Let's Play Ball!

Times have changed. The competitive nature of sports have intensified requiring a more focused and determined young athlete.  When I was young, I played for fun.  I had natural athletic ability, and I excelled in every sport, but I did not practice endlessly nor did I start as a toddler.  Today, parents are placing their children in sports at the ages of three or four.  If your child is 9 and suddenly wants to play soccer or baseball, their skill level will be far behind as they will be playing with other kids who already have five years of experience.  Moreover, practice schedules are long and frequent during the week.  It requires a major commitment from the player and his family.  When I was young and as the seasons changed ,so did my sports.  We played everything.  I played soccer, softball, and basketball.  Today, most kids focus on one sport.  They play it all year around.  By the time these kids reach adolescent, they are quite skilled in their sport.  It is the parents drive and the expectation that a scholarship will result from all this effort.  We live in California.  Dylan’s high school has a student population of 3500.  To make a high-school team sport, you have to be pretty damn good.  You are competing against many kids who have spent years perfecting their skill in a sport.

 

I started Mia in softball last Fall, and yes, there were kids on Mia’s team who were 4.  She moved up a level this Fall and is now playing a much more competitive, intense kid fast pitch softball game.  Her team consist of 7 and 8 year old girls.  Some of these pitchers leave me gaping in shock.  They pitch FAST.  I don’t even think I could hit the ball.  Mia’s team practices three days a week for two hours.  Intense.  They also participated in a softball tournament over Labor Day weekend.  This was our first softball tournament, and it was EXHAUSTING.  She played 6 games in two days before her team was eliminated.  Her team, the Dirt Divas, placed 3^rd in the tournament.  We basically spent all day at the softball fields only to return in the evening for another game and then again early the following morning for yet another game.  When her team got eliminated, I was happy because I secretly wanted to go home.  You should have seen my facial expression when the coach told the girls there would be two more tournaments before the season ended.  Two more tournaments????!!!!!  HELP ME!!!!

 

Mia is HOT and tired.  Long, long, long days out on the softball fields in the sun.

Mia only hit the ball once during the tournament.  These kids pitch fast!

 

at the end of the games, the girls go on the softball field and do a chant and dance. It's cute.

  

Mia is enjoying herself so I will continue to be supportive., but truthfully,  I don’t know if I can keep up with this level of intensity.  I’m exhausted.  She is playing in Fountain Valley. Fountain Valley has a great and very competitive softball/baseball program.   Several Fountain Valley High School students have gone to the pros.   It is up to her how far she wants to go.  She has a lot to learn.  She stops ground balls easily. She catches some, but she still needs to work heavily on her catching.  She bats extraordinarily well when the coach pitches, but she has a hard time hitting the kid pitches.  She is learning to not swing at every ball and to differentiate between a good versus bad pitch.  I’m proud of her.

 

 

For the next two months, I’ll be out at the softball fields all the time.