Shout out to All the #GIRLDADS | Softball is For Girls

Hashtag #girldad is trending in response to Kobe Bryant’s untimely passing.

And today, we want to give a huge shout-out to all the girldads out there who stand up, show up, support, encourage, coach, mentor, listen to, raise, empower, and love their daughters. And the beautiful thing is that these girldads don’t have to be ‘dads’ at all.

The softball community is proof of just how powerful a strong male presence can be in the life of a girl. So many of the coaches that we know, are not only invested in the raising of their own kids – but the kids of others as well.

Girldads can be coaches, parents, step parents, uncles, brothers, grandfathers, or friends. But essentially, what they do is SHOW up at the right time and support these young women, and show them firsthand just how impactful a GOOD man can be in their lives.

How do we say Thank you to the coaches who spend extra time with the girl who doesn’t have a father figure in her life? How do we thank the men who foster and raise with love the daughters that they have CHOSEN to call their own? How do we praise enough, the men who share their advice, their time, their smiles, their encouragement with the young women who cross their paths. How do we thank these men who give so much of themselves through sport just to make a difference in a girls life??

Not everyone has the picture perfect family life. We all know this.We know that hashtag #girldad probably stings for some who do not have the fatherly support they desire. We know that there are single moms out there who cringe at the thought of a Fathers Day Tournament. There are young girls out there feeling abandoned by their own fathers. There are young girls out there with stressed relationships with their dads. But thank GOD for all the GIRLDADS who ARE there! Thank GoD for all the girldads that choose to coach, and choose to take under their wing, the hearts of so many young women.

Each and every week on the softball field, there are so many dads showing up. They coach. They cheer. They give high fives. They buy meals. They share hard lessons to make these young girls better. They support. They celebrate the great plays. They wipe the tears and offer hugs.

And often on the softball field, it is impossible to tell which dad is a girls actual dad…because these men choose to share themselves with so many. And THANK GOD for that!

Sometimes with just a few simple words, these men are impacting the lives of their own daughters, and others. Sometimes, by taking 15 minutes to throw batting practice, or by listening, or by including any of the ‘daughters’ from the team – they are influencing and making a difference in the lives of young women.

Sometimes, just by being there, by dancing to the music, by laughing, by participating, and supporting – they are showing an entire team of young girls what it means to be a stand up husband, father, and man….

Softball Dads can get a bad wrap. We are often quick to judge those who coach their own kids. We make fun of “Daddy ball!” But today, we want to express our genuine thanks, and love to all the ones that take the time to do it. Without these men, there would be a lot of girls missing out on great coaching and great leadership and great examples.

These #GIRLDADS ARE making a difference, and we feel that they need to be celebrated. These GIRLDADS, whether made fathers by blood or choice, or just out of commitment and love to the girls, are a testament to what is good in this world. And we want to say THANK YOU!

We thank you for showing up. We thank you for finding the right words to say at the right time. We thank you for putting in extra and stepping up for a girl who may not have a loving, present or supportive dad. We thank you for you loving these kids, and loving this sport, and loving these daughters of God (all of them)! We thank you for being there, for being the face of fatherhood, and for helping raise these girls into the amazing people they are destined to be!

So THANK YOU! Thank you to everyone who shows up for a young girl!