April 24, 2024 • 19 mins
Lillian Martineau is a long-time baseball turned softball player, who has competed in both sports at the high school level in Connecticut. A 2024 Georgia Tech softball commit, Martineau‘s switch from baseball to softball came within the last year after playing in the male-dominated baseball system since Little League. From youth to high school baseball, she continuously had to prove that she belonged every time she took the field, and despite all this, thrived. Lillian joins Nick to discuss her journey and decision to move from baseball to softball, the benefits she gained from being a multi-sport athlete, and the importance of mental preparation and resilience.
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
Every game I had to prove like girls can play baseball.
But I was just coming to the realization that I
didn't have to prove anything to anyone anymore, and I
knew what was right for me, and I was less
concerned about what was right for necessarily everyone else.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
This is the Reform Sports Project, a podcast about restoring
healthy balance and perspective in all areas of sports through
education and advocacy. Hi, this is Nick Bonacor from the
Reform Sports Podcast. My guest today is Lillian Martineau, high
school senior baseball and softball player from Connecticut and a
twenty twenty four Georgia Tech softball recruit. Lillian's switch from
(00:40):
baseball to softball came within the last year after playing
in the male dominated baseball system since she was twelve
years old. She spent the last five years having to
prove she belonged every time she took the field, and
despite all this, she thrived. Lillian and I discussed her
journey and decision to move from baseball to softball, the
benefits she got from being a multi sp an athlete,
(01:01):
and the importance of mental preparation and resilience. I'm very,
very fortunate to have on a young woman, young student
athlete who I've been following for some time. We're from
the same neck of the woods up in the Northeast.
I haven't figured out yet if she's a Red Sox
or Yegies fan. Maybe she'd one of the random you know,
I say random, but there's a lot of Mets fans
(01:21):
up there too.
Speaker 3 (01:22):
That would be the third choice, would be the one.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
That's your one, all right, fair enough, But then we
just established that in the Connecticut area. Pumped to have her.
She's you know, she's an absolutely awesome athlete and many
of you probably seen her on Twitter and such. But
very grateful to have her, Miss Lillian Martineau. Thank you
so much for hopping on.
Speaker 3 (01:43):
Yeah, thank you so much for having me for sure.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
And your story's amazing. I love it. You just committed
to Georgia Tech. You just committed to How the hell
did that happen?
Speaker 3 (01:53):
So it was definitely chaotic for sure.
Speaker 1 (01:56):
Last summer, basically at the end of my high school
season playing baseball, I was still committed to my baseball
travel team, so I started off the summer with them,
But I had been getting interest from a lot of
schools for softball that were you know of high caliber
D one schools, and it really just started to open
my eyes to the opportunities that I could have playing softball.
(02:19):
And of course education is super important for me as well,
so it was really like a win win situation. But
last summer was my first summer ever playing softball, and
I started off at I believe, Scenic City Tournament where
there's basically just schools.
Speaker 3 (02:38):
On schools watching everyone play.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
So I was definitely thrown into the water with all
the shark super early on. But Georgia Tech was able
to watch me play when I was with Fury Platinum,
and it just went from there.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
So hold on here, let me just get this straight.
So you make that sound like really casual. You just said, yeah,
I started playing softball last summer, and then I get
an offer or I commit to, you know, a Power
five university in the Atlanta's Coast conference. Just to give
everyone a background, Lilian has been playing baseball, you know,
(03:14):
with the dudes, with the guys for entire life, right,
So yeah, like what made you make the transition? Like
how did this all come about? And just kind of
tell us your backstory a little bit.
Speaker 1 (03:24):
Yeah, totally so I have been playing baseball since I.
Speaker 3 (03:27):
Was in the Little league all through my junior year
of high school, and along with playing.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
For my school, I always was playing travel as well,
and so my sites were really set on playing baseball
in college again.
Speaker 3 (03:39):
Up until last year, my junior year.
Speaker 1 (03:42):
And basically high school was just getting to be I'm
not sure exactly the word to you to describe it,
but it wasn't working for me anymore.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
Right.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
I was training six to seven days a week and
just what seemed to be not getting any recognition for
it at all, which as an athlete, is it something
that you want to deal with? Like I know that
I was working harder than the majority of not all
my teammates, it still wasn't getting as many opportunities as
they were. And even though, like I absolutely loved my
(04:14):
travel team and I've always had opportunities to play with
them and have been playing with them and a lot
of my coaches since I was twelve thirteen years old,
I just knew that I was then continuing to prove
myself to everybody.
Speaker 3 (04:26):
Over and over again playing baseball. It's kind of just
what it was.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
Every day, every game I had to prove, like girls
can play baseball. But I was just coming to the
realization that I didn't have to prove anything to anyone anymore,
and I knew what was right for me, and I
was less concerned about what was right for necessarily everyone else.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
If that made sense, No, it makes complete sense. So
you started playing baseball because you just love playing the game,
like many many many kids do. My kids play co ed,
you know, their five, six, seven years old soccer. But eventually,
you know, like I think my son Mark is going
to get to an age. I think it's like the
next year where he'll go to a boys team and
girls play growth cure. So you stuck with baseball. But
(05:04):
so along the way, at what point, like did playing
with the boys become less about your joy of the
game and more about trying to prove a point?
Speaker 3 (05:13):
It wasn't necessarily a point, not.
Speaker 2 (05:15):
To anyone else, maybe to yourself. Was it to yourself
at all?
Speaker 1 (05:18):
Like?
Speaker 2 (05:19):
Is that it?
Speaker 3 (05:20):
I knew that I belonged there.
Speaker 1 (05:22):
What the problem was was that other people didn't. No
matter how many times I showed it to them that
I belonged there, they still just.
Speaker 3 (05:31):
Had that stigma that I didn't. And so that was
where I was like, you know what.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
I don't need to be worrying about that anymore. And
so by kind of starting to make that switch, I
didn't feel like I had to prove necessarily anything to
anyone that I belonged there.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
How did that struggle, like overcoming that adversity or facing
those obstacles, How did that prepare you from a mental
standpoint to be able to get to where you are
now in softball? Do you feel like it's given you
an edge?
Speaker 1 (05:58):
Definitely has that, and like even though it wasn't.
Speaker 3 (06:01):
Always easy, like any sport, you know, everyone has those
mental struggles.
Speaker 1 (06:06):
And so I was able to find the major league
mindset program that Brandon Dyer runs, who's the mental coach
now for the Angels and a couple of other college.
Speaker 3 (06:17):
Teams, and he basically coached me.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
And a lot of other athletes on how to have
the right mindset and if you don't have the right mindset,
how to get back into that confident.
Speaker 3 (06:27):
Calm space.
Speaker 1 (06:29):
And so that not only helped my baseball career while
I was still playing, but definitely has helped my softball
career even just the things that I had been through
on the day to day have changed the way I
am as a competitor and as a player for the better.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
So what are the things that from a mindset stampo? Like,
I love how you said get to that place. You know,
baseball is a game of fail I mean, it can
be argued it's the most failure, the most repetitive failure.
What is it that you learned along the way? You know,
things that you may be practice, You know that maybe
you work on that not only translate to you whether
it be on the baseball softball field, but maybe to
(07:06):
your personal life.
Speaker 1 (07:08):
I would say mentally, one of the biggest takeaways I
had from that mindset program was the what's important now
or the win for sure, to keep you on track
and to keep you centered in the moment, because it's
super easy to have a tough start to a game
and then let that affect your perform right, Like you
have two strikeouts in them getting in then your third of.
Speaker 3 (07:29):
Bat you just don't want to be there anymore.
Speaker 1 (07:31):
So, like, it's very important to just focus on the now.
And that's definitely prevalent in my life as well, with
school and with friends and with family or any other
personal issue that I might have.
Speaker 3 (07:43):
Just being able to recenter yourself and figure out, okay,
right now, what can I do to change things or
to make things better?
Speaker 1 (07:52):
So I would say having that mindset, like you said,
has helped me both as a player and as the person.
Speaker 3 (07:57):
For sure.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
I think it's very, very interesting. And when I was
playing high school, I played football and baseball, and every
once in a while you have a young lady who
go out and kick field goals for a different team.
But it was cool, like, you know, it's unique. Did
you find it at all that you know any of
you know, bullying's a big thing. Did you have any
Was there any issues that like carried over off the
(08:18):
ball field, like into your social scene? Like was it
was it challenging at times?
Speaker 1 (08:23):
I would definitely say when I was younger, especially in
middle school, it could get awkward. Right, everyone's still not
as mature as they might be when they get older,
and so.
Speaker 3 (08:35):
I had awkward moments.
Speaker 1 (08:36):
But all my close friends have always been super supportive
of me and never really questioned what my choices were.
They were just there to support me. And a lot
of my teammates were the same as well, especially again
school and travel teammates were supportive of me as well,
so I.
Speaker 3 (08:53):
Would say yes and no each year.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
I think some people were like, Oh, she's so playing,
Oh she's still prank. But from a social standpoint, all
my friends are very supportive and still very close to
me no matter what I decided to play.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
When we return, Lillian and I dive further into her
softball career before we had to break. Here's a message
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can help connect your organization with sponsors. Today rules and
restrictions apply. Where we left off, Lillian and I were
(10:21):
about to discuss her current softball schedule and what she's
doing to prepare for Georgia Tech. From a baseball stappo,
you were a from a mistaken an infielder in a pitcher.
Speaker 3 (10:31):
Yes, yeah, first base certainly.
Speaker 2 (10:34):
What's it going to look like? You know as you
transition to Georgia Tech, Like, have they talked about positions?
Are you going to try to fill different roles?
Speaker 1 (10:40):
So right now, for my high school and for my
travel team, I mainly shortstop. Georgia Tech saw me play
a couple different positions, so I am definitely a utility
player right now, but I am focusing on that shortstop position.
And from a couple conversations I have had with my coaches,
(11:00):
it really comes down to how your bat is doing too. Right.
If your bat's on fire, they're going to find a
spot for you in the field, like you're gonna be
in the lineup and you're gonna have a spot and
the field, and that's I feel like.
Speaker 3 (11:10):
With pretty much every team.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
Yeah, defense is definitely still very important, of course, but
if your bat is on, they're going to find a
spot for you in the field. I would love for
that spot to be shortstop.
Speaker 3 (11:22):
But I'm definitely technically a utility player right now.
Speaker 2 (11:26):
I know you said when I read some articles about
you too, that basketball is also a passion of yours.
You know, when you were coming up, you know, as
a young kid, you know, playing a little league and such,
where you playing other sports as well? Was it always
baseball all the time?
Speaker 1 (11:39):
So I was playing basketball since early elementary school through
this year. I just finished my last basketball season over
the winter, and so I thought that was very key
for me and a lot of my other teammates as well,
playing multiple sports, especially because.
Speaker 3 (11:55):
Baseball and softball can get super mechanical.
Speaker 1 (11:58):
I feel that because I played back well, it kept
me super athletic firstus all quick. A lot of the times,
my dad would just be like, hey, take it as
your conditioning.
Speaker 3 (12:06):
Right, getting ready for the spring season.
Speaker 1 (12:09):
So I've had a very fun time playing basketball, and
it was with the Curls, so it was.
Speaker 3 (12:14):
A different change of pace and very always very fun.
Speaker 2 (12:18):
So was that almost like your place that you're going,
almost like decompress, Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 1 (12:23):
It was really just of course, I'm so you know,
competitive sport.
Speaker 2 (12:28):
You know that that was where you went, You had fun,
you had a good time, and that was like, you know,
we're still going to get after it, but didn't have
that same level of intensity exactly exactly, And do you
feel like that maybe was something that was like key,
Like did it make you hungrier to get back on
the baseball field.
Speaker 1 (12:44):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (12:44):
Yeah, it did, especially towards the end of the season.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
I'm just like, wow, I just cannot wait for softball
to start.
Speaker 3 (12:51):
Could not wait for baseball to start, like very much.
Speaker 1 (12:55):
So as much as I loved my basketball games, I'm like, wow,
to play a softball game right now would be even better.
Speaker 2 (13:00):
So you're down in Florida. How long have you been
doing the travel circuit?
Speaker 1 (13:04):
So I have been playing travel baseball since I was
eleven twelve, But then last year, like I said, it
was my first time being travel softball. And because my
travel team is based down South, all my tournaments were
down South, so that was a lot of traveling.
Speaker 3 (13:20):
But this Florida.
Speaker 1 (13:21):
Trip is for my high school team, so we get
to come down and have some spring training and get
two regular season games in while we're down here.
Speaker 2 (13:30):
Oh, very cool. So this is technically your high school team,
it is.
Speaker 3 (13:34):
Yeah, so sorry of our high school season.
Speaker 2 (13:36):
And you also your travel softball team is a team
in the South, correct.
Speaker 3 (13:41):
Yeah, so they're down south.
Speaker 1 (13:44):
So every one of my tournaments, aside from nationals is
you know, Georgia or Tennessee.
Speaker 2 (13:52):
Very cool. I mean your your parents must be like,
I mean, clearly, how has that been the relationship with them?
Is it like your journey? They're just support but clearly
they're supporting. I mean I would imagine you're not taking
maybe you are taking private jets back and forth to
your tournament.
Speaker 1 (14:06):
No, it's I'll be honest, like very expensive to keep
up with this sport, with the travel fees and just
paying to be on the team for the turrets and everything.
Speaker 3 (14:16):
I do travel alone.
Speaker 1 (14:18):
Sometimes and either stay with a teammate or my coach
sometimes gets an airbnb for the weekend, so I'll stay
with her just to kind of see on that expense
a little bit. But my parents do love to come
and watch me play, of course, so one of them
will come to the majority of my tournaments with me.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
And how was it with you while you were playing
baseball with your parents, Like, hey, whatever you want to
do or did you ever like talk about them?
Speaker 1 (14:45):
They were always extremely supportive, but at the same time
never wanted me to settle for anything, always pushing me
to really make the best decision for myself now and
for the future. And they're always pushing me to get better,
of course, whether I was playing baseball or for softball.
Speaker 3 (15:03):
But the end goal throughout my.
Speaker 1 (15:06):
Entire life playing baseball ensemble was to get to a
high college level.
Speaker 3 (15:11):
But it's like now that I've reached that, I have
new goals.
Speaker 1 (15:14):
For trying to play at that level freshman year going in.
So they're always supporting me, of course, but at the
same time also pushing me to get better every day.
Speaker 2 (15:26):
So this is your senior year, about to start your
last year in high school. Obviously going to enjoy your
senior year high school softball and rocking out with your teammates.
But what's it look like as you prepare for Georgia Tech.
Are there skills specific things you're going to work on?
Are you going to be playing as much as you
can over the summer, Like what's it all look like?
Speaker 1 (15:43):
For Lilian, it's really just as much live reps as
I can get.
Speaker 3 (15:48):
Dad and I we have two cages at my house now,
one indoors and my.
Speaker 1 (15:52):
Girlddon set up outside, and I have a pitching machine
as well, and so recrank up pretty high I think
technically based on the distance and the speed that the
machine's at, it gets up to like ninety five, I
want to say, because the machine set to sixty sixty
two from about twenty eight feet away.
Speaker 3 (16:14):
So we did like the pocket radar looking it up.
Speaker 1 (16:17):
They have a char online and it was like ninety
five or something like that, because if I could hit
that and figure out how to put a swing good
swing on those pitches, and I can figure out how
to put a good swing on you know, sixty sixty
five in the game.
Speaker 3 (16:30):
So it's just a lot of live reps.
Speaker 1 (16:33):
Some days I definitely work more on mechanics, work on
glove work, and then other days I'm just there to
take game swings, game throws, that type of thing.
Speaker 2 (16:43):
But it's always busy. Is there training that's going in
from a weightlifting standpoint or any part of Oh.
Speaker 1 (16:48):
Yeah, I definitely am a gym funattic. I absolutely love
going to train by myself or with my friends or
with my daddy. Even I go as many days a
week as I can, five to six, I would say,
sometimes I usually don't go seven in a row.
Speaker 3 (17:06):
I typically put an off dame between there.
Speaker 1 (17:09):
From a lifting standpoint, but that's definitely key to success
on the field as well as being strong, being.
Speaker 3 (17:16):
Athletic, being quick.
Speaker 1 (17:17):
The gym has definitely helped with like my exit be
low and I throwing you low.
Speaker 2 (17:22):
Well, you're going to have a lot of you know,
obviously a lot of coaches, a lot of them. I
would imagine you're gonna have a lot of student athletes
that are going to listen to this. What's some advice
that you give to some younger kids they maybe in
middle school, they're maybe trying to figure out their path
and dealing with adversity. What are some things you can
say to them to help them get to their dream destinations.
Speaker 1 (17:39):
I think, going back to what I said earlier about
honing in on what is important for you right now
in the moment, and then how can that then affect
what you want to happen in the future, right, So
you have your long term goals and then your short
term goals, and it's all about setting these short term
(17:59):
goals that you reach that long term goal along the way.
And while you're doing that, it's obviously hard. A lot
of athletes hold themselves to super high expectations, especially in
baseball and softball, where it's a sport of failure, and
so focusing on holding yourself to a high standard BOK
always giving yourself grace and to remember that at the
(18:21):
end of the day, like you're playing a game that
you love and are blessed and able to play. So
I definitely try to remind myself of that when things
get difficult or maybe I had a bad game, just
remembering how lucky I am to be able to play
the game that I love and to be able to
have the chance to succeed as well.
Speaker 2 (18:42):
Lilian, I freaking love it. I wish you nothing but
continued success. I appreciate you hopping on while you're down
there in Florida, just finished your team meal, you're in
a hotel, you got your team with you, and thank
you for taking the time to look forward to continuing
to file Where can people follow you? I know you're
on Twitter X what are your handles? Where can they
find you?
Speaker 3 (19:02):
Yep?
Speaker 1 (19:03):
So Twitter is Lily underscore Martino or Lilian underscore Martino,
just my name and same with Instagram, Lilian underscore Martino.
Speaker 2 (19:12):
Will go follow her. She's putting out tremendous stuff and
very very informative and she shows you a lot of
her training and I love it. I love where you're going,
and I love your maturity. I wish you nothing but success.
I can't thank you enough for hopping on and share it.
Speaker 3 (19:25):
Yeah, thank you so much, honestly, thank you.
Speaker 2 (19:28):
That's Lilian Martineau high school baseball and softball player and
a Georgia Tech softball recruit. Thanks for listening to the
Reform Sports Podcast. If you've enjoyed this episode, we would
appreciate it if you took a moment to rate and
review our podcast. As we work to grow our community
of supporters and advocates for more reform sports content, please
subscribe to our newsletter and blog at Reformsports project dot com.
(19:50):
You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
Every game I had to prove like girls can play baseball.
But I was just coming to the realization that I
didn't have to prove anything to anyone anymore, and I
knew what was right for me, and I was less
concerned about what was right for necessarily everyone else.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
This is the Reform Sports Project, a podcast about restoring
healthy balance and perspective in all areas of sports through
education and advocacy. Hi, this is Nick Bonacor from the
Reform Sports Podcast. My guest today is Lillian Martineau, high
school senior baseball and softball player from Connecticut and a
twenty twenty four Georgia Tech softball recruit. Lillian's switch from
(00:40):
baseball to softball came within the last year after playing
in the male dominated baseball system since she was twelve
years old. She spent the last five years having to
prove she belonged every time she took the field, and
despite all this, she thrived. Lillian and I discussed her
journey and decision to move from baseball to softball, the
benefits she got from being a multi sp an athlete,
(01:01):
and the importance of mental preparation and resilience. I'm very,
very fortunate to have on a young woman, young student
athlete who I've been following for some time. We're from
the same neck of the woods up in the Northeast.
I haven't figured out yet if she's a Red Sox
or Yegies fan. Maybe she'd one of the random you know,
I say random, but there's a lot of Mets fans
(01:21):
up there too.
Speaker 3 (01:22):
That would be the third choice, would be the one.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
That's your one, all right, fair enough, But then we
just established that in the Connecticut area. Pumped to have her.
She's you know, she's an absolutely awesome athlete and many
of you probably seen her on Twitter and such. But
very grateful to have her, Miss Lillian Martineau. Thank you
so much for hopping on.
Speaker 3 (01:43):
Yeah, thank you so much for having me for sure.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
And your story's amazing. I love it. You just committed
to Georgia Tech. You just committed to How the hell
did that happen?
Speaker 3 (01:53):
So it was definitely chaotic for sure.
Speaker 1 (01:56):
Last summer, basically at the end of my high school
season playing baseball, I was still committed to my baseball
travel team, so I started off the summer with them,
But I had been getting interest from a lot of
schools for softball that were you know of high caliber
D one schools, and it really just started to open
my eyes to the opportunities that I could have playing softball.
(02:19):
And of course education is super important for me as well,
so it was really like a win win situation. But
last summer was my first summer ever playing softball, and
I started off at I believe, Scenic City Tournament where
there's basically just schools.
Speaker 3 (02:38):
On schools watching everyone play.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
So I was definitely thrown into the water with all
the shark super early on. But Georgia Tech was able
to watch me play when I was with Fury Platinum,
and it just went from there.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
So hold on here, let me just get this straight.
So you make that sound like really casual. You just said, yeah,
I started playing softball last summer, and then I get
an offer or I commit to, you know, a Power
five university in the Atlanta's Coast conference. Just to give
everyone a background, Lilian has been playing baseball, you know,
(03:14):
with the dudes, with the guys for entire life, right,
So yeah, like what made you make the transition? Like
how did this all come about? And just kind of
tell us your backstory a little bit.
Speaker 1 (03:24):
Yeah, totally so I have been playing baseball since I.
Speaker 3 (03:27):
Was in the Little league all through my junior year
of high school, and along with playing.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
For my school, I always was playing travel as well,
and so my sites were really set on playing baseball
in college again.
Speaker 3 (03:39):
Up until last year, my junior year.
Speaker 1 (03:42):
And basically high school was just getting to be I'm
not sure exactly the word to you to describe it,
but it wasn't working for me anymore.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
Right.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
I was training six to seven days a week and
just what seemed to be not getting any recognition for
it at all, which as an athlete, is it something
that you want to deal with? Like I know that
I was working harder than the majority of not all
my teammates, it still wasn't getting as many opportunities as
they were. And even though, like I absolutely loved my
(04:14):
travel team and I've always had opportunities to play with
them and have been playing with them and a lot
of my coaches since I was twelve thirteen years old,
I just knew that I was then continuing to prove
myself to everybody.
Speaker 3 (04:26):
Over and over again playing baseball. It's kind of just
what it was.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
Every day, every game I had to prove, like girls
can play baseball. But I was just coming to the
realization that I didn't have to prove anything to anyone anymore,
and I knew what was right for me, and I
was less concerned about what was right for necessarily everyone else.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
If that made sense, No, it makes complete sense. So
you started playing baseball because you just love playing the game,
like many many many kids do. My kids play co ed,
you know, their five, six, seven years old soccer. But eventually,
you know, like I think my son Mark is going
to get to an age. I think it's like the
next year where he'll go to a boys team and
girls play growth cure. So you stuck with baseball. But
(05:04):
so along the way, at what point, like did playing
with the boys become less about your joy of the
game and more about trying to prove a point?
Speaker 3 (05:13):
It wasn't necessarily a point, not.
Speaker 2 (05:15):
To anyone else, maybe to yourself. Was it to yourself
at all?
Speaker 1 (05:18):
Like?
Speaker 2 (05:19):
Is that it?
Speaker 3 (05:20):
I knew that I belonged there.
Speaker 1 (05:22):
What the problem was was that other people didn't. No
matter how many times I showed it to them that
I belonged there, they still just.
Speaker 3 (05:31):
Had that stigma that I didn't. And so that was
where I was like, you know what.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
I don't need to be worrying about that anymore. And
so by kind of starting to make that switch, I
didn't feel like I had to prove necessarily anything to
anyone that I belonged there.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
How did that struggle, like overcoming that adversity or facing
those obstacles, How did that prepare you from a mental
standpoint to be able to get to where you are
now in softball? Do you feel like it's given you
an edge?
Speaker 1 (05:58):
Definitely has that, and like even though it wasn't.
Speaker 3 (06:01):
Always easy, like any sport, you know, everyone has those
mental struggles.
Speaker 1 (06:06):
And so I was able to find the major league
mindset program that Brandon Dyer runs, who's the mental coach
now for the Angels and a couple of other college.
Speaker 3 (06:17):
Teams, and he basically coached me.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
And a lot of other athletes on how to have
the right mindset and if you don't have the right mindset,
how to get back into that confident.
Speaker 3 (06:27):
Calm space.
Speaker 1 (06:29):
And so that not only helped my baseball career while
I was still playing, but definitely has helped my softball
career even just the things that I had been through
on the day to day have changed the way I
am as a competitor and as a player for the better.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
So what are the things that from a mindset stampo? Like,
I love how you said get to that place. You know,
baseball is a game of fail I mean, it can
be argued it's the most failure, the most repetitive failure.
What is it that you learned along the way? You know,
things that you may be practice, You know that maybe
you work on that not only translate to you whether
it be on the baseball softball field, but maybe to
(07:06):
your personal life.
Speaker 1 (07:08):
I would say mentally, one of the biggest takeaways I
had from that mindset program was the what's important now
or the win for sure, to keep you on track
and to keep you centered in the moment, because it's
super easy to have a tough start to a game
and then let that affect your perform right, Like you
have two strikeouts in them getting in then your third of.
Speaker 3 (07:29):
Bat you just don't want to be there anymore.
Speaker 1 (07:31):
So, like, it's very important to just focus on the now.
And that's definitely prevalent in my life as well, with
school and with friends and with family or any other
personal issue that I might have.
Speaker 3 (07:43):
Just being able to recenter yourself and figure out, okay,
right now, what can I do to change things or
to make things better?
Speaker 1 (07:52):
So I would say having that mindset, like you said,
has helped me both as a player and as the person.
Speaker 3 (07:57):
For sure.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
I think it's very, very interesting. And when I was
playing high school, I played football and baseball, and every
once in a while you have a young lady who
go out and kick field goals for a different team.
But it was cool, like, you know, it's unique. Did
you find it at all that you know any of
you know, bullying's a big thing. Did you have any
Was there any issues that like carried over off the
(08:18):
ball field, like into your social scene? Like was it
was it challenging at times?
Speaker 1 (08:23):
I would definitely say when I was younger, especially in
middle school, it could get awkward. Right, everyone's still not
as mature as they might be when they get older,
and so.
Speaker 3 (08:35):
I had awkward moments.
Speaker 1 (08:36):
But all my close friends have always been super supportive
of me and never really questioned what my choices were.
They were just there to support me. And a lot
of my teammates were the same as well, especially again
school and travel teammates were supportive of me as well,
so I.
Speaker 3 (08:53):
Would say yes and no each year.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
I think some people were like, Oh, she's so playing,
Oh she's still prank. But from a social standpoint, all
my friends are very supportive and still very close to
me no matter what I decided to play.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
When we return, Lillian and I dive further into her
softball career before we had to break. Here's a message
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(09:31):
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(09:53):
create great experiences that keep players and families coming back,
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teamsnap dot com to learn more about how Team snap
can help connect your organization with sponsors. Today rules and
restrictions apply. Where we left off, Lillian and I were
(10:21):
about to discuss her current softball schedule and what she's
doing to prepare for Georgia Tech. From a baseball stappo,
you were a from a mistaken an infielder in a pitcher.
Speaker 3 (10:31):
Yes, yeah, first base certainly.
Speaker 2 (10:34):
What's it going to look like? You know as you
transition to Georgia Tech, Like, have they talked about positions?
Are you going to try to fill different roles?
Speaker 1 (10:40):
So right now, for my high school and for my
travel team, I mainly shortstop. Georgia Tech saw me play
a couple different positions, so I am definitely a utility
player right now, but I am focusing on that shortstop position.
And from a couple conversations I have had with my coaches,
(11:00):
it really comes down to how your bat is doing too. Right.
If your bat's on fire, they're going to find a
spot for you in the field, like you're gonna be
in the lineup and you're gonna have a spot and
the field, and that's I feel like.
Speaker 3 (11:10):
With pretty much every team.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
Yeah, defense is definitely still very important, of course, but
if your bat is on, they're going to find a
spot for you in the field. I would love for
that spot to be shortstop.
Speaker 3 (11:22):
But I'm definitely technically a utility player right now.
Speaker 2 (11:26):
I know you said when I read some articles about
you too, that basketball is also a passion of yours.
You know, when you were coming up, you know, as
a young kid, you know, playing a little league and such,
where you playing other sports as well? Was it always
baseball all the time?
Speaker 1 (11:39):
So I was playing basketball since early elementary school through
this year. I just finished my last basketball season over
the winter, and so I thought that was very key
for me and a lot of my other teammates as well,
playing multiple sports, especially because.
Speaker 3 (11:55):
Baseball and softball can get super mechanical.
Speaker 1 (11:58):
I feel that because I played back well, it kept
me super athletic firstus all quick. A lot of the times,
my dad would just be like, hey, take it as
your conditioning.
Speaker 3 (12:06):
Right, getting ready for the spring season.
Speaker 1 (12:09):
So I've had a very fun time playing basketball, and
it was with the Curls, so it was.
Speaker 3 (12:14):
A different change of pace and very always very fun.
Speaker 2 (12:18):
So was that almost like your place that you're going,
almost like decompress, Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 1 (12:23):
It was really just of course, I'm so you know,
competitive sport.
Speaker 2 (12:28):
You know that that was where you went, You had fun,
you had a good time, and that was like, you know,
we're still going to get after it, but didn't have
that same level of intensity exactly exactly, And do you
feel like that maybe was something that was like key,
Like did it make you hungrier to get back on
the baseball field.
Speaker 1 (12:44):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (12:44):
Yeah, it did, especially towards the end of the season.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
I'm just like, wow, I just cannot wait for softball
to start.
Speaker 3 (12:51):
Could not wait for baseball to start, like very much.
Speaker 1 (12:55):
So as much as I loved my basketball games, I'm like, wow,
to play a softball game right now would be even better.
Speaker 2 (13:00):
So you're down in Florida. How long have you been
doing the travel circuit?
Speaker 1 (13:04):
So I have been playing travel baseball since I was
eleven twelve, But then last year, like I said, it
was my first time being travel softball. And because my
travel team is based down South, all my tournaments were
down South, so that was a lot of traveling.
Speaker 3 (13:20):
But this Florida.
Speaker 1 (13:21):
Trip is for my high school team, so we get
to come down and have some spring training and get
two regular season games in while we're down here.
Speaker 2 (13:30):
Oh, very cool. So this is technically your high school team,
it is.
Speaker 3 (13:34):
Yeah, so sorry of our high school season.
Speaker 2 (13:36):
And you also your travel softball team is a team
in the South, correct.
Speaker 3 (13:41):
Yeah, so they're down south.
Speaker 1 (13:44):
So every one of my tournaments, aside from nationals is
you know, Georgia or Tennessee.
Speaker 2 (13:52):
Very cool. I mean your your parents must be like,
I mean, clearly, how has that been the relationship with them?
Is it like your journey? They're just support but clearly
they're supporting. I mean I would imagine you're not taking
maybe you are taking private jets back and forth to
your tournament.
Speaker 1 (14:06):
No, it's I'll be honest, like very expensive to keep
up with this sport, with the travel fees and just
paying to be on the team for the turrets and everything.
Speaker 3 (14:16):
I do travel alone.
Speaker 1 (14:18):
Sometimes and either stay with a teammate or my coach
sometimes gets an airbnb for the weekend, so I'll stay
with her just to kind of see on that expense
a little bit. But my parents do love to come
and watch me play, of course, so one of them
will come to the majority of my tournaments with me.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
And how was it with you while you were playing
baseball with your parents, Like, hey, whatever you want to
do or did you ever like talk about them?
Speaker 1 (14:45):
They were always extremely supportive, but at the same time
never wanted me to settle for anything, always pushing me
to really make the best decision for myself now and
for the future. And they're always pushing me to get better,
of course, whether I was playing baseball or for softball.
Speaker 3 (15:03):
But the end goal throughout my.
Speaker 1 (15:06):
Entire life playing baseball ensemble was to get to a
high college level.
Speaker 3 (15:11):
But it's like now that I've reached that, I have
new goals.
Speaker 1 (15:14):
For trying to play at that level freshman year going in.
So they're always supporting me, of course, but at the
same time also pushing me to get better every day.
Speaker 2 (15:26):
So this is your senior year, about to start your
last year in high school. Obviously going to enjoy your
senior year high school softball and rocking out with your teammates.
But what's it look like as you prepare for Georgia Tech.
Are there skills specific things you're going to work on?
Are you going to be playing as much as you
can over the summer, Like what's it all look like?
Speaker 1 (15:43):
For Lilian, it's really just as much live reps as
I can get.
Speaker 3 (15:48):
Dad and I we have two cages at my house now,
one indoors and my.
Speaker 1 (15:52):
Girlddon set up outside, and I have a pitching machine
as well, and so recrank up pretty high I think
technically based on the distance and the speed that the
machine's at, it gets up to like ninety five, I
want to say, because the machine set to sixty sixty
two from about twenty eight feet away.
Speaker 3 (16:14):
So we did like the pocket radar looking it up.
Speaker 1 (16:17):
They have a char online and it was like ninety
five or something like that, because if I could hit
that and figure out how to put a swing good
swing on those pitches, and I can figure out how
to put a good swing on you know, sixty sixty
five in the game.
Speaker 3 (16:30):
So it's just a lot of live reps.
Speaker 1 (16:33):
Some days I definitely work more on mechanics, work on
glove work, and then other days I'm just there to
take game swings, game throws, that type of thing.
Speaker 2 (16:43):
But it's always busy. Is there training that's going in
from a weightlifting standpoint or any part of Oh.
Speaker 1 (16:48):
Yeah, I definitely am a gym funattic. I absolutely love
going to train by myself or with my friends or
with my daddy. Even I go as many days a
week as I can, five to six, I would say,
sometimes I usually don't go seven in a row.
Speaker 3 (17:06):
I typically put an off dame between there.
Speaker 1 (17:09):
From a lifting standpoint, but that's definitely key to success
on the field as well as being strong, being.
Speaker 3 (17:16):
Athletic, being quick.
Speaker 1 (17:17):
The gym has definitely helped with like my exit be
low and I throwing you low.
Speaker 2 (17:22):
Well, you're going to have a lot of you know,
obviously a lot of coaches, a lot of them. I
would imagine you're gonna have a lot of student athletes
that are going to listen to this. What's some advice
that you give to some younger kids they maybe in
middle school, they're maybe trying to figure out their path
and dealing with adversity. What are some things you can
say to them to help them get to their dream destinations.
Speaker 1 (17:39):
I think, going back to what I said earlier about
honing in on what is important for you right now
in the moment, and then how can that then affect
what you want to happen in the future, right, So
you have your long term goals and then your short
term goals, and it's all about setting these short term
(17:59):
goals that you reach that long term goal along the way.
And while you're doing that, it's obviously hard. A lot
of athletes hold themselves to super high expectations, especially in
baseball and softball, where it's a sport of failure, and
so focusing on holding yourself to a high standard BOK
always giving yourself grace and to remember that at the
(18:21):
end of the day, like you're playing a game that
you love and are blessed and able to play. So
I definitely try to remind myself of that when things
get difficult or maybe I had a bad game, just
remembering how lucky I am to be able to play
the game that I love and to be able to
have the chance to succeed as well.
Speaker 2 (18:42):
Lilian, I freaking love it. I wish you nothing but
continued success. I appreciate you hopping on while you're down
there in Florida, just finished your team meal, you're in
a hotel, you got your team with you, and thank
you for taking the time to look forward to continuing
to file Where can people follow you? I know you're
on Twitter X what are your handles? Where can they
find you?
Speaker 3 (19:02):
Yep?
Speaker 1 (19:03):
So Twitter is Lily underscore Martino or Lilian underscore Martino,
just my name and same with Instagram, Lilian underscore Martino.
Speaker 2 (19:12):
Will go follow her. She's putting out tremendous stuff and
very very informative and she shows you a lot of
her training and I love it. I love where you're going,
and I love your maturity. I wish you nothing but success.
I can't thank you enough for hopping on and share it.
Speaker 3 (19:25):
Yeah, thank you so much, honestly, thank you.
Speaker 2 (19:28):
That's Lilian Martineau high school baseball and softball player and
a Georgia Tech softball recruit. Thanks for listening to the
Reform Sports Podcast. If you've enjoyed this episode, we would
appreciate it if you took a moment to rate and
review our podcast. As we work to grow our community
of supporters and advocates for more reform sports content, please
subscribe to our newsletter and blog at Reformsports project dot com.
(19:50):
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