Reasons You Should Encourage Your daughter to Play Softball

This is a fastpitch softball blog.  Obviously, those of us working behind the scenes love the sport, and am thoroughly impressed with the gals who give their all on the field to make three outs, and score a run.   Fastpitch is an intense competitive venue, and from the sounds that resonate from the dug outs, is also a lot of fun for the girls playing.

Today, I spent three hours behind an infield fence.  Yesterday, I took one daughter to practice, came home and then took the other two to another practice.  My living room floor was covered with caked brick dust this morning because the girls hurried in the door to kick them off, do their homework and take a shower so they could get to bed at a decent hour.  My point, is that YES, fastpitch softball makes MY life a little busier.  It also makes things a bit crazy for my daughters from time to time.

Still, I whole heartedly believe you should get your daughter to play.  Why?

Softball is one of the few team sports that encourages both personal growth and team growth.  One of the hardest things in the world for anyone is to stand in front of a bunch of people and be expected to perform.  Thus, the batter.  There she is, with all eyes on her, standing there with what feels like an immense amount of pressure to connect metal with leather.  Striking is out is embarrassing, but not so much so that the little girl at bat wont try to hit next time.  Hitting is a  lot about luck combined with skill.  And this is amazing for personal growth – especially for those girls that are shy or withdrawn.  When they hit, they feel such a tremendous amount of pride, and it is something that they do entirely on their own.

On the other hand, the best teams are able to perform as a team.  In order to make an out, several things have to go right.  And watching girls learn to connect like magnets, setting  aside personal differences in order to shift the momentum of an entire game is like watching a dance.

Plus, softball games are loud and fun.  There is lots of cheering. The best hitter on the team cheers for the worst, because her performance affects that of the team.  The worst player learns from the best.  Strengths and weaknesses become perfectly balanced so the team can succeed.

Personally speaking, my children have grown tremendously by playing softball.  While I love the sport, and love to watch the games – the truth is that the personal gains for ALL the girls on the field are amazing.  And, they can be transformational.  It doesn’t matter if your daughter plays Recreation leagues or travel ball (although I am personally a fan of Rec ball) – they will grow, learn, thrive, succeed and gain valuable life lessons within the foul lines.

Encourage your girls to play.  If not softball, encourage them to play some sort of sport.  Many studies have proven that girls who play sports excel in life, and have more confidence than those that don’t.  Plus, they need the exercise, need to be a part of a team – and need to have fun…..

What changes has softball or sports in general brought about in your child?