Softball

Even from the time I was a little girl, I wanted to play sports.  I had dolls, yes, but I was far from a girly-girl. 

Disclaimer-my parents never made me do any extra-curricular activities that I didn't want to do.  Well, except for going to math tutoring.

When I was about 4, my mom signed me up for gymnastics, at my request.  I enjoyed doing it, but I guess I wasn't very good because I only went for a short time.  I also did baton, participating in a 4th of July parade. 

When I was 7, I was the first girl to play little league in the county I grew up in.  I played with the boys because at that point there weren't programs for girls.  I enjoyed playing very much, but we moved at the end of the season and when we returned to the area only a year later, the rules had changed, prohibiting girls to play with the boys.

I was also part of a swim team.  I enjoyed swimming very much, but my lungs couldn't handle the work required to swim competetively for long distances.  This didn't stop me from joining the swim team in high school to circumvent taking P.E. and allowing me to get a varsity letter before many of my peers did.

In middle school, I discovered that there was a county softball league that I could join.  I also found out that because of my birthday, I ended up playing with younger girls.  As a result, my coach called me "tall girl" instead of learning my name.  That really upset me and I decided to stop playing for a year or two.

I played softball on the high school team, which was not as much fun as I had hoped, due to the coach doing immoral activities on the side.  I stuck with it, but I never looked at high school softball the same.

The fall of my senior year of high school, I played county softball again.  Because I would still be 16 on September 1st, I played with girls that were 12-16.  Some of the girls were in 6th grade...a long way from me, being in 12th.  The girls thought I was so cool because I could drive and had a car.  Instead of feeling like I was playing with babies, I took the opportunity to mentor my teammates and help them hone their skills.  I really enjoyed that season.

I played for one season on the church league.  I enjoyed the fellowship with other Christian women and it was nice to play in a league that prohibited trash-talking.  That kind of behavior really doesn't enhance the game.  Don't get me wrong, we were still very competitive, but we just didn't trash the other teams.  I remember that season fondly because after I hit a home run, I ran to third base and then couldn't breathe anymore, so I crawled to home.

One downside of playing softball for so long- I have scars all over my legs from sliding and tearing my skin off and from being hit by balls.  I always carried hydrogen peroxide, band-aids and neosporin with me because I knew it was inevitable that I would scrape my kneecap and be bleeding.  If you are bleeding, you can't keep playing.  Therefore, I just cleaned and covered up the bleeding area so that I could continue playing.

I really miss playing softball.  Every spring when I see the sign-ups for softball (for younger girls), I remember how much fun I had over the years.  I hope that Doug and I can find a league to play in up here, whether it be at church or part of county ball.  I would like to coach a team at some point, but last year when I had the opportunity, I was pregnant and didn't want a stray ball to hit my belly.

Good luck to all the teams that are currently playing and enjoy it!!