Today we’d like to introduce you to Taylor Yates
Hi Taylor, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I played softball for about 13 years. My father started a team in order for me and my sister to start this sport. I played at the recreational, travel, middle school, and high school level. I played softball, basketball, and soccer all at the same time before focusing on softball. We did not have a pitching coach when I was younger, so my dad and I figured it all out through YouTube and later with travel coaches that knew some more. I’m incredibly thankful for my dad, he sacrificed a lot to help me learn this game and to this day advises me on how to be the best coach I could be. From the endless driving to practices and tournaments to endless college research, I have him and my mom to thank for all of this.
I was a team captain for my high school softball team, where I learned what it meant to be a leader. I took advantage of the Running Start Program (I believe it is called dual enrollment here) where I attended a local college for my junior and senior year. I graduated with both my high school diploma and associate’s degree. With this, I went on to finish my Bachelor’s degree in three years, and I am a second year graduate student working towards my Master’s in Sport Administration.
I was recruited to play in college, and it was then I had my first official pitching coach, whom I now work with. Throughout college, I knew softball wouldn’t last forever. I studied business and marketing to walk into a career in social media marketing.
Randomly one day in the summer of 2021, I got a call from a parent. He told me that their travel team’s coach was recently fired, and they needed someone to come have fun with these kids. I jumped at the opportunity. After just a few weeks, I absolutely fell in love with coaching. The parents of this team contacted the director of our organization and I was hired as a head coach. This is now my third year as their coach.
In the fall of 2021, right before the holidays, I was laid off from my marketing job. To me, this was a sign to pursue coaching full time. In December, I launched my LLC and from then on have been pursing softball full time. I have now coached at one middle school and two high schools, and have coached 12u and 14u travel team, and have worked my way up to the coordinator of the travel program. I offer private lessons, where I work with kids 6-18 years old. I am a second year graduate student, working towards my Masters in Sport Administration.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has not been a smooth road at all. As a very empathic and emotion-driven person, this career is very difficult. It is important to me that the players develop into great people and are understood as a person, however, sometimes decisions need to be made that are in the team’s best interest, instead of the individual players. It’s been hard to separate the player’s success from my own success, as many times I have felt I have failed them.
Another big obstacle has been my health. In the fall of 2023, I experienced a heat stroke during my team’s practice. While in the hospital, I contracted COVID. Sadly, either from long covid or another medical situation we have not yet figured out, I am not able to physically do what I used to be able to. Relearning my limits and trying to navigate this has been difficult.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Triple Play Academy?
I specialize in coaching young softball pitchers. It is incredibly important to me that I bridge mechanical training with mental training. I love to tell my pitchers I want them to be players, not puppets. Puppets do what they are told when they are told, and players fully understand what is happening in order to make decisions and react accordingly. Young girls need someone who believes in them, and my pitchers who have the dedication to get better and give the needed work, know that I will stand behind them and help them as much as I can. I have developed great relationships with my pitchers,
It is important too that I remain a student of the game. Pitchers today learn way different things from when I were a kid, so I have to continue to learn and adjust how I teach. The old way is not always the best way, and we have to evolve along with the sport. I will always choose methods that keep pitchers safe, keep them progressing, and keep them happy. I recently have started offering online training so I can help athletes who are too busy for private lessons or don’t live close enough! My goal is to provide help for kids like me who didn’t have a pitching coach.
Here are my testimonials: https://www.tripleplayacademy.online/testimonials
We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
I”m a huge cozy homebody! I am a fantasy reader, I love cozy video games like Stardew Valley, and I have a ton of plants around my house. I have a crested gecko and three cats. In my life I’ve had fish, dogs, frogs, a gecko, cats, shrimp, snails, and a pet chicken.
Another one: I was almost an artist! In high school I thought I would go to an art school and study graphic design or video game design. I was thinking of going to the Art Institute of San Fransisco or DigiPen Institute of Technology, but decided to go through the softball recruiting process instead.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.tripleplayacademy.online/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tripleplayacademy?igshid=YWJhMjlhZTc%3D
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/atltripleplayacademy/
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@tripleplayacademy?si=0ruDUQ2BKDp2DmDh
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@tripleplayacademy?_t=8Z0Enjb6cms&_r=1
Image Credits
Qiu-ee Neiditz (all photos)
