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Girls' Softball: More Than Just A Game
Posted on 23rd Oct 2014
As I scanned the lineup card a second time, I still couldn’t believe it.
I was being benched — by my own dad, no less.
Stewing inside the dugout, as my teammates trotted onto the field for our championship game, I worked up the courage to ask “Coach” what in the world he was thinking, sitting his own 15-year-old son in the final game of his Babe Ruth Baseball career.
“When’s the last time you hit?”
His question, answering that of my own, was all he needed to say — considering the slump my bat had seen.
Those memories wouldn’t be possible without the support of all the adults who go to such great lengths to make our youth sports leagues happen ...
Having been a “coach’s kid” throughout my childhood, I’d long known that Dad’s game-day decisions didn’t have much to do with nepotism. If you made the lineup, indeed you had earned it.
It was one of the many life lessons I learned from my dad through the sports world, which offered us a chance to not only enjoy the games but also to connect in a shared experience.
It’s a connection that continues to this day, as even when I called to wish him a happy father’s day Sunday, we quickly moved on to our shared delight over the Miami Heat’s struggles against the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals.
That connection through sports is one I now share with my own kids. Having coached both of my girls on the softball field, I got to watch them grow right before my eyes from the third-base coach’s box. And to be clear, that growth was measured well beyond their physical height or ability to hit the ball. The growth that really mattered came in their confidence.
As our 10-and-under girls softball team, the “Lightning” got ready to take the field for our opening game this spring, I was thrilled to learn that we had a team sponsor who shares a similar perspective on sports.
She was so thrilled to be part of the team, that she actually came out to the games to snap photographs of our girls and to cheer us on.
“I know when the sponsor names were announced, most everyone didn’t know what a ‘Sporteenie’ was,” said Donna Imsand, a Grass Valley resident. “ ... it is a word I created and trademarked to give little girl athletes caricatures they could identify with ... as well as a name other than ‘tomboy’ or ‘jock.’
“I grew up an athlete and played all the way through college. Being a girl on an all-boys eighth-grade basketball team in 1972 was quite unique. Girls’ sports have come a long way since then, but one thing that hasn’t is the fact that we, as a genre, have never be marketed to ... until now.”
“Sporteenies” are somewhat of a spin-off from Imsand’s novel “The House On Polka Dot Hill.” Through the Sporteenies (www.sporteenies.com), Imsand seeks to teach some of sport’s life lessons through a set of “Ground-Rules Playbooks,” hitting on topics such the importance of showing respect to helping prevent bullying.
Of course, these life lessons are taught in many ways beyond the ball fields. But considering her own experience, Imsand saw the opportunity to emphasize the aspects of the sports world that continue to benefit society well beyond a ballplayer’s final game.
“The Sporteenies,” a promotional release reads, “are a team who set the standard to which all parents aspire their children to be: polite, proud, confident and filled self-respect ... by giving it their all each and every time.”
And, of course, sometimes giving it your all won’t mean getting over the top in the win-loss column, something often learned the hard way as we reminded the girls that, although sad but true, most teams end each season with a loss. So we dust ourselves off, shake hands with the other team and smile over the memories we made together.
Those memories wouldn’t be possible without the support of all the adults who go to such great lengths to make our youth sports leagues happen, whether volunteering with the Nevada County Girls Softball Association, Little League, swim teams, soccer squads and the wide array of other sports offered locally. Board members, coaches, umpires, scorekeepers and parents — so often spotted devotedly criss-crossing the community in carpools to get kids to games and practices on time — are the ones who make these memories all possible.
Sure, there’s not much glamour for the guy or gal who hurries from work to the ballpark in order to chalk the baselines and make out the lineup card. The “team mom” who takes on the task of making sure that someone “brings snack” for game’s end also conducts what is quite often a thankless job. And then there’s the teenaged umpire, who calls our balls and strikes — and deals with the occasional problem parent in the cheap seats — all to make a couple bucks while giving back to the game that gave them so much.
“Sporteenies are everywhere,” the promotional piece reads. “They are little girl athletes who love to play the game and it is their proud and supportive parents, standing on the sidelines, rooting for their kids to become a success, both personally and professionally, that help develop their child’s foundation for life.”
After all, for many of us, the world of youth sports is where we learned to be a good teammate, to show good sportsmanship, to be a leader, and even how to deal with disappointment — like riding the bench in your final game.
We all should be assured that these games are well worth playing, because there is so much more to be gained than simply a win or loss.
Brian Hamilton is editor of The Union. His column is published Wednesdays. Contact him via email at bhamilton@theunion.com or by phone at 530-477-4249.
Games worth playing, win or lose
More than just wins and losses, youth sports offer an opportunity to teach life lessons and to create connections that last long after a ballplayer's final game has been played.
Expand PhotoJohn R. Hart | The Union
- www.sporteenies.com), Imsand seeks to teach some of sport’s life lessons through a set of “Ground-Rules Playbooks,” hitting on topics such the importance of showing respect to helping prevent bullying.
Of course, these life lessons are taught in many ways beyond the ball fields. But considering her own experience, Imsand saw the opportunity to emphasize the aspects of the sports world that continue to benefit society well beyond a ballplayer’s final game.
“The Sporteenies,” a promotional release reads, “are a team who set the standard to which all parents aspire their children to be: polite, proud, confident and filled self-respect ... by giving it their all each and every time.”
And, of course, sometimes giving it your all won’t mean getting over the top in the win-loss column, something often learned the hard way as we reminded the girls that, although sad but true, most teams end each season with a loss. So we dust ourselves off, shake hands with the other team and smile over the memories we made together.
Those memories wouldn’t be possible without the support of all the adults who go to such great lengths to make our youth sports leagues happen, whether volunteering with the Nevada County Girls Softball Association, Little League, swim teams, soccer squads and the wide array of other sports offered locally. Board members, coaches, umpires, scorekeepers and parents — so often spotted devotedly criss-crossing the community in carpools to get kids to games and practices on time — are the ones who make these memories all possible.
Sure, there’s not much glamour for the guy or gal who hurries from work to the ballpark in order to chalk the baselines and make out the lineup card. The “team mom” who takes on the task of making sure that someone “brings snack” for game’s end also conducts what is quite often a thankless job. And then there’s the teenaged umpire, who calls our balls and strikes — and deals with the occasional problem parent in the cheap seats — all to make a couple bucks while giving back to the game that gave them so much.
“Sporteenies are everywhere,” the promotional piece reads. “They are little girl athletes who love to play the game and it is their proud and supportive parents, standing on the sidelines, rooting for their kids to become a success, both personally and professionally, that help develop their child’s foundation for life.”
After all, for many of us, the world of youth sports is where we learned to be a good teammate, to show good sportsmanship, to be a leader, and even how to deal with disappointment — like riding the bench in your final game.
We all should be assured that these games are well worth playing, because there is so much more to be gained than simply a win or loss.
Brian Hamilton is editor of The Union. His column is published Wednesdays. Contact him via email at bhamilton@theunion.com or by phone at 530-477-4249.