So glad for this post because I want to rave about the start my DD has had with hitting, but at the same time it's early and she has very definite goals. We are just staying calm and focused in the house - maybe we're a bit superstitious, but we try not to talk about it too much. But I'm so very proud of her, so I'm going to get it out here!
Last year, her freshman year, she hit .531, had 7 HRs, and beat a school record with RBIs (38). A few of her goals include beating the HR record (currently 8 - was 6 until last year, but our senior got one more HR than Amber), beating her own RBI record, and improving her BA.
We have had a total of 7 games so far. She has had a total of 28 plate appearances that led to 22 official at bats (6 walks). She is hitting .500 with 6 HRs so far! She has also had 1 triple, 1 double, and 3 singles and a total of 16 RBIs at this time.
While her official pre-season goal was to hit 9 HRs, she is debating about moving her goal to 10. That would give her a total of 17 HRs in her freshman and sophomore years - which would tie the school career record. It's funny about HR goals though - technically she does not go up to the plate thinking about hitting a HR. She really doesn't. She is not taught to do that - her hitting instructor teachers her to hit line drives and move/score runners. That is part of the reason we don't talk about it at home and why we honestly try to look more at BA and RBIs - but when you've hit 6 this early, it gets pretty hard to not think about them!
I know anything can happen, but she has certainly given herself a strong start towards her goals. Hopefully, the rest of the season continues like this. She has had such a long journey back from a near-complete hamstring tear at Nationals back in August. She has worked so hard and I'm just so happy for her and the success she is seeing after a long, frustrating recovery.