Inside Pitch: What is The Program? Jessi Warren Explains “How It Has Changed Me To Be A Better Person”

Extra Inning Softball correspondent Jessica Warren was a college All-American at Florida State and, in 2018, the third baseman helped the Seminoles win the NCAA D1 National Championship. After college, Jessi was a professional player with the USSSA Pride and competed in the Athletes Unlimited.

Click HERE to read about Jessi’s thoughts about the Noles magical run five years ago…

In today’s “Inside Pitch,” she reviews a training tool that she felt really made a difference in her softball career, yes, but also in her life off the field…

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One thing I recommend that every program invest in is “The Program.”

Of my four years at FSU, we did The Program three of the four years, and it was the best thing our coaches could have done for us.

You are probably wondering what The Program is… it’s defined as:

“North America’s #1 veteran-owned team building and leadership development resource for corporations and sports teams.

We offer a unique combination of elite military and pro-athletic experience to help clients develop great teammates, great team leaders, and world-class teams.”

— from The Program website: TheProgram.org

I’m not entirely sure how the whole things works, because I was just behind the scenes and an attendee of this program, but I’m sure the veterans get together with the coaching staff and customize a program to fit the needs for the most effective team building and leadership training.

We experienced what they call “Judgment Day.”

Every year, it was two days of training that pushed us athletes outside of our comfort zone.

• Year 1: We stayed on campus, utilizing our practice soccer field and outdoor swimming pool.
• Year 2: We traveled to a beach and utilized the beach for two days of chaos.
• Year 3: We were in the middle of the woods.

All three years were life-changing and mentally prepared us for life in general outside of softball.

Here is a clip of teammates having to coordinate to do push-ups and sit-ups together:

Here is the letter I wrote during the program, Year 3 (2017-2018); the year we won the national championship (paragraph breaks below are added for reading clarity):

As I sit here in the middle of nowhere on a sleeping bag, running off of 3 hours of sleep in 2 days, I ask myself every minute who do I complain about such little things in life when there are so much worse things than lack of sleep, fatigue, temporary pain…etc.

This weekend already has taught me a lot. I look at Sam and I see a man who has been through real pain, real struggles… and then there is me, who thinks I’ve been through it. The pain Jamie, Sam and Roy [editor’s note; three of The Program’s instructors at the time… click HERE to see the current team] are putting us through right now, will never come close to any pain they’ve been through.

I look back on the last two days and I am so thankful for the things we have been through… It is making me and TEAM 35 stronger for the long run. During compass run in the woods, I was so close to just giving up because my team was in 1^st place and ended up getting passed up.

I got discouraged, and then Sam came and the energy and (this is really weird) but the happiness he brought me, it just makes me a better person. He reminds me that the way I feel doesn’t matter referring to the temporary pain I was feeling at that time. The things he’s been through is what matters. Fighting for my life at one point and I hadn’t even known him.

HE IS A HERO. It’s for so much more than myself and I think as I’m writing this I am so appreciative of all the adversity that’s going on around me… it’s going to make me a better teammate/leader/sister/friend…

THANK YOU @ THE PROGRAM because you are getting us to the World Series this year! 9/30/17

— Jessi Warren, correspondent for Extra Inning Softball

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