The Typical Girls Fastpitch Softball Player
THE TYPICAL GIRLS FAST PITCH SOFTBALL PLAYER (TGFPSP) is first and foremost
somebodies little girl.
At one time, she looked cute as a button, dressed in pink with pony
tails. (Visions of Alice in Wonderland.) She played with dolls, helped
mom bake cookies, and has probably earned a few bucks babysitting. She
has been, and always will be daddy's (mom's) little girl.
The TGFPSP still has all those little girl attributes. The only difference
is now she looks cute dressed in sliders and shorts. If she is wearing
ribbons in her hair, they are team colors. She still bakes cookies ...
team bake sale. And she has probably earned a few bucks ... at the team
car wash. Now she is, and always will be daddy's (mom's) little second
baseman. (insert position of choice).
The TGFPSP takes pride in how much dirt she can collect every weekend.
Go to dinner on a night that she is not playing and it takes an hour of
primping to get ready, and she still feels self-consious. Go after a game
and she'll walk right into a restaurant with a streak of dirt across her
forehead, ratted hair, stained shirt and brownish/white socks. Or brown
toes with sandals! Let's EAT!
The TGFPSP is ready and willing to play at the drop of a hat! If she
can get away with it, she will play on two teams. (In the same day no less)
She has a huge wardrobe: plenty of tournament shirts and shorts from all
the teams she has played on. Her parents do her school shopping every weekend
at the tournament T-Shirt booth. When you say, "wear something nice", she
thinks it means a tournament shirt without dirt stains.
The TGFPSP needs to get an athletic scholarship. Her parents have spent
$100,000 on camps, private instruction, batting cages, gloves, bats, equipment,
uniforms, player fees, concession stands, travel and lodging. THEY'RE BROKE!!!
The TGFPSP is a fierce competitor, willing to stand in against a fast
pitcher at close distance that even pro baseball players would have trouble
hitting! And she might be 5'2" and 100 lbs. soaking wet. She might play
first or third base at 20 feet from home plate, saying I dare you to bunt
... drive one down my throat!!!
The TGFPSP has more spirit than maybe any other team sport. At least
it sounds that way. Softball is the only sport where a girls ability to
cheer sometimes effects roster decisions. She can't bunt or hit, she is
a liabilty in the field ... but she cheers constantly!
The TGFPSP is playing the game for all the right reasons! SHE LOVES
IT! She could hang out at the mall, stay home and watch TV, or spend her
summers at the pool. Instead she has a tight schedule with limited free
time, hangs out on the practice field with a coach in her face, and spends
her summers getting baked on a 95 degree field with no shade. Maybe we
should get some of our kids checked for IQ? :)
The TGFPSP has her priorities in order: Tournaments, League Games, Team
Practices, schoolwork, individual practice and batting cage, family, private
softball instruction, church, conditioning, softball camps, boys. (Maybe
church comes before the batting cage.) At least on Sundays.
The TGFPSP is diligent and hardworking. She knows you get out of something,
what you put into it. She is not the type of kid to take the easy way out!
She is competitve, not willing to give up. She learns many valuable lesson
during the course of her softball career, like:
-
You can stay at Holiday INN for $12 bucks a night if you are willing to
go 4 to a room.
-
Hotels don't monitor pool usage, and you can go swimming anytime, whether
your a registered guest or not.
-
Continental breakfast means: 3 bowls of cereal, bagel, 2 donuts and 4 glasses
of OJ.
Unlike the geographically challenged, softball girls know how to get from
home to every field in a 25 mile radius.
The TGFPSP has a lot of fun every summer, enough to make her come back
next year regardless of all the sacrifices, the money, the occaisional
bad coach, drinking water that people have put their hands in, etc.
Author: John T.