Preface:
DD is a 14U '99 (Feb '99).
Background:
Last October, we met this coach (Coach P) by accident on a field close to our house. DD & I were going to practice with fielding and hitting. Anyhow, Coach P walked up and said that he was about to have practice with his team (16U). So DD & I started to walk off the field, he then offered to work DD out a little (I had forgot my glove so we really couldn't do much). DD worked out with another player that showed up early...then several more players got into it. So after she was done, as we started to leave, he invited DD to go to his batting cages and hit with his team. He explicitly said he wasn't trying to pick her up or anything...he sometimes invites girls to hit if they need to. We ended up going in November, and she had been hitting with his team since. In February/March, we had already noticed that he had been giving pitching lessons to some girls. We decided to ask him if he would coach DD in pitching. This started at end of March/April. He then asked if she could pick up with his team in some tournaments when DD wasn't playing with her own team. She ended up picking up with his team 3-4 times (including one 18U tournament in which we placed 2nd...DD pitched and played 3B). Well, in May, we found out that he was stepping down and would be starting a new team at 12U...he was basically pushing his team out of the nest and into Gold teams. He closed shop in middle of June, and we thought that was the end of him for us. DD missed him a lot.
In the middle of July (almost a month later), he called us up and invited DD to an 18U Gold tryout. At the time, we couldn't come because she had pitching lessons (with a guy that this coach actually helped set us up with). We talked again about a week later, and he said that he was invited to be the head coach for this 18U Gold team, and he accepted. He said he was having an invitation only tryout, and he wanted to extend an invite to DD. We said we would be there...not realizing that DD committed to picking up with another team for ASA Southern Nationals the SAME weekend. She picked up with this team as a favor to one of the players who picked up with us a couple of times last year. I called up that coach (Coach M) to explain what the deal was, and he said he would need DD for whenever she could be there. Thankfully, the tournament was only an hour away. Well, Coach M played DD HARD. She never saw the bench, and we had a lot of odds stacked up against us for DD to have a good mindset for tryouts. She was the leader in pitching, hitting and defense (when not pitching). Coach M didn't know that DD hadn't pitched two straight games in a row in a LONG time (since she just returned to pitching last December) and in 100+ degree temps on top of that. She also had major road (dirt) rash along her right arm and back/shoulders from making an amazing catch from CF. ANYWAY, the Friday night before the tryouts, the pick up team had a game at 11:45 PM!! She didn't get back to the room until 2:15 a.m. NUTS!!! We got up at 8 a.m. to head back home so she could get ready for the tryout. Went to tryouts from 12-3 p.m.
Got call from Coach P at 3:10 p.m. "I want Megan on my team" and "but she will be the youngest player on my team" and "She will be on my team until she goes to college...unless she makes the decision not to" and "she will get pitching time, playing time at 3B, SS and OF..." and "You will need to step down as her manager and trust me with regards to your daughter and softball" etc etc etc. We accepted the offer, and we are ecstatic. This coach is known for being very intense and hard, but he has GOOD results. He really likes and respects DD, and she does the same for him. She responds well to him as a result.
Anyway, I just had to share...we are very excited for this opportunity!!
DD is a 14U '99 (Feb '99).
Background:
Last October, we met this coach (Coach P) by accident on a field close to our house. DD & I were going to practice with fielding and hitting. Anyhow, Coach P walked up and said that he was about to have practice with his team (16U). So DD & I started to walk off the field, he then offered to work DD out a little (I had forgot my glove so we really couldn't do much). DD worked out with another player that showed up early...then several more players got into it. So after she was done, as we started to leave, he invited DD to go to his batting cages and hit with his team. He explicitly said he wasn't trying to pick her up or anything...he sometimes invites girls to hit if they need to. We ended up going in November, and she had been hitting with his team since. In February/March, we had already noticed that he had been giving pitching lessons to some girls. We decided to ask him if he would coach DD in pitching. This started at end of March/April. He then asked if she could pick up with his team in some tournaments when DD wasn't playing with her own team. She ended up picking up with his team 3-4 times (including one 18U tournament in which we placed 2nd...DD pitched and played 3B). Well, in May, we found out that he was stepping down and would be starting a new team at 12U...he was basically pushing his team out of the nest and into Gold teams. He closed shop in middle of June, and we thought that was the end of him for us. DD missed him a lot.
In the middle of July (almost a month later), he called us up and invited DD to an 18U Gold tryout. At the time, we couldn't come because she had pitching lessons (with a guy that this coach actually helped set us up with). We talked again about a week later, and he said that he was invited to be the head coach for this 18U Gold team, and he accepted. He said he was having an invitation only tryout, and he wanted to extend an invite to DD. We said we would be there...not realizing that DD committed to picking up with another team for ASA Southern Nationals the SAME weekend. She picked up with this team as a favor to one of the players who picked up with us a couple of times last year. I called up that coach (Coach M) to explain what the deal was, and he said he would need DD for whenever she could be there. Thankfully, the tournament was only an hour away. Well, Coach M played DD HARD. She never saw the bench, and we had a lot of odds stacked up against us for DD to have a good mindset for tryouts. She was the leader in pitching, hitting and defense (when not pitching). Coach M didn't know that DD hadn't pitched two straight games in a row in a LONG time (since she just returned to pitching last December) and in 100+ degree temps on top of that. She also had major road (dirt) rash along her right arm and back/shoulders from making an amazing catch from CF. ANYWAY, the Friday night before the tryouts, the pick up team had a game at 11:45 PM!! She didn't get back to the room until 2:15 a.m. NUTS!!! We got up at 8 a.m. to head back home so she could get ready for the tryout. Went to tryouts from 12-3 p.m.
Got call from Coach P at 3:10 p.m. "I want Megan on my team" and "but she will be the youngest player on my team" and "She will be on my team until she goes to college...unless she makes the decision not to" and "she will get pitching time, playing time at 3B, SS and OF..." and "You will need to step down as her manager and trust me with regards to your daughter and softball" etc etc etc. We accepted the offer, and we are ecstatic. This coach is known for being very intense and hard, but he has GOOD results. He really likes and respects DD, and she does the same for him. She responds well to him as a result.
Anyway, I just had to share...we are very excited for this opportunity!!
