TN Mojo 2027-Kilgore OF/2B/UT Harper Bales, a 2027 Extra Elite 100 candidate, is spending the weekend challenging her skills against some of the best players in the nation as an invitee to the USSSA Select 30 National Training Camp, which takes place Friday-Monday, Jan. 14-17, in Viera, Florida.
Check out her previous blog entry here:
- Harper Bales’ Blog: Day 1 at Select 30 in Viera, Florida
- Harper Bales’ Blog: Day 2 at Select 30 in Viera, Florida
Bales, an SEFL (Southeastern Fastpitch League) Player of the Month selection for October, recently joined the Extra Inning Softball crew of bloggers and will be writing about her experiences at the Select 30 camp.
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Day 3 Select 30 Training Camp –– USSSA Space Coast Complex
Well, this day started out with the dreaded text, Rain Delay!
Our early morning games were delayed until this afternoon, which gave us time to spend with our Mojo family eating at a small hometown diner in Melbourne. As much fun that I have with them on the field, we have just as much fun off the field. The training camp started at 12:30 p.m. with a lot of time spent inside the classroom. First class, we talked again about social media and how important it is to our recruiting process. I do hope the softball players that have not attended or don’t have the opportunity to attend this camp take away from this blog to get on social media. No better way to showcase your talents.
With that said, they also stressed how it could hurt you if not used properly. Second class of the day, Chalk Talk with Jessie Warren. She discussed a day in the life of a college and pro player. We had to make a mock schedule with everything a player at that level needs to get done in one day. I can’t lie, it was rough. After my schedule was made, I didn’t even have time to eat! That really makes you think because most softball players I know are already putting work in every day to get better. But if we make it to college, that’s when the real work begins.
My final class of the day, hitting technology. We discussed how to take videos of your hitting to compare to pro players and again, put on SOCIAL MEDIA!
Game Time, my team had one of the first games of the day. We went 1-1 on the day. First game, we played against my Mojo teammate, Addison Holcomb. Her team got the “W,” but I did get her out… with the bases loaded and two outs! All jokes aside, we all are competitors, but when you play against one of your own it’s a different feeling. I hit well today, several singles, a double and one triple. My coach, Penny Foore, USSSA Pride assistant coach, is great. She is very positive and very uplifting on the field. I am so grateful that I have this opportunity to be coached by her during this camp. She taught us to have “short term” memory loss, don’t stress over an error or a strikeout, just move on! Great advice for any sport or in life.
My final scrimmage game is scheduled at 10 a.m. on Monday. They are also going to announce the Select 30 for the All-Star game. Not going to lie, I’m nervous but super excited at the same time!
— #15 Harper Bales
