end of the year finally

[iMlearning]

We couldn't wait until this season ended! In the last 6 tournaments by DD has played about a total of 2 games and has batted about once a game. She's been working her butt off and going into Nationals we were praying something good would happen. After 2 days she had batted 3 times at the end of the games and struck out twice and was hit on the first pitch of her last at bat. Our team had more errors than anyone had ever seen in the organization. The coaches daughter had 4 errors in the first game. Then took herself out of the game and didn't want to play so my DD went in for part of an inning. My DD was nervous when she went to bat every time, feeling she had to do something with 2 outs and us losing. It was so tough staying that second night and eveyone on the team was in a bad mood. The next morning, the coaches daughter got hurt and left the game early. They moved girls around but my DD still sat and they were getting beat. Finally, they decided to pull someone and put my DD in. We don't want anyone injured but we were happy to see her in. She struck out at the first at bat and you could tell she was nervous. Second time up she crushed a ball close to the fence and later had a nice line drive for a single. You could see the nerves disappear as she played more. She did good in the field but there wasn't much action. The girls rallied and won the game. The second game they started her in the outfield and with us up by one and runners on base, she had an absolutely amazing catch in the outfield that kept our team ahead and the crowd was going crazy and hugging us etc... I told the guy next to me that I don't care if she sees another ball come to her after that because I almost had a heart attack. Well the next hit was a hard line drive to her for the third out and we won the game. She was on base 1 out of three times but all of the hits were nice line drives to the outfield. We lost the next game, but she got to play the whole time and did very well. We were apologized to later by the coach because he said he "did us wrong" this season and she should have been playing more and that Nationals proved that. Another coach in the organization also told us he'd contact us about her next week after seeing her play there and at a clinic his DD was at.
We had a feel good day having her do well and seeing the field more in one day than the last 6 tournaments. The important thing is that she still loves the game and is excited to play again (somewhere) in a few weeks. Everyone hopes she stays and the promises are coming We'll see what happens. That was about as short of a post as I could make it Thanks for listening.

 

[rdbass]

iMlearning,
Sounds like your DD had a good tourny and proved herself when giving the opportunity.Now build on this.Take a little rest,then get back to hitting practice.End of 1 year beginning of the next season now.

 

[PA SB Dad]

Nice to see that your DD stuck it out and was able to come through when her opportunity came. That shows a lot of character on her part and will help her in the long run.

 

[quincy]

We were apologized to later by the coach because he said he "did us wrong" this season and she should have been playing more and that Nationals proved that.

That means nothing to me, she was there all year. They will probably make the same decisions next year. I have been reading your posts and hopefully next year will go better.

Congratulations , It is great that your DD finished strong.

 

[GTRH8R]

That means nothing to me, she was there all year. They will probably make the same decisions next year. I have been reading your posts and hopefully next year will go better.

Congratulations , It is great that your DD finished strong.

I agree...find her a new home where she will get the playing time she deserves. I wouldn't trust this bunch of coaches further than I could throw them.

She perservered and that will teach her a life lesson that she will take with her forever. Never give up. You should be very proud.

 

[iMlearning]

Thanks everyone. She had a few offers on B teams which might be a good confidence builder. I do have a strong feeling that these coaches are going to get the boot in the next week. I would never trust a word they say. It's an old organization and we've been told that big changes are coming. We are crossing our fingers that we don't have to change colors because we bought too many t-shirts and jackets! But seriously, I know a lot of people go through this, and we will definately do our homework on the teams better in the future.

 

[Greenmonsters]

Good for your DD. Sounds like she made the most of the opportunity she finally was given, albeit reluctantly. With that shot of confidence and her continued hard work, who knows what the future holds. The bottom line is that she still loves the game after a year with bozo coaches. Do your homework carefully and make sure she ends up w/ a team where she will play and be happy next year. Whether that's B or A, I wouldn't care - 2 years in a row w/ bozos and SB is probably in the rear view mirror.

 

[howellhandmade]

That means nothing to me, she was there all year. They will probably make the same decisions next year. I have been reading your posts and hopefully next year will go better.

Congratulations , It is great that your DD finished strong.

I agree, too. How can you apologize for stealing a season? But I guess an apology and leaving on good terms is worth something. In similar circumstances -- DD joined team A as a pitcher and didn't even warm up once in 50 games -- we saw the writing on the wall and DD played the last three tournaments with team B that needed her to pitch. She had a great experience. Team B was a younger team that didn't hit or play defense as well as team A, so they didn't win as much, but DD held a team that had previously beaten team B 15-0 to 5 runs and won in ITB. She got to be a hero, which would have been impossible on team A.

Still not sure it was the right decision -- certainly team A's coach did his best to make our move seem like high treason -- but after a whole season of cheering DD up after another weekend of getting yelled at and not pitching, telling her that if she kept working and improving her chance would come, finally my wife and I stopped believing it ourselves. Props to you for not giving up.