The Miles and Smiles of Summer

Every year right around the first of August the Summer Fastpitch Softball season comes to an end, and every year at this time we reflect on what was and what could have been. While a few teams go on to glory and win a national softball crown most teams pack it in with dreams of that crown coming to them next year.

The beauty of a fastpitch softball season is how everything seems to always come full circle and how friendships are formed. Of course there are times during the summer season when seeing, eye to eye may seem like an impossibility for all involved. Players upset with players, parents upset with coaches, and coaches just trying to bridge the gaps. 

But on that last day of national play as you stand there in the hot sun, soiled and tired from giving it your all, there is an emotion that comes over all of us as we recognize that this chapter of our softball lives has come to an end.

As parents we can't help but feel the sense of pride as we watch our daughters grow knowing that this sport is teaching them so much more than how to handle a hot grounder or hit a rise ball. We know that in life we will have our challenges, some we'll win and some we'll lose, and it’s how we face them that will determine our success. As this season comes to an end the visions that are etched into our memory banks will be some of our most cherished, we'll someday look back on them with a big smile knowing that we were our daughter’s biggest fan and we wouldn't have had it any other way.

As players you  know that time will heal the skinned knees, the new school year will be your main focus in a couple of weeks and this summer will be another memory, except these memories will recount new friends, shared successes, shared pain, and a summer that brought both laughter and tears, often at the same time. You'll remember your individual as well as your team accomplishments, and as the years go by your batting average from this season will always get better, funny, it just works out that way.

As coaches we'll ask ourselves what we could have done differently not only to impact the game, but help each player understand that competition breeds competition and that life after softball is a competitive endeavor. In a few short years the kids we teach today will all be starting players in the real world, with real jobs and real responsibilities and while it’s not our primary job to teach them about life, giving them the confidence to make the tough play will go a long way when they get a tricky hop years from now, and while we'll look back on what might have been we'll start looking forward and begin planning on what could be.

Yes, softball does take us full circle each year and as we recount the miles that we traveled this summer, let's also remember the smiles that we encountered along the way. Nice job girls.. We're proud of all of you, and thanks for the memories.

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