To be selfless means to serve. Northwestern College head softball coach Chris Nachtigall has started a yearly service project this fall in order to shift his team’s mindset in softball, and in life, to selflessness.
“We have to be selfless in softball and in life,” Nachtigall said. “If we are not selfless, I don’t believe we reach the full potential God has for us.”
On Oct. 8, 32 NW softball players set out around Orange City on a mission to learn this simple truth. The team was split up into six groups and assigned to different small projects around town such as cleaning up a barn, various yard work tasks and helping the First Reformed Church Kids’ Connection take their youth group on a fishing trip.
Nachtigall believes selfishness of any kind will prevent his team from playing to the best of their ability.
“I felt that there is not a lot better way for us to learn how to be selfless than to serve, which is doing something for someone without the expectation of gaining anything in return,” Nachtigall said.
These projects were a great way for the softball team to serve, to learn more about one another and to become closer as a team.
As is true in almost every sport, being cohesive as a unit is one of the most important characteristics of a winning team. Being able to make a difference in the community by serving others is something junior outfielder Jess Stofferan thinks will help her team become closer.
“I feel like these projects were a way for our team to hang out with each other and get to know each other a little bit better outside of just practice and lifting,” Stofferan said.
Stofferan also noted how she was able to spend time with teammates she hadn’t connected with previously.
Nachtigall said these kinds of connections through service projects will have a positive impact on their upcoming season. Nachtigall believes his team is beginning to understand how to set aside their busyness for the sake of others.
“This will be critical for us to continue to understand because our season is busy and they have a lot on their plate,” Nachtigall said, “but if we can set aside our own worries and struggles for each other on the field, we will reach our full potential as a group.”
