Ever since she was 7 years old DD has wanted to be a pitcher. DD started pitching in 8U and worked hard over the years until she had established herself in 12U as a dominating starter. In the four year period covering 12U and 14U she was essentially the only starting pitcher on her teams. I can count on one hand the opportunities she was given to play other positions. When she wasn't pitching she was on the bench as her coaches didn't want to risk having her tired out or get injured. It went to the extreme that DD did not run bases for over 3 years, she would get a hit and then pulled for a runner. Her hard work pitching did not go unnoticed and earned her a spot on a very good 16U team. For the first time in memory she wasn't the only starting pitcher. This was good as DD was starting to say more frequently that just being a pitcher was not fun anymore.
Two weekends ago DD was given the chance to play 3rd when the starter went down with a season ending injury. Last weekend's friendly she pitched a game and played 3rd in the other two. In the two games DD started at 3rd, zero errors in 15 touches. This past weekend was a tournament. The coach approached DD and told her she would play 3rd. 6 games and DD continued her error free streak (OK, there was one possible exception where she threw to second to try to get the lead runner when she should have gone to first, the runner was almost at second when she threw). She did get 3 innings in the circle but these were junk time and coach wanted her to stay fresh just in case he needed her in the circle.
After the game DD approached her coach and asked him if she could continue to start at 3rd while the coach looked for another player. The coach looked at her and said, "Why do you think I am looking for another player? I have found my starter". I haven't seen DD that happy in a while. I will miss seeing her pitch as frequently as she has been but this is not about me, it is about supporting DD in her decisions as playing softball has to be something she enjoys.
Two weekends ago DD was given the chance to play 3rd when the starter went down with a season ending injury. Last weekend's friendly she pitched a game and played 3rd in the other two. In the two games DD started at 3rd, zero errors in 15 touches. This past weekend was a tournament. The coach approached DD and told her she would play 3rd. 6 games and DD continued her error free streak (OK, there was one possible exception where she threw to second to try to get the lead runner when she should have gone to first, the runner was almost at second when she threw). She did get 3 innings in the circle but these were junk time and coach wanted her to stay fresh just in case he needed her in the circle.
After the game DD approached her coach and asked him if she could continue to start at 3rd while the coach looked for another player. The coach looked at her and said, "Why do you think I am looking for another player? I have found my starter". I haven't seen DD that happy in a while. I will miss seeing her pitch as frequently as she has been but this is not about me, it is about supporting DD in her decisions as playing softball has to be something she enjoys.
