Why does your DD play fastpitch?

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I am always curious as to why girls play this sport. Not saying it is in any way a bad thing, just the opposite. I LOVED the 10 years my DD played and will miss it dearly.

There are many different reasons that are just never talked about. My DD started at age 9 because she was a standout at Rec and wanted more out of the game. After her first season I think it became more about the hotel stays and all the fun the girls had. I see many girls just starting to play at 14u and wonder why now, what happened to make you want to play now. I have even seen a few start at 16u and coached one girl this past year that started at 18u.

So I ask; Why did your DD start playing and what do you hope she will get out of it. Please also include what age level she started at just for statistical reasons. LoL

 

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I had my girls start to keep them away from boys... Keep them busy was my thought. It worked.

 

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Mine is now a first year 16U, she started at 10U at the age of 9. She has been around the sport since she was 4 or 5 years old, her older sisters both played and she was around watching them for years until she started. Why does she play??? Love of the sport, friends she has made and kept even though some dont play on her team anymore, hotel stays and being the center of attention now that she is the only one playing...LOL She enjoys being with all her friends who love the game as much as she does, pushing each other to get better. The fun they have at tournaments with each other on and off the field. Travelling to places and seeing things that probably if she wasnt playing softball we wouldnt see!! So many numerous reasons......
She has made some of the best friends through this sport that she will continue to be friends with into adult hood I am sure the same as her 2 older sisters have!! Learning wise: I would say they all learn responsiblity, sportmanship, team spirit, life is full of alot of ups and downs and they learn how to deal with these with some of their best friends!!
I will also miss this dearly when it ends.....not sure what I will do with my weekends then!!! But I will cherish the last couple of years I have and have a ton of memories from all 3 of my daughters from the years of TB that no one can understand unless you live it!!

 

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because i tell her to

 

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Ours all started at around 5 years and we have photos of the one playing catcher at that age in all the gear standing against the backstop, waiting for the ball to stop and then picking it up and throwing it back. That made her scrapbook page as she turned into quite a catcher through her career, they all loved the hotel stays, long trips to places they'd never go to see including overseas, the friends they have made with some of them lifetime friends like sisters. Now they look at how they can give some to the next generations of the future of the game....

The work ethics, teamwork, leadership skills that they inherently picked up by playing the game, have helped mold them into what they are today and the game definately was good to them!

 

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I have 3 girls and they all played at one time.

My oldest is now 17 and she played from the time she was 10 until she was 15. She started travel ball because she was a stand out in rec ball and wanted more competition. As she got older and turned into a social butterfly, it took too much out of her social life and she gave it up. She liked the uniforms and traveling every weekend but not so much the work that came with it.

My middle dd is now 14 and she started when she was 9 and is still going strong. She was a stand out in rec ball, is VERY competitive and does very well in travel ball. She has made especially close relationships with her teammates as I have had the same group of girls now for almost 5 years and they have become like sisters. They are all like minded, or should I say absent minded, and are all working toward the same goal of being great softball players. They all want to play ball in college and are willing to do what it takes to get there. I don't believe you could drag her away from travel ball, she loves it too much....the competitivness, the friendships and just the love of the game.

My little nugget is 9, going to be 10 in October and she has been playing travel ball since she was 5. From the time she could walk, she has tried to mimic her older sisters and their teammates and has become quite the little gamer. She was a shy kid when she was very young and travel ball has most definately opened her up. She loves her teammates and her former teammates and knows just about everyone at all the tournaments, it has helped her emensely to get over her shyness. She loves the competition and is very proud of the work she puts into the game, it shows her that hard work really pays off. You couldn't drag her away from it if you tried, she loves the game way too much.

I guess my love of the game got their foot in the door, but they choose to play at this level for their own love of the game. I would never force them to play which is evident with my oldest, but I sure am glad they chose to continue.

 

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I think she started at age 5 or 6 with her older sister being in 8U. Standout in rec, did some travel at 12U and really started travel at 14U.

Why does she play?
1. She loves this sport.
2. She loves being on a team.
3. There's no easy way to say this - her Dad has stage IV cancer and she knows he loves to watch her play. The travel time and games are bonus together time for them. We are really lucky that even as a teenager, she is not too self-centered. Probably learned that from all these years of softball!

 

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I think she started at age 5 or 6 with her older sister being in 8U. Standout in rec, did some travel at 12U and really started travel at 14U.

Why does she play?
1. She loves this sport.
2. She loves being on a team.
3. There's no easy way to say this - her Dad has stage IV cancer and she knows he loves to watch her play. The travel time and games are bonus together time for them. We are really lucky that even as a teenager, she is not too self-centered. Probably learned that from all these years of softball!

Sue99 that's great that this is special time for your DD and her dad.......and something the family does together!

 

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Because she swings a tennis racquet the same way she swings a bat.

 

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She started because the doctor said she HAD to play sports year 'round, no matter what she played. Softball was an obvious choice because it's the "family sport" - everyone played at one point or another on both sides. You can't be "family" at our family reunions if you don't stroll up with your glove, or at least have it in your car.

First season of rec, she was 11, loved learning from CoachTony so much she wanted to keep playing when the season was over, so we found a nearby fall ball league. DonnySoftball made her love it even MORE. She asked for the impossible - a team that played in the winter. In Ohio, it's not easy. But she found her first travel team, and played that winter. Practiced while the rest of her team played middle school ball, played all summer.

She played basketball for 2 seasons and was VERY good, but then decided she was hanging up her high tops because every second she was practicing basketball was a second she could be doing tee work, soft toss or in a cage.

She loves playing as much as I love having a kid that loves playing. She has been lucky to have great coaches all the way, and even better teammates and families, so it's been easy for her to continue doing what she loves!

 

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DD moved from manager pitch rec to fastpitch rec, decided she wanted to pitch at age 10, played 2 rec teams first year 12u and moved on to travel the next summer. She totally loves the game, has played every position, and really enjoys the challenge of a hard-fought battle. She dropped s***** at 14 to dedicate herself year-round to her favorite game.

 

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I will make this simple, she has a passion for the sport. She started out playing slow-pitch at the coach pitch age, then moved on to fast-pitch at the age of 12u. She is now a sophomore at Capital University and her passion has not changed.

 

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DD was asked to fill in behind the plate for a summer tournament 9 years ago for a 10u team. Rained cats and dogs on Saturday, so her first game was at 7:00am that Sunday morning...followed by 6 more that day to reach the championship against the team's nemisis. Final game was called due to darkness. Went to the book for a winner. Each team had exact stats (runner to third, etc..). Championship game came down to a coin toss and we lost. I thought it was the most ridiculous thing I had ever heard of! Loaded dirty, exhausted, crying daughter in the car and swore that I would NEVER put her through that ever again. A couple of miles down the highway she asked if she could play with the team the following weekend...she was hooked and neither of us have ever looked back.
She plays for the competition, the challenge, the fun, the friendships, the memories. It is a love/hate relationship.
She has her first D1 college practice today....

 

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I've never asked but I think it would go like this:

Me: Why do you play softball?
Her: Why not.
Me: Isn't there a reason?
Her: Not really
Me: So why?
Her: Why not.
Me: Just text me when you figure it out
Her: Sending me a text of "k"

 

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To help pay for College so the wife and I aren't broke for life...........lol

 

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Started travel ball at age 11. Played a few years before that in coach and kid pitch. She absolutely loves it. She watched me play when she was very young (about 2 or 3) and always wanted to come out on the field with me. When she was old enough to play for a team, she ended up on Front Row's team. Before Front Row, Jess threw right and batted left. After Front Row, Jess now throws left and bats right. She's ruined.....thanks to Front Row...lol.

Just kidding of course

Len

 

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She played rec from 9u-10u
She played Emerald Necklace 11u-12u
Started travel ball at 14u 2 years and now is a first year 16u.
Why? she loves fastpitch and she loves pitching. She likes the girls who play the game too. She said last year about missing out on the shopping mall and movie hangouts with her school friends during summer break "It's Ok, dad. Softball is my Life. I love it."

Her late start in Travel ball was my doing. I didn't want to commit to the weekends and hotels etc. That's something I regret now, but hey, what can you do?

 

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Sadly, for both me and her, my DD finished her collegiate eligibility this past spring. Believe it or not, she actually played competitive slowpitch softball from the ages 9 through 12, with her team finishing 5th in the ASA Nationals in Georgia when she was 12. This was the last part of the state to go to fastpitch in high school, and we actually had a good local slowpitch program, and she was a pitcher. She loved the game from the beginning and was always good at it, and knew she had to go to fastpitch where she insisted she would be a pitcher too.

So we got her a pitching coach and she started playing fastpitch travel ball that next summer ... two years of "daddy ball" before getting on some true travel teams. She went D3 in college and was fortunate to either pitch, play outfield or DH pretty much every game in both high school and college. And now, she can't believe she ever played slowpitch and swears she never will again, though we talk sometimes that she did learn a lot about the game/defense, the mental part of being a pitcher, and more importantly the fun of traveling and playing on a team of girls with similar goals. She thrived on the competition and fairly quietly on being the center of attention every game. She became a student of the game so that when she quit playing travel ball herself after 18-U, that she wanted to coach it which she and I have been doing together the last 3 1/2 years.

She very much enjoys the coaching and teaching younger girls some of the things she learned over the years, but she really misses playing herself.

 

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My daughter is going to be playing her first year of tourney ball after playing the last 2yrs in LMGSO. She just loves the sport gave up soc*** for it. She cannot watch enough of it when it is on Espn, and she always wants to practice, sometimes I have to rein her back in a bit. Hopefully this passion continues as I think she is a pretty decent player, and I would love to spend 10yrs or so watching her!

 

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To help pay for College so the wife and I aren't broke for life...........lol

Ditto!