Fall Softball Season

I finally put Takyra in softball. She loves it! She is playing on an introductory team, which means every game is a lesson for the girls. They range from 6-8 years of age and their attention spans show it well. The girls rotate positions so that they can learn each one for the more competitive teams in the future. Before the season started, I began practicing with Takyra at the softball fields close to the house. We had practiced slow pitch all along. I later found out it is fast pitch softball. Luckily Takyra was ready for it. It is coach pitch and he pitches according to each girl's ability. The coaches are out in the field telling the girls how to make the plays when the team is on the field. When up to bat, there is the pitching coach, 1st and 3rd coaches and one can stand behind the catcher and coach the batter. Total instructional softball. Next year, she moves up to competitive level. As much as we both loved gymnastics ( me watching her, and her doing it) we like softball even better. Even with my shoulder still sore, I love going out and helping with the practices. I am the assistant to the assistant coach. The assistant would be my dad. Yes, it is a family thing and we love it. Takyra has decided she likes catcher best and she wants to continue with softball from now on. I was wondering when she would figure it all out. It just wasn't natural to be from a line of softball players and she had nothing to do with the sport. it jsut ook getting a team together for her to realize how much fun it is.
It has it's moments though. Some of the girls have such short attention spans, they can't help but get distracted. The coaches daughter is the best at this. She maybe lasts 30 seconds before she's sitting down scribbling in the dirt. This past week we were practicing and Takyra was up to bat. I had informed the coach that Takyra was hitting fast balls at the batting cages and could probably handle him pitching faster to her. So he did and she hit it hard. Guess who wasn't paying attention? The coaches daughter!!! She took the ball straight on the hip. Tears were flowing and the brat of the team decided Takyra needed to be scolded. So Takyra was crying too. I informed the girls that none of them are good enough to hit the ball exactly where they want to, so it is nobody's fault that someone got hit. The coach in turn said, " The more you get hit, the stronger you become." He wasn't worried about it and made sure the girls realize they are going to get hit in this game. They managed to make it through practice without anymore injuries.
The season is only 7 weeks long, but we are enjoying every minute of it. It's been good for the whole family. Who knows what sport she'll embark on next.