Dealing With Stress
February 5, 2019
When Coach Swaney gets stressed he deals with it by taking a step back. “Like anything else you need a break. My wife and i like to get away for the weekend, and I play a lot of golf,” Coach Swaney said.
Coach Jim Payne deals with stress by having his whole family involved.
Some coaches have to spend months on end with their team. “It’s like I adopted 53 sons,” Coach lovrich said.
Softball is a classic B-A sport that always has success under Coach Payne, who has won two District 6 titles, but even with the team struggles recently, Payne’s philosophical perspective has allowed him to handle the game and avoid stress. “For me success is a perception. I have found over the years that you can have a bad season and win few games and still be successful,” he said. “Teaching the game is, and always will be, the goal. Wins and losses happen despite odds. This thinking has left my stress level reduced. I feel all of my stress between the lines.
“Coaching is way easier when there are no expectations. Every year only six teams in the whole state finish with a win. So, if you are not one of them people think your unsuccessful. However, the talent we have been blessed with has always done their best to make Bellwood softball a tradition not just a program!”
In the end, it’s a game. Games are played to compete and enjoy the time spent with a team that can truly get together and form a bond.
“One thing that is important, especially at a small high school like ours, is to remember that these sports are meant to be fun,” said Coach Conlon.