The Leadership Lesson My Dad Taught Me at 11

One of the greatest leadership lessons of my life happened on a sixth-grade softball field—and I've carried it with me ever since. What can a childhood softball game teach us about leadership, teamwork, resilience, and believing in others? More than you might imagine! 🎤 BOOK KRISTIN SMEDLEY TO SPEAK https://www.KristinSmedley.com/speaking During my high school's Wall of Fame induction ceremony, I shared a story about my dad, a championship softball team, and the moment on the pitcher's mound that changed how I understood leadership forever. It was an unforgettable evening filled with laughter, lifelong friendships, former teammates, and memories from the 1980s—including a little friendly competition with the Philadelphia Phillies' 1980 World Series championship! My daughter captured this approximately nine-minute portion of my speech, complete with laughter and reactions from the live audience. THE LEADERSHIP LESSON THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING When I was 11 years old, my dad was my softball coach. During one particularly difficult game, I was struggling on the pitcher's mound, trying desperately to strike out every batter. My dad called time-out, walked onto the field, and reminded me that I wasn't playing alone. I had an entire team behind me, ready and capable of making the plays. His advice? Stop trying to strike everyone out. Let them hit the ball. Trust your team. We didn't win that game. But I walked away with something far more valuable. You can't go it alone. Surround yourself with people who bring their own talents, strengths, and abilities to the team. That lesson became a foundation for how I approached leadership, parenting, advocacy, and some of the greatest challenges of my life. Years later, when I learned that my son was blind, I drew upon that same lesson to build a team that would help him pursue his own dreams. It also helped guide me as I advocated for opportunities and challenged expectations about blindness. Today, I'm a keynote speaker, author, and blindness advocate, sharing stories that challenge people to LOOK AGAIN at what is possible. 🎬 THE STORY BEHIND CURVEBALL I'm developing Curveball, a feature film inspired by my blind son's journey playing Little League baseball—a story about challenging expectations, believing in possibility, and the extraordinary things that happen when people come together. Learn more about the film: https://film.kristinsmedley.com ⚾ FOR COACHES, EDUCATORS, PARENTS & LEADERS What would change if we stopped expecting ourselves—or the people we lead—to do everything alone? What if the greatest thing we could teach our children and our teams was how to believe in themselves AND each other? Whether you're coaching a youth sports team, teaching in a classroom, raising children, or leading an organization, the lesson my dad taught me on that pitcher's mound is one we can all carry forward. 🌟 LOOK AGAIN FROM THE STAGE This video is part of my Look Again From the Stage series, featuring authentic moments from speaking engagements that invite us to reconsider what we believe about leadership, resilience, ability, and possibility. INVITE KRISTIN TO YOUR NEXT EVENT I speak to schools, educators, youth sports organizations, athletic programs, parent groups, leadership conferences, corporate audiences, and community organizations about resilience, teamwork, leadership, inclusion, and the power of looking again. Speaking information and booking inquiries: https://www.KristinSmedley.com/speaking Subscribe for more real stories and speaking moments about leadership, overcoming challenges, raising resilient children, and seeing possibilities others might overlook. #LeadershipLessons #YouthSports #MotivationalSpeaker #LookAgain #KristinSmedley