I am so incredibly proud of Jayda and Sydney and how much progress they made since the beginning of softball! When they first started playing back in February, they didn't know what a base was, how to swing a ball, where home plate was, or even which way to run if they did get a hit. Jacob and Trey did a great job working with all of the "diamonds" and taught them so much. They were not too pushy, but were able to teach them the game of softball. I am so thankful that the girls were able to have this experience, and that their Daddy could be with them at every practice and game! :)
Daddy pitching to Jayda before the game.
Ready to hit the ball.
Sydney ready to field the ball before the game...sun in her eyes and all.
I remember the first game when Sydney hit the ball for the first time off of the tee and ran straight to 3rd base. Everyone was yelling at her to "run to 1st, run to 1st base!!!", but the poor thing didn't even know what "run to 1st base" meant. She was so embarrassed and I felt so bad for her. She soon figured everything out once they played a few games. For most of the season Jayda played first base and Sydney played second base. And, usually Sydney played in the dirt while she was out in the field... apparently fielding was just a little too boring for her. However, as the season went on she got much better and was able to stop the ball before it went to the outfield. And, even if the ball did go to the outfield she would run super fast to get the ball. She was very speedy!
Fielding the ball in warm ups.
Catching the ball from Daddy.
And throwing it back.
Sweet Sydney Anne all ready for the game! Love her so much!
One quick drink of water before heading out on the field.
Little miss Avery came to every game and was such a trooper!
I always brought lots of snack for her...notice the cookie in her hand. :)
Sydney playing in the dirt as usual in the field.
Jayda liked to be "softball ready" in the field.
Jayda did a great job at first base. Since she was the oldest, tallest, and fastest player on the team she often had to do most of the fielding for the team. She usually had one or two coaches telling her what to do every time the ball was hit...whether that be to run to first and touch the base, or tag the runner with the ball, or run home to get the lead runner out, or throw it to the pitcher to stop the time. She did so good listening to her coach and doing what she was told. It was very confusing to me, so I can only imagine how difficult it was for her! Jayda played pitcher at a few of the games when our usual pitcher wasn't able to make it. She did really well playing pitcher and was very fast. She also was the catcher a time or two and did a nice job at that position too. I sure appreciated her flexibility and willingness to try new positions, even if she really just wanted to play first base!
Heading in from the field to bat.
Sydney was so funny. Once she got over her fear of batting, she came
up with a routine of marking her spot where to stand while she bat.
She had a good level swing and all!
Jayda up to bat.
And she even got a hit and was off to first base!
Towards the end of the season Jayda got asked to be on the Allstar team! We were all so excited for her and she was so happy! I don't think she realized at the time how much more practicing (and more intense) the Allstar stuff really was! Since she's been practicing with them she has gotten much better! They have taught her how to bat correctly so she's been hitting the ball a lot better. She will be playing in left field at the Allstar tournament so she has been practicing at her new position. She says she misses playing first base and wishes she could play there on the Allstar team too. Although it has been a lot more work (2 hour practices twice a week, plus batting practice), she really seems to like it and has progressed so much already! We couldn't be more proud of Jayda!
Doing some serious work in the field. Lol.
Sydney just couldn't stay out of the dirt. By the end of every
game her shirt and face would be covered in orange dirt!
Running back in to the dugout.
After the first game or two Sydney decided that she did not like batting. She would go up to bat and start crying right away. It was so sad to see her standing at home plate with her little bat and helmet on just crying her little eyes out. I could always tell she was crying under her helmet because her shoulders would be shrugging up and down really fast. She did not like everyone watching her while she was batting. We suffered through a few games like that and it was so hard. She would cry all during the game, then say how much she hated softball and never wanted to do it again all the way home. We weren't sure if we should let her quit softball since she seemed to dislike it so much, or if we should encourage her to finish the season.
Running the bases after their last regular season game.
The 6U Diamonds. So proud of them all!!
For family fun day the girls played a "sandlot" style pickup game.
Sydney was so excited about her softball and #1 paintings.
Waiting to bat, and so hoping to get a hit!
Ready for the ball.
Swinging that bat!
Again, Sydney had to make her mark...every single time she swung the bat. So cute, and hilarious!
Ready for the ball...Daddy was pitching to her.
I finally came up with a "reward system" for her if she would bat at the game and not cry. Her first reward was a new movie and candy the next day (I know that's kind of a big reward--but I needed to do something big to motivate her!), and then one reward was going to do the rides at the fair, another one was getting to play at the sonic playground after the game.We just took it one game at a time and hoped she could make it to the end of the season. After a few games with the new "system", she seemed to grow out of her fear of batting. I think she got so focused on batting so that she could get her reward that she stopped thinking about how embarrassed she was. She ended up finishing the season, and even says now that she likes softball and wants to play again next year! I'm so thankful for our decision to encourage her to finish what she started, and incredibly proud of Sydney for sticking it out!
Little munchkin played in the bleachers a lot at her big sisters softball games.
And she loved playing on the grassy hill too!
Softball sisters. Go Diamonds!
Jayda with her Allstar team at awards night.
The Diamonds with their pretty softball trophies. So pretty!
The girls with Coach Daddy! Love them so much!!
1 comment:
So proud of them. Takes a lot of courage to learn a new game and perform in front of a crowd. They did really well!!
Love,
Oma
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