July 26, 2013 Volume 3, Issue 30 BEARS Softball The coaches presented the seniors with one last task before they depart on their next adventure; write a few paragraphs about your experience with the Bears, what are you looking forward to in college, what advice can you offer younger players, or share anything you can think of that is valuable to you. We are very proud of each and every one of them and feel they represent the Bears proudly!! "Once a Bear, always a Bear"; of course it sounds like a cliché sports motto or saying, but to me it consists of so much more. I was not knowing what to expect but to only play travel ball. As always, my first initial sighting of Coach Mo was being scared out of my mind. There were an amount of thoughts going through my head about her like, I can't tell if she's looking at me with those sunglasses on, what does she think of me, or thinking, will she yell at me if I make a mistake!? The tryout was not very different from other one's I had been to, but after the tryout I was really hoping for the coach to offer me a spot. I had this feeling, that this was the team I wanted to play on. And now after playing an amazing three and a half years as a Bear, I will tell you my story. I can't even begin of what this organization has done for me. Being a Bear is a privilege. This organization not only teaches you how to become an amazing softball player, but into a respectable young lady who can represent herself in the finest way she can. It has given me the chance to meet amazing people and for me to form a second family within the team. I have become into a more confident person/player, and to being comfortable with myself. Let me tell you, it is an amazing feeling when an organization is willing to do anything and everything in their power to get you to achieve the goals you have. For this team, it is getting you to the next level of playing softball. Even though I did not sign with a college before I graduated, the organization has opened up my eyes to all different kinds of schools and not just the "top notch-big named" schools. Throughout the whole recruiting process, I have learned that you are looking for the school that YOU fit into, not your parents or friends or anyone else's school...it's yours. Of course every softball players dream is to go to Cal, Tennessee, Oklahoma, or UCLA to play, but you have to do what fits you. And sometimes you have to ask yourself, do I want to go here?, do I feel comfortable here?, is this what I want to do? Being a Bear has transformed me into such a better-knowledged softball player, and I am so grateful to have been apart of an amazing team..
.My advice to the younger Bears players is to play the game you love. Just play softball. This is the best sport ever, and we should all be grateful to play it. Players, also acknowledge that we have THE BEST coaching staff in the entire world. All of them have been where you are, and they know what it takes to get to that next level. They all played at the college level and some have won world series or conference titles!!!(you can ask to see their rings:)) Something I also learned this past summer is, don't be afraid to make mistakes. We are all human beings, we all make mistakes. There are some people in this world who make one or two a day and there are also people who make over 20 a day. It happens! When your coaches yell at you, do not take it personal. They are doing it to help you, they aren't there to just yell at you for no reason. Another thing is to really enjoy the time playing and spending time with your team. Your team is your family! Something I am so thankful for are the great friends that I met, playing something we both love and having an amazing friendship! Appreciate everything your coaches do for you. Its not everyday your coaches take you to New York City and walk for six miles, almost dying and going zip lining + waterrafting, or going horseback riding! I know it sounds scary at first but it s the experience you have that makes it the best. You have to always make the most of it! When something unexpected comes at you, take it as best as you can. Learn from it and take a life lesson from it! Last thing; appreciate everything this organization does for you and especially your parents. None of this could happen if it wasn't for your parents and you wouldn't be playing for an amazing team if it wasn't for the organization. With that being said, next year I am attending San Francisco State University and I am proud to say that I will be a GATOR! There I will be studying kinesiology and hopefully going into the sports training program. GO CLASS OF 2017! I would like to thank again the Bears organization, my teammates, my family, and my amazing coaches, for EVERYTHING you have done for me. I cannot express how appreciative I am for all the things they do for me. I would not be where I am today if it wasn't for you guys. As you see my picture, you see I am wearing Minnie Mouse ears. The reason is this, as most of you don't know...i am IN LOVE with everything about or relating to Disney. Something I recently put onto my bucket list was "Go to Disneyland with my team". I had mentioned this in Colorado hoping that Coach Mo would be able to let us make it happen in Irvine. With a tightly packed schedule I had a feeling it wouldn't happen. With no one expecting it, after our last game the whole team would go to Disneyland as a last team bonding trip. It truly was the "Happiest Place On Earth" for us when we were there. When we accepted, boy was I excited! So the reason is, I am wearing my Minnie Mouse ears because it was the last thing I had done with the Bears plus its something I truly love! I am FOREVER grateful to the Bears and always remember, "Once a Bear, ALWAYS a Bear!" ~Alexis Konstantino #9
My experience with the Bears organization has been great. I was with the Bears for my junior and senior years. The organization helped me improve my skills on the field, made me understand the importance of working out and conditioning, and helped me get recruited by my dream school. Playing softball has taught me so much. I have learned to work harder when things don t go my way, to support my teammates no matter what, to never give up despite the obstacles and most importantly to always be on time :). Next year I will be playing softball for the Eagles at Emory University in Atlanta, GA. I m so excited that I get to continue playing the sport I love, and keep improving my game. My advice to younger players would be to be patient, but also never lose confidence if things don t work out right away. Getting recruited is a very individual experience. Sometimes recruitment is quick and easy, and other times it s a long and unpredictable process. I found visiting schools to be very helpful. If you are able to do a college trip, make sure to do your research on many different schools and keep an open mind. Keeping your options open is important because you may walk onto the campus of a school you ve never even heard of and fall in love with it. Once you find a school, or a few schools that you could see yourself going to, make sure to email the coach A LOT, and relax. Things have a way of working themselves out, even if it is not exactly the way you expected. You can do anything you set your mind to, so never give up on something you truly want. This all may sound cheesy but this is exactly what happened to me, and I couldn t be happier. ~Tara Fallahee If you really knew me then you would know that I chose to give up the opportunity to play softball my freshman year of high school. I decided to back away from the lifelong dream of playing in college because I was faced with a challenge built by my own self consciousness. I believed that I wasn t good enough and I lost faith in my skill. You see, I thought that college athletes were individuals held above society who played with their whole body, soul, and heart, and that they represented the very qualities of how a perfect person should act and therefore think to younger generations. I began to question my passion for the game and I assumed that since my heart didn t hold a definite obsession for playing, I didn t deserve to continue my career into a collegiate level and to also possibly influence others who may be looking towards me as an example of strong characteristics..
.After some strong convincing by my parents the summer between my junior and senior years, I was persuaded to tryout at the very least for the Concord Grapettes. Fortunately, my dad came across the Bears tryout information a week prior to tryout date for both this organization and the Grapettes. I showed up at Clayton Valley fields not knowing what to expect, worried entirely about not being good enough since I had taken a few years off from travel ball. Not to my surprise, I stepped onto the field with the grand privilege of interacting with college bound athletes and college graduate athletes. Never before in my life had I ever seen such an innumerous amount of talent held together simply by the determination to prosper as not only individuals and players, but also to move forward into a successful future as an entire team and association. The first day of tryouts went well; the most I remember of it though were the simple interactions and conversations I had with the players there that soon became my teammates. However, the most memorable part was speaking to Coach Mo immediately after the day was over. I m not sure if she knows this but, that was the first time I had talked to a college athlete, it was also the first of many times that I almost burst into tears simply by talking to her. At that very moment, I realized not only that I wanted to be able to play the sport that I have just recently started to fully depend upon and appreciate in college, but also that I wished to be exactly like the person standing in front of me. I want to make an impact in someone s life just like how Coach Mo influenced mine; I want to play, I want to coach, I want to inspire. Sometime in the middle of my first and last fall season with the Bears, I reached a point where I thought I was done, no coaches emailed me back, I began to lose interest, and I didn t see myself getting a chance to play in college. I regretted not playing while I could at the beginning of high school, and I seemed to get this idea stuck in my mind that I started the recruiting process too far behind and because of that I had lost my one and only opportunity to accomplish my late realized dream of playing during my college experience. During a campus tour in early October 2012, I was scheduled an opportunity to meet with the Fresno State head coach through the wonderful workings of the Bears Association. To say the least, I was terrified. Fortunately, Coach Ford saw through my shyness and decided to come watch me play in the very next tournament I played in. Soon after, I was honored to be offered a spot on the team. To say the least, I was ecstatic. If you remember one thing from my lengthy story here, remember this: it s never too late to chase after your dreams. Although you may encounter adversity, never give up because you never know what types of opportunities are awaiting you. The Bears Association has blessed me with the privilege to attend the school that is perfectly suited to my personality, and it has given me the very opportunity to fulfill my goal as an inspiration as a collegiate athlete. My name is Iniki Kaleialii, I will be attending California State University Fresno, and I will forever and always be a Bear. ~Iniki Kaleialii
Anyone can tell that the Bears organization is different, not because the drills we run in practice are particularly unique, but because of the leadership the coaching staff exhibits and their success in instilling good work ethic into each of the girls that play for them. The coaches have taught us to work hard to improve, and about the value of showing, rather than simply telling, that we have the will to do so. And appropriately enough, they have done this not simply by instructing us to work hard, but through inspiring us in a variety of ways, from telling us stories to encouraging us after our success. In addition to the life lessons these coaches have given me, this organization has also provided me with another family, a group of people I know I will be able to depend on for years to come. I think one of the most important pieces of advice to any younger player would be to take what the coaches say to heart. Trust what they say and do your best to follow their advice. Everything they say, they say to help you, and part of the experience is improving by listening to what your coaches say in practice. I know this sounds pretty simple and unnecessary to point out, but I think a lot of girls forget this. Sometimes I would dread the conditioning so much throughout practice that I would forget that I was there to improve, and would end up simply going through the motions of drills. However, despite the few practices where we lost sight of why we were there, the coaches truly succeeded in motivating us to work hard, not just for ourselves, but for our teammates as well. At the beginning of our season, we struggled in tournaments. Although we were strong players individually, we had not yet learned to play together. Through this time, the coaches placed a heavy emphasis on putting the team before ourselves, and that pushed us to the next level. I remember noticing last summer, my first season with the Bears, that this team likely did more team bonding than any of my other teams combined. Although bonding might not seem like a big deal, the time we spent together proved invaluable on the field as we learned to play more selflessly and began to play as a team. Overall, I think that was one of the most important lessons I learned while on the Bears: finding the balance between working hard for myself and working hard for others, which I believe is a valuable skill that I can carry over into the rest of my life, especially this year as I play for Occidental College. Although I was only on the team temporarily, the effect this organization has had on me will definitely remain a permanent one. I will miss everyone in the fall, but I hope to see you guys soon. ~Emily Pham