What a great introductory season for Vanessa! She was excited for softball to begin. We registered in January and waited till May to meet the team. Ironically, out of all the teams in the league, she ended up on a team with a gal whose mother we grew up with and have been friends with for years. That made it extra fun for us parents and little siblings. The team voted on a name at one of the first practices -- the Black Skulls. How perfect with Vanessa's history and love for the color black and skeletons. It was meant to be.
Vanessa played well. She was one with no history of prior experience on an organized softball team. Others played t-ball and minors. Other than a few learning experiences for simpler rules for younger leagues, she did really well and caught on fast. She was a pretty consistent hitter, thrower and caught well, making some amazing plays over the season. Her out-of-the-box position was playing catcher. Sometimes she did better than other times but that is certainly a hard position to get used to, with the ball flying at you. So thankful she has been willing to try it and to grow from those experiences. Some of the older girls will move up to U10 next year. Vanessa looks forward to regrouping next year with the other girls and some new ones for U8.
Coach Bill mentioned to me how amazed I will be in how she grows from now till next year. He told her she better keep playing because this is definitely something she's good at. She has decided she most definitely will.
We've been careful in not pushing her to do everything just because everyone else is. Going into third grade and because she seems to have matured enough, we decided she is ready for competitive experiences. She's ready to learn that we sometimes fail and we can't win everything. She was a great encourager to others, caught on to softball chants and cheers and initiated them, and only once or twice she got frustrated or upset about her own failing. The majority of the time she brushed it off and didn't fret. She has come so very far.
Coach Bill treated the girls to DQ for their awesome season. They ended the season as #1. I think Vanessa has been oblivious to what this means, which is okay. She went the extra mile to tell other team players great job. We learned, especially after the last couple of games that we have some of the most amazing coaches. To our surprise, they acknowledged each girl for what they brought to the team. Coach Melissa announced that she and Coach Bill decided Vanessa should be called Ms. Hustle because she went after the ball hard and got it to where it needed to be.
And of course, Zane was learning to be there in support of his sister. He's anxious to start something too, but we've reminded him to be patient -- his time will come soon enough.
"Parents should always watch for opportunities to offer genuine, well-deserved praise to their children." ~ Dr. James Dobson
