Softball is getting into full swing now…or, at least practices have started for both teams.

Both?

Yes. Both.

So…let’s see…why? Well, back last September, Alex went to tryouts for softball (a step up from the rec&ed teams). She was informed that she made a team. This spring, when we finally got information about the team, it turns out that she was essentially on the “leftovers” team. Or, the “B” team. Or, the team that isn’t comprised of a giant clique of girls and/or parents. Call it what you will.

Fine. We honestly were just looking for something that was more organized, had better coaching, and would be a better, learning experience (and FUN!) for Alex.

For a long while, the number of girls on this team oscillated between 12 at the start, down to 10, down to 8, back to 10, down to 9, up to 11, back down to 8. At this point, the coach says he wants at least 10, otherwise he didn’t want to go into the season…

Okay. Fine. Understandable. Really. When will you make this decision? we asked. No repsonse.

In the meantime, our concern that she wouldn’t get to play at all mounted. She had originally wanted to play with her cousin in another community. She only chose to stay at this more local team figuring that she’d get more playing time. Ray and I decided that since it looked as though she may not get to play at all, we went ahead and got her all signed up on this other team (thanks, L!).

Three weeks later, we find out that the local team has 10 girls and the season will go forward.

Great. Now what?

This past Friday, the non-local team (we’ll call it team Orange) had their first official practice. In Alex’s words, “it rocked!” The coach, and his three quite knowledgeable and helpful assistants (aka “Dads”), ran the girls through numerous drills. The last half or so, they had the girls rotating through all the positions (except pitcher and catcher today) so each girl would hit twice and run. They had the batting cage with the pitching machine going for two girls at a time to work on hitting (with one of the assistants there as well). There really was not much standing around, or waiting, or time to be “bored” as some we know someone (we’ll call her Alex) can get! By the time the practice ended, there was a significant improvement in her hitting and her throwing.

Today, the local team (we’ll call it team Purple) had a practice on the field (the first one that didn’t conflict with volleyball or basketball for Alex). So, it was Alex’s first field practice with team Purple. And it was the complete antithesis of team Orange’s first practice. They pretty much kept the same position for the entire hour and a half they were there, although occasionally, the coach would have someone different come up to run (and hit a little, but mostly run) the bases. There weren’t enough girls to have people in the outfield. In a word, boring. Alex was on third base 99% of the practice. The guy in the outfield (one of the Dads, perhaps?) would tell her something completely different than the coach (who was hitting balls into the in/outfield). In a word? “Boring.

This will be exciting. To be honest, I am glad that most of the practices she can go to are with team Orange (a U-14 team, with 14 girls or so). Her schedule with volleyball isn’t going to let her to get any practices with team Purple for most of the month of May!

Hopefully, there won’t be a lot of conflicts between the two game and tournament schedules. We know, also, that they will never play each other because one is U-14 and the other is U-12. Phew!

One really cool thing was that due to practice with team Orange on Friday, she belted some really awesome hits at team Purple’s practice today! On thing is for sure, she’ll get lots of game experience this season!