She's 7. Let her play BB and be the biggest proponent of that choice. But be realistic and show her how many women play BB at a high level. Sometimes the answer isn't "you can be anything you want to be"...the truth is you can't...and that is okay too. Kids should pick their own path, but with realistic guidance.
Advice needed for getting my baseball obsessed 7yo daughter to even entertain the thought of making the switch to fastpitch
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- Jun 18, 2023
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I mean "the truth is you can't" if we constantly tell them they can't. Things change though.
- Feb 14, 2024
- 8
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I have actually considered letting her play both. I haven't found a softball team around us but I know they're here. We're not super familiar with the area as we moved a couple towns over a few years ago so still building those connections. I think that would be the best way to go when she wants to explore that. I appreciate everyone's opinions so much. You guys helped me not stress it, it's going to work out however it does but it makes me feel much better knowing that this isn't uncommon and she'll naturally progress one way or another. Thanks everyone!
- Feb 14, 2024
- 8
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See, here in lies my dilemma. She'll make statements like, "I'm gonna play for the Braves..." etc and my momma heart wants to tell her to chase her dreams and she can do anything she puts her mind to. But the realist in me wants to prepare her for the fact that society isn't ready for nor designed for her to ACTUALLY succeed at whatever it is she loves. The fact is, there are no female major leaguers and the realist in me kinda knows there probably won't be (at least in my lifetime) but the optimist in me doesn't want to subject her to the constructs and limitations of present day. So I just tell her that "you never know what the future holds." I tell her to follow her heart and to never let anyone tell her she CAN'T do anything. The only way history gets made is by people who wouldn't allow others to define/confine their potential. But I am honest with her about things as well. But I have also told her that IF she truly wants to excel at something specifically designed for boys/men then she has to work 3 times as hard just to be considered let alone given an actual opportunity in that field. So we shall see. I know it's early on and she has MANY years to figure things out.
Yup. And lots of great players who didn't start softball until age 10-11. Most of the best softball players in our state weren't playing softball or baseball at age 7. Plenty of time for you.
Players come and go from teams every 6 months. Building that "family" is nice, but doesn't take long and the family takes new members all the time.
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Thank you all for your input! I am not at all opposed to letting her find her own way. I was just wondering from the softball side of things if any of you had any advice or opinions. We live in the metro Atlanta area and baseball is LIFE down here. She loves bb, I actually had to put a parental lock on her tv because I would catch her in the middle of the night up watching Braves games on the DVR. She's a spitfire and she's definitely her own person. In fact, she really enjoys the fact that she's the only girl. We got invited after last spring to tryout for a few of our local travel teams. She made all 3 (tryouts were all around the same time) but at 2 of them, some of the boys were giving her a hard time for being a girl. Luckily, she's got thick skin and she said it just made it all the more satisfying when she ripped dingers.Fortunately, her team now is amazing and welcomed her with open arms. That's something I've never dealt with and of course, as parents, we constantly worry about them, their environments, and if we're doing right by them.
I just wondered if any of y'all dealt with similar situations and how you did or would approach it. I appreciate ALL of your input!!
I'm in Atlanta. It's definitely one of the softball hotbeds in the nation. Tons of great softball teams and orgs at all levels. There will be a place for her when she's ready. My gut tells me that she'll tell you when she's ready, and it's probably not too far off (within a few years).
See if you can get her watching college softball games. Lots on TV right now. The level of play and toughness might open her eyes to a future in softball. While she might be able to play through college in baseball, she probably would recognize it'll be more possible in softball.
I wanted to be a MLB player when I was 7, too. Eventually I realized that was never going to happen.
She'll realize that, too, and hopefully at that point she'll have softball as a potential option for furthering her athletic career. But if you push softball now, she may stubbornly decide not to do it.
If you want her to start dipping her toe in the softball waters, sell it as a chance to play with other girls in addition to playing baseball, too. Tell her it can help her get even better at baseball. Neither of those are lies.
