In the top corner of the bleachers, along the third-base line of the BSU Softball Complex, David Pick stands behind his tripod-mounted video camera each game.
After intently watching each play, he documents the details of the happenings on a clipboard that he holds throughout the game. He then looks down at his camera, making sure it is positioned to capture the play on the field.
Pick is not a scout who was hired by the Ball State University softball team; rather he is the father of senior Amanda Pick.
Pick said he films his daughter's games so he can remember more and help her fix any problems in her mechanics.
"I usually film Amanda real close to see what she's doing well or not, especially at home," he said. "You can't see what they're doing right or wrong unless you do film it."
In addition to filming his daughter, Pick said, he also films the rest of the game and keeps statistics for everyone. He said he focuses on his daughter, but also shares his information with other players if they want it.
Amanda Pick said a couple teammates also have used the tapes to see how they can improve.
"Last year a couple girls looked at their own hitting off of that so it helped them with that," she said. "So, it can be helpful for other people too and not just me."
The senior, who primarily plays first base, said she is used to her dad taping all of her games because he has been doing it as long as she can remember.
David Pick said he has filmed his daughter's games for as long as she has been playing, except when he coached her. He often does not tell her what she is doing wrong but instead shows her on the video, he said.
Pick's wife, Debbie, said that approach is usually more effective.
"A lot of times she won't listen to him," she said, "but she'll sit down and watch the video, and she knows right away."
Amanda Pick said the tapes are helpful because she is a visual learner, and they allow her to see her mistakes and learn from them.
With the knowledge Pick has gained from the tapes, she is one of the Cardinals' top offensive players.
Of the Ball State players with more than 10 at bats, Pick has the second highest batting average on the team. Pick's .292 batting average is four percentage points behind the team's leader, Alicia Barkley. Pick, who leads the team with 24 walks, is also tied with Lisa Rozanski for the highest on-base percentage on the team at .417.
Pick is also tied with fellow senior Abby Gross for the most home runs on the team with three this season. She is third on the team with 17 RBIs, behind Gross' 30 and Elizabeth Milian's 21.
David Pick said the tapes help his daughter all around, especially in hitting.
"A picture is worth a thousand words," he said. "That's what it amounts to."
Pick said he and his wife have been to every game in their daughter's college career except two, one in which she did not play because of an injury and one at the University of Notre Dame they chose not to go to her freshman year. After missing the game at Notre Dame, he said, he would not miss another game.
The next game he will be at is today's match up against IPFW. The teams' doubleheader begins at 3 p.m. at the BSU Softball Complex.
After a pair of loses to Bowling Green State University Saturday and Sunday, coach Craig Nicholson said, the games are a chance for the Cardinals to get rolling.
"I think the big thing for us is just get back on track, get rolling again," he said. "We've got two Tuesday and two Wednesday and we can get ourselves four wins and feel good and get a little confidence going into Miami next weekend."
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