Girls' Softball

My 8 year old daughter decided that she wanted to play softball this year. She has never played on an organized team. She's not very athletic, but I would support any legal activity that she wants to pursue.

I have coached boys and girls soccer for several years now. I played baseball from age 7 through 15. I played in a couple of adult softball leagues since then. I figured it would not be too difficult to coach 8 & 9 year old girls.

Now, I'm not officially the head coach. I am the assistant coach. However, yesterday I was the head coach at practice. The real head coach was not able to make it.

Our team is mostly 4th graders with about 3-4 third graders. Most have played before and mostly since they were 6.

I had helpful parent pitch while I worked with the girls with their hitting. If I was assisting boys, I would have thought nothing about getting behind them, holding their hands on the bat, and helping them feel the motion of a good bat swing. However, with the hot-topic fear of inappropriate touching of kids, I felt really awkward trying to help these girls. I mostly stood next to them and tried to have them imitate my actions. It was tougher than I expected.

All was not lost. We have several really good hitters. Catching and throwing are different stories. One girl, who has never played a game in her life, smacked the first 4 pitches over shortstop. I'm not talking grounders or 2-hoppers. They were line drives. I asked her if she could hit it over first base. On the next pitch - she hit it over first base. I asked her to do the same with 3rd and 2nd. She did it. I then asked her to hit the ball high in the air. She did it. This 8 year old girl can hit the ball with the accuracy and intention of a high school player. I was amazed.

I look forward to the rest of the season and it sure feels good to put on a glove and walk on the diamond.