Natalie Newell is a junior softball pitcher at Bethel College. Today the Write on Sports camp interviewed her here at the Newcomer Center at Goshen College.
Newell has basic routines for every part of softball. Before a game, before she even steps onto the mound, she gets quiet and thinks about how the game might be.
Newell says she is superstitious, which means she thinks that everything has to be exactly the same every time otherwise the results will be different. Every time she pitches she circles the mound, pivots on her right foot, and then she throws the ball.
Newell practices during the school year and during the summer. During the school year, she routinely practices every day. During the summer, she practices only two or three times a week.
These little routines are what makes Newell a successful pitcher at Bethel. These are the little things that can have big effects.