Softball season is officially over. At the end of our last game, Friday, I was surprised at how emotional I was. Let's start back at the beginning of the season. I didn't really know what to expect going into the season. I knew that I would have four returning players, one being a pitcher, but other than that, it was all up in the air going into tryouts. We had close to forty girls try out for the 'A' and 'B' team this year, so our decisions were not going to be easy.
After three days of grueling tryouts, our teams were made. The 'A' team, that I coach, would have thirteen girls; eight 8th graders, four 7th graders and one 6th grader. The 'B' team also had thirteen girls; two 8th graders, nine 7th graders and two 6th graders. I was excited about my team because individually they are good kids and very talented; however, as I discovered over time, they had a difficult time becoming a team.
I knew that the girls had the skills to be very good, but if they were not willing to support, encourage and respect one another it was going to be a long season. We started off the year losing our first two games and the girls were getting very frustrated with one another and I could sense that some girls were upset by the way their teammates treated them. When this happened, I scheduled a practice in my classroom. During the hour in my classroom, we talked about what the word team meant and created a plan for us to become a true team. Over the course of the next few weeks, they came together as a strong and supportive team.
We started winning games and I noticed that the girls seemed to be having more fun. This is what the middle school softball experience is all about. Some girls will go on and play in high school, while others play for the social side of it. So, when we had our last game of the season Friday, it was bitter sweet. We ended up losing the game, but I am so proud of the growth of the individual girls on the team. I had my doubts, at the beginning of the season, with this group of girls becoming a team, but they did it. I am going to miss the everyday practices and spending time with them because they truly became a second family to me. I care about every single one of them and hope that they continue to grow as leaders on and off the field.
Great narrative about your softball team. I like the way you began your story with a flashback. Using more details to describe this part of your story would help the readers want to read more to find out how it all began.
ReplyDeleteDescribing your meaning of the word team and explaining how your team changed by specific examples with build up the action and suspence in your story.
I love happy endings! When you work as hard as you did, great end results are always emotional!
This is a truly inspiring story. I think that it shows what having a good leader and mentor can do for others. Are the girls mixed abilities? Are the grades swapped on purpose? Did you play softball in high school or college? I think that the girls probably learned a great deal about themselves this year thanks to your coaching technique.
ReplyDeleteLiz-
ReplyDeleteThe A team is like varsity and the B team is like a Junior Varsity team. So, abilities are not mixed, the better players are on A. I did play high school softball, but not college. I believe that it is important to teach them so much more than just softball...that is why I love coaching so much!!