Good point. I guess what I was trying to say is that the child's reasons and motivations are more important than our own, IMO. So yes, it's assumed that our kids enjoy it, but I'd still like to start with (and be confident about) ''my child chose softball, and because I believe it's a healthy, positive activity, I support it.'' That would be a good reason to pursue the softball life.
That's a retrospective view, since my DD no longer plays. Looking back, I wish I'd been more aware of what drove my DD and myself. We had a great time with softball, actually many highs and lows, but I understand now more than then how much she played partly to please others and because the sport and her success gave her an identity, the kind that helps kids find themselves, especially as teenagers. Part of my motivation was my own competitiveness. There's nothing wrong with those things to a point, and most kids and parents have some of that going on, but people rarely acknowledge those among the evolving and complex reasons that we and our daughters ''do this.''
