6 Things to Remember this Saturday | Softball is For Girls

It’s Friday night. If you are playing this weekend, that means you have checked the weather a zillion times, have ran to the store, loading up on waters and snacks for the day, checked the weather again, made sure the uniform was somewhere you could find it in the wee hours of dawn when its time to get dressed, have reminded your daughter to get her cleats and her bag at least 17 times TODAY (and you will remind her again in the morning), packed the cooler and the bag and your vehicle of choice, and have set annoying alarms for Saturday morning ( a day normally saved for sleeping in) all to be ready for an all American day at the ballpark with your girls. Congrats. You are blessed.

You’re tired. But once it hits you….it hits you and come tomorrow you will be all jacked up on fastpitch excitement. We wish you the best day. So before you set out, we just wanted to share with you 6 very important things to remember as you watch them play this weekend.

1. They are just kids….Yes, you put money into them for lessons and team fees, yes you spend a lot of time helping them enjoy this sport, yes you want to win your games. But the bottom line, is whether they are 8 or 18 – they are JUST KIDS. Let them have fun. Let them be kids. Let them play around between games and bond with their teammates. Let them enjoy running around in their nasty sock feet. Childhood comes once! We don’t care if you are playing for a berth, or just for fun this weekend – they are kids…..

2. Stay out of the Dugout. This often not understood – but oh so plain and simple rule of the game is soooo easy. And yet, parents are constantly swarming the dugouts looking like a bunch of groupies and trying to talk/coach/teach/gripe at/to their daughters through the fence. Unless you are part of the coaching staff, hear this. Your kid doesn’t want you there, the other kids don’t want you there, the coaches don’t want you there and you need to leave your kids alone during games. Cut the cord. If they are old enough to throw HARD softballs at other kids – they are old enough to be in the dugout without you.

3. Garbage in Garbage Out. We actually did some research and published an article on this in the past. ,—-Click there to read it! Truth is your kids don’t need to be inhaling snickers and energy drinks all day long to keep themselves ready for the next games. Tournaments are not birthday parties, and your daughter is an athlete. If you have a team or player that doesnt do well in the afternoon – it is likely a result of sugar crashes. TEACH them how to take care of their bodies, and fuel it for health so that their performance will be optimized.

4. BE POSITIVE… Be positive with what you say, what you do, how you behave. Its unfortunate that so many people walk around as if someone just shot their dog. Count your blessings a few times that you get to spend your weekend doing THIS of all things. Breathe. Enjoy, Take pictures. Try to see the good in everything. Be positive peeps…It makes the day more fun. Here’s a good rule of thumb to follow.

If you got something good to say, say it. If not – stick a blow pop in your mouth!

5. Losing is NOT the end of the WORLD! There. We said it. We can be certain of one thing when we start the day at the ballpark. There will be one WINNER and ONE LOSER at every game. And through the course of the day, there will be far more losers than winners. Get over it already! It’s a 50/50 risk you take when you sign up for the sport, and it seems that adults have a more difficult problem with it than the kiddos. Suddenly a team loses and the coaching staff automatically becomes inept and the biggest morons that ever stepped on the dirt. It’s easy to criticize everything as a spectator. We say this, you are doing one of two things. You are winning or LEARNING! And sometimes those losses – teach more than a win ever could.

6. You are an Example. No matter where you are, or what you are doing YOU are an example for ALL the girls on ALL the teams in ALL the park. We promise you, that you are influencing someone somehow. What is your influence? What does your body language tell others? What do your actions say to the young ladies around you? Act accordingly. We like to think of it like this!

“Here’s to STRONG women. May we know them. May we be them. May we RAISE them.”

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