power. I wanted to
feel strong, I wanted to feel like my ball was
exploding off the bat. But I think now with more experience,
and I've been in the pro space for a couple
of years now, and my body's changing and I'm getting older,
I think for me right now, the biggest aha moment
that I have when I hit is what position can

(40:56):
I get to where I'm consistent and grounded and I
can copy my swing the same way every single time
and feel like I'm getting the power numbers that I want.
And I think that right now is the feeling that
I'm searching for is I want to feel like I'm
in control of every single body part when I'm swinging.
And when I was younger, it was more like I

(41:19):
want to be strong on to be powerful, I want
to do whatever it takes. But now I think with
the maturity that has come with my experience, it's I
want to be a tough out. I want to be
able to compete in the box and be able to
cover so much of the plate that people don't know
what to pitch to me, and in order for me
to do that, I have to be in control of
my swing and be in control of my body and

(41:41):
be able to be grounded. And having found that now
I'm just as explosive and just as confident in my
swing as I was my freshman year of college with
my first year of leg kick. And I think that's
the beautiful thing about our sport is that there's constant
changes and there's constantly way to improve. And I think

(42:01):
every year I'm searching for how can I get one
percent better? How can I get one percent stronger, how
can I handle the outside pitch just one pitch more
than usual? Like how can I always be better? And
I think that's always something that I'm striving for at
the end of my season for that year, how can.

Speaker 1 (42:21):
I always be better? But I also have, like the
insane power that you have. You post a lot of
the drills that you work towards on your social media.
What do you feel like out of those drills is
maybe the one that allows you to really feel and
feel the most grounded to feel that power.

Speaker 2 (42:37):
I think any drill where it's very much emphasis on
my legs is where I feel the most power, the
most time I spend with my feet on the ground
and using my legs. That's where all my power comes from.
And I do a lot of drills that really force
that down movement with my knee and just being in

(42:59):
my legs and really using my hamstrings and my quads
and my glutes. That's when I feel strong. And I
think right now, the biggest, biggest thing, if I have
to say one thing about my swing, is just my
lower half working and making sure that it's constantly working,
even when I'm tired, or when my legs are tired,
or when I'm fatigued. I want my lower half to

(43:20):
always be working.

Speaker 1 (43:22):
One of the it just came to me. I remember
talking with coach James. It was years ago. Used to
go in and do some camps at McNeice and he
was and you know, someone I used to date who
we don't have to mention, was coached by him, so
we would like have conversations often, and so I remember

(43:43):
one time he was talking about you specifically, and I
think it was this exact story. You said, how he
went and gave a bunch of you guys to go
do the leg kick, and he the way he framed
it was that you were the only one really willing
to be flexible about trying it.

Speaker 2 (44:01):
And like the other girls didn't really want to embrace
it at all.

Speaker 1 (44:05):
And so and his whole thing was like he had
a conversation with everybody saying, the person that has the
best stats, the best swing, is doing all the things
you can is the one person that is willing to change.
It's like, if you like her being this example of
someone that is coachable, I don't know if there's a
better example, because most people are like, I am the

(44:29):
best hitter on this team, I have the highest average.
Why would you want to change me? But you didn't
have that mentality at all. It was all about being
coachable and doing what you could to Yes, I'm good,
but how can I be better? Having that type of mentality,
how do you feel like that is what allows you
to keep getting better? Because it's easy to just say,
m I don't want to do that.

Speaker 2 (44:50):
I think that part of my mentality and just how
I do things is my biggest strength but also my
biggest weakness. And it's up to me to find that
fine line of am I changing to get better? Or
am I so addicted to the change and striving to

(45:12):
get better that I'm changing something that doesn't need to
be changed. I think that's the fine line that I
have to figure out a lot every single time i'm
training is figuring out what is it that I actually
need to change and what can I keep for now?
And in college it was so easy. I was so
bought in. I trusted coach James. I liked everything that

(45:35):
he knew about the game. I liked his perspective on things.
I was bought in to his plan and that's what
helped me be so coachable. He could tell me to
swing with my back facing the picture and a blindfold on,
and I would do it. That's how boden I was.
And because of that, I've been able to fail and
make and understand what drills work for me and what

(45:55):
drills don't work, and maybe what's a feeling I want
to avoid at all times, and what's a feeling that
I want to keep looking for. And that's I think
what's gotten me to where I am is I can
now coach myself and I know exactly how I want
to feel and what I don't want to feel, and
when I am doing something, if it feels right or wrong.
And I think that's what's lacking a lot in younger
athletes right now, is being able to understand those feelings

(46:17):
by themselves. I think they're always looking at their coaches,
They're always trying to wait for feedback and understand that
you need to start learning things on your own as well.
But when I say it's also my biggest weakness is
sometimes in my career especially, there's times that I could
be doing so good, but I'm so focused on changes

(46:40):
and trying to be better and better that I change
things that maybe I shouldn't have touched at all in
that moment. And I think that's what I've learned a lot,
especially this past year, is really sitting down with myself
and understanding what's my end goal and what feeling am
I trying to find right now in my swing and
only feel on that and not try to change everything

(47:02):
just because of what I see on Instagram or what
I see hitters doing now or what I see you know,
it's so easy to get caught up and seeing someone
also being super successful and then comparing your swings and
understanding that it's just completely different, and it's a very
easy trap to fall into. And so that's why I
say it's my biggest strength but also my biggest weakness,

(47:23):
and finding the fine line and the balance between those
two is how I've been able to get to where
I am.

Speaker 1 (47:33):
Yeah, that is such a good point because there's so
many I mean, there's so many hitting gurus now. And
it's like, because I remember when teacher Man was such
a big thing, Aaron Judge's hitting coach. I don't know
if he still is, but years ago was, and so
many people were like getting to do like the that
there's just all these different things you're trying to learn

(47:53):
from that, and I agree with you, it's kind of
I think to separate it is to just to find
what it is that you want to be better at,
because I mean, the level that we get to, like,
you've gotten here for a reason. So identify what you're
good at, identify what can be better at, and then
make it, make that happen. Has that how have you
been able to decipher what it is that you are

(48:17):
good at and what it is that you think you
want to change?

Speaker 2 (48:20):
Trial and error?

Speaker 4 (48:21):
Okay, lots of lots of failing moments, lots of growth
in that, and anytime I talk about the mental side
of the game.

Speaker 2 (48:33):
I love bringing up the fact that our sport is
such a failing sport. You fail more than you succeed.
It's eighty percent mental. I believe it's almost ninety percent
mental when you're getting to the higher, highest level, but
you fail so many times. And the beautiful thing about
our sport, or the part that I'm obsessed with in softball,

(48:53):
is that you can fail and fail and fail, but
the one time you succeed, that's when everything just clicks
and it just brings you back in. And I love
to learn from. I love failing because it allows me
to understand where I'm at. If I fail at something,
I can understand, Okay, why did I fail at this?

Speaker 4 (49:14):
Was it?

Speaker 2 (49:14):
Did I do it wrong? Is it not the right
fit for me? Or do I need to feel something
else while doing it? And I think with hitting, you
have to fail in order to understand what type of
hitter you are and what type of swing you need,
because that's the only way you can make changes. If
your coach is constantly feeling you pitches down the middle
and you're constantly hitting home runs, that's not going to
tell you anything about your swing. It's not going to

(49:35):
tell you your weak points. It's not going to tell
you what pitch you can and can't handle. It's not
going to tell you what your swing does in a
certain count. You have to be able to fail and
do things that are difficult in your swing, especially in
the offseason. And so I think for me, that's all
I do is I love trying new things because I
want to see am I going to fail at it?
And if so, why why am I failing at it?

(49:57):
And what can I do again to not fail at
this drill? Or maybe understand is this drill even important
for me? And I think that's yeah, that's the beautiful
thing about our sport. And I think in order to
get to the high level, you have to not love
to fail like I word it, but you have to
want to fail and be okay with failing in order

(50:20):
to have the success and get to the point where
you're trying to get to.

Speaker 1 (50:24):
I call it befriending failure. You have to. You can't
because so many people shy away from it or don't
want to to meet it, and you have to become
best friends with it to where that is like you
have best friend that keeps you in check. It's like, yeah, right,
I gotta go meet failure today, y'all. You know, like
if you look at it like that, like I gotta
go meet failure, why you got to be failure? I
just need to learn some things, you.

Speaker 2 (50:45):
Know what I mean?

Speaker 1 (50:46):
Like exactly talk about it that way. It just completely
reframes the way you view it versus being like, oh,
I don't want to experience failures like you know, I
gotta mean failure. You gotta go have a talk. You
gotta have a chance.

Speaker 2 (50:58):
We get some coffee. Yeah, yeah, have some coffee time together.

Speaker 1 (51:01):
Yeah, I love it. Thanks for sticking us from first
to second base. We'll be rounding third after the breaks.
I just remember vividly having I don't remember when we
are having to play you or something happened and we're talking.

(51:22):
Coach Tena's talking about just how great of a player
Pian Costelli is and our game plan to not let
you beat us, and it was so I mean, they're
just naming all your stat's, not your home runs of
my holy crap, Like what the heck?

Speaker 2 (51:37):
This girl is so good?

Speaker 1 (51:38):
And I think so many people wondered why you stayed
at McNeice when you probably could have easily transferred to
a Power five school started and maybe competed for a championship.
But the commitment that you had to McNeice, I want
to know more about that because I think it's so
powerful now only within who you knew as a player

(52:02):
and who you knew would help you get better, but
also just the fact that this was the program for
me and I don't I don't need to change it,
and why you were so steadfast with it.

Speaker 2 (52:12):
There are definitely moments in my career that I questioned
of should I stay or should I go somewhere bigger,
go where there's more competition and prove myself there. But
it always came down to, at the end of the days,
I wouldn't have had the success that I had if
it weren't for these coaches, if it wasn't for this program,

(52:34):
if it wasn't for this school. So I almost to
me it was why would I learn? So it's almost like,
why would I learn so much and take so much
from this program and have this program helped me in
my success and then just leave felt so wrong to
me And I almost had this like loyalty to McNeice
of I wouldn't have been even half the player that

(52:57):
I was without these coaches or without these girls, and
without the structure that we have at McNeice in the
small community that we have, and McNeice is such a
small school that it was my second family, and I
was so far from my family that it was nice
to be able to have people that supported us and
came to all our games and hosted dinners and helped
us in the off season and helped us after training.

(53:20):
And in those moments where maybe I was considering leaving
or maybe I was considering like do I want to
go to a top five or a bigger school, or
do I want to have a bigger school's name on
my chest? It was at the end of the day,
I had to really sit with myself and be like,
that's not what matters. It's not about the name or
the program or going to a top five just because

(53:42):
everyone thinks you should go to a top five. It's
where can I learn the most and how can I
become the best version of myself on and off the field.
And McNeice was that for me, and so I Yeah,
I got asked that a lot during season, and there
was one time because Shames thought I was leaving, He's like,
are you There's a lot of talk in Lake Charles

(54:03):
saying that you're leaving, But for me, it was just
the easiest, Like, No, McNeice is why I'm good right now,
It's why I got to You are the reason I've
been able to unlock so many things in my game,
and as the woman that I am, and so I
wanted to keep staying there and keep learning it and
keep being the person that I was in that program.

(54:24):
And I still to this day believe that believing would
not have solved anything for me or and there's always
that would have If there could have been I could
have gotten better, maybe I would have had more success.
But the success and the things that I was learning
at McNeice was exactly what I needed at that time
and exactly where I needed to be for those four years.

Speaker 1 (54:44):
I mean, I don't know, there's not much more you
could do Olympics, pro ball, Like, I'm not really sure
there's much else. Yeah, for those young athletes, because you know,
I mean we talk about all the time, the transfer portal.

(55:07):
It is always a huge topic of conversation at the
end of the season. And now when there's like a
lot less regulations. It's just kind of a lot easier.
But for those athletes that are like you, teering between
should I stay or should I go? What would be
the advice you would tell them about making that decision.

Speaker 2 (55:26):
My biggest advice is it has to come from you
and not the voices around you. Not your parents, not
your teammates, not your fans, not your Instagram followers. It
has to come from you, and you have to really
sit with yourself and if need be, write a pros

(55:46):
and cons list. But I think there has to be
a valid reason for you to want to change and
want to leave. And the issue that I'm having right
now with the transfer portal is it's gotten too easy
for people and the minute they have a bad day,
or maybe they have a slump, or I don't know,

(56:08):
maybe they're not getting the playing time that they think
they deserve. Instead of putting their head down and working
harder for it, or maybe finding new ways to figure
out how to be better and how to earn that spot,
they go straight into the transfer portal and straight into
just somewhere else where they could play and get the

(56:30):
attention that they think they deserve. But I think the
beauty of what college sports was before the transfer portal
is you really had to dig deep on the hard
days and really work things out and learn about yourself
and learn about what you needed at the time. And
I think, just, yeah, the transfer portal to me has
just made it way too easy and there's always there's

(56:50):
always going to be the valid I don't think people
need to stay at a school if it's not meant
for them. I just don't think that kids nowadays know
what it is, what it means to be in a
school that's meant for you. What is it the difference
between a school that's there to make you grow on
and off the field and make you grow as a person,
rather than going to a school just so you could

(57:11):
be in the starting nine and compete for a couple
extra games. So I think my biggest thing is, yeah,
it just has to come. It has to be a
decision that comes from you, and your reasonings are your
reasonings and they make sense to you, then that's when
you make your decision. But I think right now there's
too many coaches, parents, Instagram, social media things involved that

(57:36):
are making people make that decision too quick.

Speaker 1 (57:39):
Do what's best for you. But really check in with
yourself and really make sure that the reasons why you're
doing it are reasons because you want to benefit yourself
as not just a player, but as a person, not
just because it got hard, not just because thinks.

Speaker 2 (57:54):
Exactly, not just because things got hard, and not just
because social media makes you think that you have to
be at a top ten school to be successful. I
think is my biggest thing. And if there's one person
that's perfect example that's not the case.

Speaker 1 (58:10):
It is Erica being able to go out play pro ball,
be the top of the league, go to the Olympics,
like there's there's a path to reaching all the success
that you want to reach, even if you don't go
to a Power five.

Speaker 2 (58:25):
Promise exactly, promise you promise.

Speaker 1 (58:32):
Well, now we're going to go into the no fly
zone segment because no matter where you play on the field,
we got to turn the field into a no fly zone. Erica,
what would you say is your favorite play you've made
in your career recently?

Speaker 2 (58:48):
Was I made a diving catch in the outfield, had
my inner no fly no fly zone? There does anything
that involves diving? I think for me is on defense.
The most amazing you can do. It's just the excitement
around it. Being able to help your picture out getting dirty,
getting full out stretch is it's an amazing feeling, And

(59:11):
especially when it's in an important part of the game
and you've saved your team or saved that inning from
getting worse, and it's just yeah, no fly I. I
always have to tell myself that thanks to you, you
and Leah, no flies on.

Speaker 1 (59:25):
Baby, Whether you find the player in the grass, she's
gonna help that, she's gonna help the picture. Y'all.

Speaker 2 (59:31):
You guys actually got off the ground. I still think
my toes kind of dragged a little bit, but I try.
I try to get.

Speaker 1 (59:39):
The catch was made. That's all that matters. What do
you feel like is the key to being an elite
catcher or an elite outfielder.

Speaker 2 (59:51):
Communication is the biggest thing, especially as a catcher, being
able to have good communication with your picture, with your teammate,
it's in with your coaching staff. I almost view catching
as you're the middle man. You have to translate what
the coach wants your picture to do, and you have
to translate it and try to give it to your
picture in a way that the picture can process it correctly.

(01:00:14):
And so I think having good communication and that goes
with outfit as well, being able to communicate with your
fellow outfielders and with your infielders, avoiding collisions, making sure
you're in the right spot, making sure you're throwing to
the right base. I think communication, at the end of
the day is key in our whole sport.

Speaker 1 (01:00:33):
Yeah, you gotta communicate. I've had quite a few collisions
to know whether it be with the fence or the
other human being. Please talk to.

Speaker 2 (01:00:42):
Me, Yeah, let me know.

Speaker 1 (01:00:45):
What would you say? Are your softball X.

Speaker 2 (01:00:50):
Playing with your pants above your kneesage? I hate kny cleavage.
I hate jerseys untucked, hate ears outside of the visor.
I I do that when a picture, when a picture really.

Speaker 1 (01:01:10):
Wow, maybe this is like a picture catcher thing. Because
Lee said the same thing. She said her right having
ears outside the visor, I was like, I have to
do it. It is so uncomfortable.

Speaker 2 (01:01:22):
It's something so maybe some people just can't put it off.
There's an inch on that. And then when pictures, when
pictures grunt, it kind of gives me an ick. There's
a lot of icks in our sport. It's crazy.

Speaker 1 (01:01:35):
Listen and chop a ball. This is before teams like
outsource her team. So there's the Texas Glory. I don't
know if you played the same girl on how old
she was? Maybe she was my age and we missed it.
But she pitched and when she grunted, she would it
sounded like she was saying it theka please please. There's

(01:01:57):
someone that's played against her. I know it. I know it,
and I know they remember. I will never forget her.
I will never forget her. But she pitched.

Speaker 2 (01:02:04):
It was like the way she grants Ithica.

Speaker 1 (01:02:07):
And we were just like we're playing at the co
to day, y'all, Like we played them so much so
we knew her.

Speaker 2 (01:02:12):
And I was like, wow, how do you even hit?
How do you hit? How do you focus?

Speaker 1 (01:02:15):
You know? I like that. I honestly block people out
when I'm up to bath, so I don't really know
what goes on, but like and the dugout would hear it,
and so I'm like, oh my god, she can't be serious.
But she's dead. She's dead us the minute.

Speaker 2 (01:02:32):
The minute you hear it once, all it takes is
you to hear it one time. You'll never unhear it.

Speaker 1 (01:02:36):
No, I'm telling you this, I mean shoot that had
to have happened when I was fifteen, and I will
never I want to forget her. I'm well above fifteen
now and she is still someone that I will never forget.
So ifica you will remember, girl, shout out to you.
If you listen and you played on the Texas Glory
in like two thousand and eight or nine, something like that,

(01:02:57):
ten eleven, that's fine those years. That's you, my girl.
Appreciate it. I'll ever get you area. What would you
say is in our sport of failure? Failure, as we
talk about it, is a part of success, it's not
the opposite. So what would you say is your favorite
failure that has ultimately led you to some of your

(01:03:18):
biggest successes. I have too. I have.

Speaker 2 (01:03:23):
After my sophomore year at mcnee's. I had a great
freshman year, had an even better sophomore year, just kept
breaking records, and then started my junior year with the
biggest slump in my whole career. I think it lasted
the first month and a half a season, and I
don't know if it was I mean, it was probably

(01:03:46):
a mixture of me getting really caught up in my
previous successes and trying to beat that, but not figuring
out how to do that in the right way. But
that was I had a sumboer. I think I was
zero for fifty. I was either popping up, striking out,
or hitting a ground ball. There was no in between,
no walks, no hbps, there was no on base percentage happening.

(01:04:10):
And the hardest part for me was I just kept
feeling like I was letting my team down. And I
just kept feeling like I'm in a position in the
lineup like I'm supposed to be scoring the runs. I'm
supposed to be hitting the home runs. I'm the power
bat in this lineup. I need to help my team.
I just felt like I wasn't. And all it took
was coach James. He called me over I practice one day,

(01:04:34):
told me to come an hour early, and I'm riding
my bike to the field and he just has two
chairs like set up right on home plate, and he's
sitting in one chair and the other chairs empty, and
I'm like pulling up in my bike kind of looking
at him. So I was like, is this like an intervention?
Like what are we doing? And he just sits me
down and he just he's so blunt, but He just

(01:04:56):
has such an honest conversation with me and tells me that, no,
if I go oh for twenty in the next twenty
at bats or if I am twenty for twenty, my
teammates will still think the same of me because I'm
a good teammate, I'm a good person, and I deserve
to be on this team. And it's the way he
worded it was like, you're never gonna let your team down.
You're letting yourself down more than anything. And just hearing

(01:05:19):
that from him, and hearing that he still believed in
me after I went oh for fifty, like he still was.
He wasn't moving me in the lineup, He wasn't taking
at bats away from me. He believed in me and
knew that at some point I was going to get
out of it. Just being able to have that person
that you look up to and that you respect so
much tell you that when you needed to hear it

(01:05:39):
the most. I think that's what helped me really get
out of that slump, and then I had a phenomenal
junior and senior year. But it's so important to have
the right people surround you in those down moments because again,
like we just said, failures is part of success, but
if you can't get out of that failure, you're never
going to have success. And he was a big reason.
And my second was recently. This past year was one

(01:06:03):
of my hardest softball years mentally that I've ever had
since I since I started playing softball. I had a
really really hard year this year, confidence wise, mental wise,
result wise, just all in all, just had a horrible
year for my standards or for myself and I couldn't

(01:06:23):
get out of it. And this year was the longest
I've ever been in such a negative space. And now
that I am out of it, and now that I
am confident and back in a good spot, I kind
of just laugh at the situation, as in, I'm glad
I went through this year because now I'll never go
through that again. I'll never let myself get to that

(01:06:47):
point again. I know exactly how to get out of
it now. I know exactly why I maybe have gotten
to that mental state that I was in and what
I need and the people that I need to get
out of that. And I always say, if I didn't
go through those two scenario, and there's more, so many
more failures that I went through, but if I didn't
go through those two specific situations, I would never be

(01:07:09):
the person the player that I am today, and personally,
I don't even think the I wouldn't have I used
Bahamas as an example, but that was the first event
that I had after my year, like really really bad
year that I had. That was the first time I
felt like myself again and felt confident and felt like
I was where I needed to be. But I wouldn't

(01:07:32):
have shown up like that if it wasn't for the
failure that I went through, if it wasn't for the
lessons that I had to learn and the dark moments
that I had to sit with myself and cry and
cry and cry and just be able to just feel
it out. And I think that's the best. If there's
any advice I have to get to someone that's struggling

(01:07:54):
or failing in the moment at that moment in the
sport or going through a slump, it's just write it out,
write it out, fill it out, and make sure you
understand every single motion that you're feeling so that when
it happens again, because it will happen again, you know
exactly how to get yourself out of.

Speaker 1 (01:08:13):
That beautifully said, I love that to be able to
know how to get yourself up because it's not as
hard the next time, but you have to you have
to go through it the first time in order for
it to get easy. Second. I think that's yeah, and
I feel like we could relate that to just softball,
like you fail, like I think of it in the outfield,
a ball that I had to miss that one ball,

(01:08:35):
so I knew what angle to take, what path to
do reaction to never miss it again. So all these
catches that you see me make, it's because I missed
it one time, you know what I mean. So you
had to have failed that one time in order to
have all these successes. And to your point, when you're
getting through a hard moment, if you don't allow yourself
to go through it, you'll never get through it the

(01:08:58):
next time it comes. So Stelly, thank you so much
for joining me today on dropping diamonds, spreading all your
amazing diamonds. You drop so many gems today.

Speaker 2 (01:09:11):
Thank you. This was an amazing conversation and it's so
motivating to be able to have these conversations, especially with you,
someone that I've looked up to. So I'm really thankful
to be in this space with you, in this podcast
with you, and to be able to just talk softball
and to hear similar experiences, and to be able to

(01:09:32):
just talk about why we do what we do and
why we've done it for so long. So thank you, Stelly,
I love you, Love you, ajam you the best.

Speaker 1 (01:09:44):
Continue to be the idol, the role model. We're going
to be so excited. Wait, how do I how do
we cheer for you in Italian farsa farza? Okay, but
what if I want to say Stelly is the best?

Speaker 2 (01:09:59):
Love you Steally Elm.

Speaker 1 (01:10:04):
Steally Almo that remember that, Sally, I love you.

Speaker 2 (01:10:20):
Oh, thank you guys so much, but choose my bad that.
Thank you so much for listening to today's episode.

Speaker 1 (01:10:29):
Let's continue this conversation at Dropping Diamonds pod and remember
everyone or affirmation go out because today I choose to
turn each negative thought into a positive. Good energy is
all I have to give an abundant life.

Speaker 2 (01:10:44):
I'm bound to live. I'll meet you.

Speaker 1 (01:10:47):
Here next week back at the Diamond Bye for now.
Dropping Diamonds with A J Andrews is an iHeart women's
sports production in partnership with athletes Unlimited Softball Link and
Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment.

Speaker 2 (01:11:07):
I'm your host, AJ Andrews.

Speaker 1 (01:11:09):
Our executive producer is Jesse Katz. Tari Harrison is our
supervising producer, and this episode was mixed and mastered by
Mary Doo. Listen to Dropping Diamonds with AJ Andrews on
the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts.