Little Flamethrowers

We made the decision this year to move Paige up from tee-ball to coach pitch softball.  Technically, she could have continued in tee ball this year because she isn’t in Kindergarten yet but Stephen didn’t want her to rely on the tee to hit the ball well and we wanted her fundamental skills to improve.  We didn’t think she learned very much about the true game of softball last year when all 9 players on the field ran to the same spot when the ball was hit! We’re developing her skills as a first baseman this year and hope to continue to build on her abilities in that area in the future.  We felt like exposing her to better competition would ultimately make her a better player in the long run!

Paige’s first game of the season was a rough one.  We got beat something like 15-1 by a much more experienced team.  But in the 2nd game we played SO much better and we won 2-0! Paige was one of the runs that scored and we were pumped up that she did so well.  Her hitting improved greatly over the first game and her defensive skills were much improved.

Her third game was tonight and it was the first time Stephen got to coach a game this year.  His High School softball games have kept him from being at the first 2 games.  During this game, Paige was moved up in the batting line up from 2nd batter to 1st batter.  As the wife of a softball coach, I knew the pressure that was on her to get on base.  Thankfully, Paige doesn’t know about the importance of a correct batting order just yet!  Paige went 2 for 3 during the third game and her hits were major in the world of coach pitch softball.  I was prouder than proud of her!  The second time she got on base the game was tied 3-3.  The batter after Paige got a small hit and advanced Paige to 2nd base.  Thankfully another one of our big hitters was up to bat next and she hit it far enough for Paige to run to 3rd base and score the game winning run! Stephen was coaching her on 3rd and his arm was winding so fast I’m surprised it didn’t fly off! It was so exciting to see the grin on her face when she knew they had won.

The grin still hasn’t left her face!

I know I’m biased…very much so in fact.  But I love seeing Paige succeed and enjoying herself in softball.  My proudest moment during the game tonight came when Paige was in the dugout waiting for her next turn to bat.  All of her teammates were standing on the bench in the dugout so they could see the game better and out of nowhere Paige starts the chant “Let’s Go Karma!” (Karma is a girl on her team) and the rest of the girls joined in.  They continued this chant for every batter on their team the rest of the game.  Stephen and I can teach her to bat and about fundamentals but the caring for her teammates isn’t something we can just teach her.  She has to pick up on loving and encouraging others on her own (after of course we’ve tried to model those things for her).  Wins are awesome and we want and like to win a lot, but character and being a good sport is the name of the game!