This one is personal. I sit down with Tony Rico, my private batting coach from eighth grade through my senior year of high school, for a walk down memory lane that turned into something much bigger than softball. Back in 1995, my mom drove me from Irvine to a backyard batting cage in Huntington Beach once a week. I thought I was there to fix my swing. What I got was five years of mentorship with a softball and a bat, and life lessons I didn't recognize until decades later: you don't have to end on a good one, keep your shoulders back when you swing and miss, breathe, slow down, and make the adjustment. Today, Tony is the President of Firecracker Softball, Inc., a program that has grown to 28 states, with a culture built on dignity, humility, and playing with honor. He's also the Co-Founder of The Range, a pitching academy in Anaheim, California. We talk about how he coaches without ever telling a player what she's doing wrong, why the car ride home matters more than the game, what his parents taught him about love and safety, and how the same simple ingredients that worked in the cage still work in parenting, corporate life, and a cross-country move. In this episode, we cover: -How a referral from a teammate led me to Tony's backyard cage in Huntington Beach in 1995 -"You don't have to end on a good one": valuing yourself even after a swing and a miss -Posture, presence, and the power of one word, and why Tony never told a player what she was doing wrong -Asking questions instead of giving corrections: "Where did the last one go? Where's the next one going?" -Why softball is the wrong game to play if you want constant emotional satisfaction, and what that teaches you about ego -The long car ride home, and why girls have to feel good to play good -Creating an experience that calms a player's nervous system, and the "hard, resilient love" behind it -Firecracker Softball's journey from Gary Wardine's original program to a nationwide organization, and Melinda, the mom who walked in, saw Tony's schedule, and changed everything -Tony's parents: a World War II Veteran father, a mother whose last words were "be good to each other," and what they taught him about safety and joy -Parenting through adversity without losing your most beautiful self, and the importance of the repair -Our shared inside joke, "maximum bat speed," and why the half swing still holds up -The Natasha Watley story, the Alliance, and where women's softball is headed with NIL money and the pro league -My family's move from California to Knoxville and the self-reflection that comes with a fresh start -Why "Play with Honor" is about remembering the people who got you here Whether or not you have a kid in sports, this conversation is about the people who shape us before we know we're being shaped, and about carrying yourself with dignity no matter how the at-bat goes. Follow The Range on Instagram Follow Firecracker Softball on Instagram Sponsored by DIVINI, a honey-based sparkling kombucha tea. Visit LiveDivini and use code Breanne10 at checkout for a discount! Follow Adventures in Adversity on Instagram & Facebook #softball #firecrackersoftball #youthsports #coaching #mentorship #lifelessons #parenting #adversity #traumatotestimony #resilience #mentalhealth #girlsinsports
