LIGHTNING ELITE: Fun Stuff

TGFSP
(Typical Girls Fastpitch Softball Player)

The TGFPSP is first and foremost somebody’s little girl.
At one time she looked cute as a button dressed in pink with pony tails.
She played with dolls, helped Mom bake cookies,
and has probably earned a few bucks baby-sitting.
She has been, and always will be, daddy or mommy’s little girl.

The TGFPSP still has all those little girl attributes.
The only difference is now she looks cute dressed in sliders and shorts.
If she is wearing ribbons in her hair, they are probably her team colors.
She still bakes cookies – for the team bake sale;
and has probably earned a few bucks – at the team car wash.
Now she is, and always will be, daddy or mommy’s little second baseman,
or shortstop, or pitcher.

The TGFPSP takes pride in how much dirt she can collect each weekend.
Go to dinner on a night that she is not playing, and it takes her an hour of primping to get ready.
Go out to eat after a game, and she’ll walk right into a restaurant
with a streak of dirt across her forehead, ratted hair, stained shirt, and brownish white socks—
or brown toes with sandals – and yell "let’s EAT!"

The TGFPSP is ready and willing to play softball at the drop of a hat!
If she can get away with it, she will play on two teams (in the same day no less).
She has a huge wardrobe – plenty of tournament shirts, and shorts from all the teams she has played on.
Her parents do her school shopping every weekend at the tournament T-shirt booth.
When you say, "wear something nice", she thinks it means a tournament shirt with no dirt stains.

The TGFPSP needs to get an athletic scholarship.
Her parents have spent $100,000 on camps, private instruction, batting cages,
gloves, bats, equipment, uniforms, player fees, concession stands, travel, and lodging. They are BROKE!!!

The TGFPSP is a fierce competitor. She knows you get out of something only what you put into it.
She is not the type of kid to take the easy way out! Standing maybe 5’2" and weighing 100 lbs soaking wet,
she is willing to stand in against a pitcher throwing heat from a distance so close
that even pro baseball players would get nervous.
She is fearless as she plays first or third base at 20 feet from home plate,
saying "I dare you to bunt – just try to drive one down my throat!"
but mostly she is proud, for no matter what size she may be or what position she might play,
no one can tell her that softball is soft –
she knows that throwing like a girl doesn’t mean what it used to.

The TGFPSP is playing the game for all the right reasons! SHE LOVES IT!
She could hang out at the mall, stay home and watch TV,
or spend her summers at the pool.
Instead, she has a tight schedule with limited free time,
hangs out on the practice field with a coach in her face,
and spends her summers getting baked on a 95 degree field with no shade.
But the TGFPSP has her priorities in order:
tournaments, league games, team practices, schoolwork, individual batting practice,
family, private softball instruction, church, conditioning, softball camps, and boys
(maybe church comes before the batting practice – at least on Sundays).

The TGFPSP has more spirit than maybe any athlete who plays a team sport.
At least it sounds that way.
Softball is the only sport where a player’s ability to cheer can sometimes effect roster decisions.
Sooner of later, every fastpitch coach will find a player who can’t bunt or hit,
is a liability on the field, and spends a lot of time on the bench –
but you’ve got to love her because she always wears a big grin and cheers constantly!

The TGFPSP learns many valuable lessons during the course of her softball career, like:
- How to get from home to every softball field within a 100 mile radius.
- Last year’s sunflower seeds from the bottom of her batbag aren’t too bad if she washes
them down with enough Gatorade.
- You can stay at a Holiday Inn for 6 bucks a night if you are willing to go 8 to a room.
- Hotels don’t monitor pool usage and you can go swimming anytime,
whether you’re a registered guest or not.
- The hotel’s continental breakfast means:
3 bowls of cereal, 1 bagel, 2 donuts and 4 glasses of OJ.
- Never wash your socks when you’re on a winning streak.
- Never wash your socks when you’re on a hitting streak.
- Never wash your socks after you’ve scored the winning run, scored any run,
or were close to scoring a run.
- Never trust a Mom who says she won’t wash your lucky socks.

The TGFPSP dreams of double plays, slap bunts, sacrifice hits, and future gold.
Regardless of all the sacrifices, the money, the occasional bad coach,
and the little hardships like having to drink water that people may have put their hands in,
the TGFPSP has a lot of fun every summer – enough to make her come back each year.
While the TGFPSP knows she will always be daddy or mommy’s little girl,
she also know that her destiny is to become tomorrow’s modern woman.

TGFPSP

Then I Became a Softball Dad
I used to have a regular life.
(Actually, many of my friends say that sentence should say,
"I used to have a life", period.) It doesn't really seem that long ago.
Then I became a Softball Dad.
My lawn used to be like a carpet. It was green, mowed,
trimmed, fertilized, and watered. Any weeds that dared to
show their leaves were pulled out by their roots.
Now I have two big bare spots forty feet apart.
I like the bare spots.
I like them because they are the only places that the weeds and
crab grass aren't threatening to take over.
My car used to draw admiring looks and comments.
It was clean and waxed and shined and Armor All'd.
Now it only draws attention when it wins the "dirtiest car in the parking lot" prize.
My friends and I used to spend Monday mornings talking
about five-iron shots, three-putts, and titanium shafts.
Now I bore them to death with detailed play-by-play descriptions of
five or six low-scoring ball games. Somehow, they just don't
understand the drama of a 2-0 game.
I used to think anything over $40 was an exorbitant price for a ball bat.
Now the contents of my daughter's equipment bag
are worth more than everything else in the car together -
including clothes, jewelry, watches, and laptop computer.
I used to have a great wife. Still do, Thank God.
But that's a tribute to her patience and good humor.
We used to sit and talk for hours. We still do - to keep each other
awake when we're headed home in the wee hours of Monday morning.
We used to wonder what the kids would do when they grew up.
Now she wants to know what I'm going to do IF I ever grow up.
My summer casual wardrobe used to be made up of
color-coordinated polo shirts, cool cottons in bright colors,
and the occasional "aloha" shirt.
Now I have a closet full of T-shirts in gray and red.
Those that don't have SOFTBALL on the front
have a cute saying on the back, like
"If You Follow Me Long Enough, You'll End Up at a Ball Field."
I used to glue myself to the sofa and watch the NCAA
basketball tournament and the Masters from opening
Ceremony through network sign off.
Now, I catch the highlights on Sportscenter.
I used to be one of the tops in my field.
Thank goodness, I still am.
(You have to keep a good paycheck coming in if you want to support a
Tournament Softball habit!)
I used to have sympathy for umpires.
I used to think boys were tough.
I used to think a double-header was a long day at the ballfield.
Now we're just getting warmed up.
We used to spend our summer vacation relaxing on the beach or visiting family.
Now we hit the road with 40 of our closest friends.
I used to think the ideal woman had brains and beauty. She still does,
but now she better also be quick, courageous, and able to bunt a good rise ball.
I used to look for little restaurants that served seafood fresh off the boat.
Now I'm a connoisseur of nachos and smoked sausages.
I used to be concerned that I would fall into the trap of living
my life through my daughter. Now I know that I'm privileged
to live my life WITH my daughter.

Then I became a Softball Dad

A few things to think about…
Most important is what we think about ourselves. What we are to ourselves matters more than what others see us as or what they see us doing. So that is where confidence is found. Inside. Inside each of us.
There is no easy road to athletic success. The only sure way to achieve your goals is through purposeful, planned, imaginative and enthusiastic work. And I don’t mean looking for the easiest way to perform training; some of the work must be hard. Work doesn’t have to be unpleasant, but it must be sustained over a long period of time.
The harder you work, the harder it is to give up. If you quit during your workouts or during a team practice, you’ll quit in the middle of the season, in the middle of a game. Once you learn to quit it becomes a habit. We don’t want anyone here who will quit.
Always work to improve. What you did yesterday is history. You can only do something about today. Be better today than you were yesterday and better tomorrow than you are today.
The price of success is high and the price must be clear to you. When you accept the price, then you can forget it and get on with your work. If you want to become a champion you must be ready to pay the price necessary. The price you must pay is to accept nothing less than your best effort. You must have a burning and sincere desire to succeed. You must push yourself into using your full capabilities and never ever settle for anything less than your best.
All things in life are possible. But they are possible only through faith, dedication, discipline, pride, total commitment and a love for what you are doing.

A few things to think about

A Coaches Thoughts

After much soul searching, I've come to the frightening conclusion that, like it or not, I am a decisive element in the lives of my players. My personal approach creates their climate. My daily mood makes their weather. As a Coach and teacher, I possess a tremendous power to make a child's life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration. I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. In all situations, my response decides whether a crisis will be escalated or de-escalated and a child humanized or dehumanized. I am truly humbled by these thoughts and don't know if I am worthy of the task. I only know that I want to try.
-anonymous author

A Coaches Thoughts

It’s A Game!!!

"Get up to the plate," he said and shoved her little body out of the dugout.
She stood there, her starched white pants, all short and stout.
Right before the first pitch came she heard her father shout
that her stance was all wrong,
and before she knew it, the first pitch was already gone.
"Don't worry, that's only one," she said to herself and tried to smile.
The second came, she really did try her best, but missed it by a mile.
"Cooooome on!" is all she heard.
For this could be the last out, and the tying win is on third.
She wishes that they could know just how hard she wants to pound that ball.
But the darn thing just won't compromise with her bat at all.
The "words of encouragement" sound more like a threat,
And thinking about what her father will say starts to make her sweat.
The last chance is floating down the pipe,
And with all of her might she took a swipe.
With no surprise she missed again.
Her father shook his head, and acted as if it was a sin.
Her team shook hands with the other, and left her without any good-byes.
No one will say a word while she sits there and cries.
A few weeks will pass and no one will even remember this girl's name,
who that day had missed trying harder than anyone and ended the game.
Though she will not forget the pain and anguish she felt that day,
Not for a long time anyway.
Please be aware of what comes out of your mouth on these days,
Because believe me you can still hear at the plate, those voices in the crowd.
Do it for the love of the game.
Remember it's supposed to be fun!

It's A Game!!!