SWAT (Softball With AttiTude)

If I were a mother who brags, I would post a team picture of the 2014-2015 12U SWAT team and I would tell you that they placed second in the Show-Me State Games. I would talk about pitchers, hitters, stolen bases, getting bunts down, making plays, and enthusiasm. Because those things were awesome, and I was so proud of all of these girls.

My hope when Madison signed up for this team was that she would improve her fundamental softball skills. Hitting, fielding, throwing, base running. I wanted her to learn more about all of the little things, because I have always believed, in any sport, that if you do the little things the right way, winning will flow from that. I think that doing the little things ultimately becomes the big thing. As our season comes to an end, I have been thinking about how far we have come since we began last fall.

The girls did improve their skills in many ways that can only be accomplished with experience.  At this time last year, when Madison approached the batter’s box, she was a girl who was trying not to strike out. Now, when she steps up to the plate, she is looking to smack the crap out of the ball. Her throws are more accurate, and she has become an aggressive base runner who is FINALLY ready and willing to slide. Most of the time.

I LOVE to watch young people gain life lessons through sports. Teamwork. Perseverance. Patience (Anybody remember any rain delays?). Commitment. Work ethic. Taking direction. Confidence. When we started out, a mistake or two would turn into a train wreck, and we took our share of losses. As the season went on, however, the girls developed the ability to regroup and move past a mistake, and we started bringing home medals. I think the girls learned that winners are not people who never fail. They are people who never quit.   

  Thank you SWAT coaches and parents for your willingness to give your time and energy to this team and to my daughter. For her lessons learned, the fun she had, and for helping out when I had to miss a game to take her brother somewhere else. Now that it is over, even with all we gained, it feels a little bit like we survived something. Maybe we did. Frigid cold, extreme heat, crazy hair, shoe emergencies, flooded fields, a tornado warning, and a switch blade surgery. Come to think of it, maybe winners are are people who never quit with parents who never give up!