I am speechless as well...Boy, what to say & how to say it? An 8YO throwing 50? Where can I get that gun?
It isn't that big of a deal. It is relatively easy to teach a girl to throw 50 MPH. It is tough to teach someone to throw 65.
If you work hard enough with any kid, she can learn all kinds of crazy stuff. She appears advanced to other kids their age, but that doesn't mean the child is special. It only means she was trained. People come around all the time with their "math genius" child who learned the multiplication tables at 5. Memorizing multiplication tables is easy. Calculus is hard.
So, right now she is a great 8U pitcher--for whatever that is worth. She might be the best in the US. She won't be the best for long...she will simply be one of many.
If she were 12 or 13 YOA and made a *CHOICE* of how she wanted to spend her time, great. But, we all know that didn't happen.
Softball is fun, and I love the game. But, that is all it is--a silly little game. To decide for a child that softball is the be all and end all of the universe is irresponsible.
I have a ton of videos of my kids winning games, getting awards and holding trophies. If I showed those videos to you, you would start yawning in about 30 seconds.
My favorite video? My DD (8YOA at the time) is holding a mobile she made during craft time at a summer camp. The mobile has got huge pinecones and sticks hanging from the arms. It is about the size of a small car. She can barely hold the thing in her arms, and she is proudly telling me how she made it.
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