Softball

Winnie played her third and final season of City of Iona fast pitch this year. We were able to find a pitching coach (Kali Scoresby, a pitcher for ISU who graduated from Thunder Ridge), and she was amazing! Winnie (and I ... and Grandpa Scott) learned so much from her. I feel bad that I never got around to finding pitching coaches for Rebekah or Miriam because the information was invaluable. Winnie wasn't bad before, but with Kali's instructions, Winnie became quite the standout.

Our team (Bunt Force Trauma) actually had five girls who all pitched for us during the season. Winnie didn't have the highest percentage of strikes pitched in games, but she was a close second, and her pitches were all way faster than the others'. In fact, we had random people stop to tell us that Winnie was a great pitcher.

Winnie also did a great job fielding and batting. She caught a couple of pop flies during the season, and she scored lots of points for us by hitting (or walking) to get on base and then working her magic as a base runner/stealer. You could see the kid paying close attention to the whole situation--the pitcher, the catcher, the other base runners, the fielders, her base coaches--and running smart and hard. She stole home several times and always slid. It was majestic.

And our team as a whole did better than any other season. Our record going into the tournament was 3-5, but we ended up playing five games in the tournament and taking third place overall. The team met all of their goals, and the morning of our last day of tournament Winnie helped me dye by hair bright red because that's the color the girls picked after earning their final reward. It was a magnificent way to end my coaching career.

Winnie all suited up and ready for a game.

Andrea heading out to base coach.

Winnie sliding home.

Pitching. Isn't she incredible?!

Fielding the ball at third base.

With her teammates eating pizza (their second to last reward for meeting goals).

Coach Grover, Winnie, Coach Scott.

Winnie dying Andrea's hair.

The red hair. Before that day, I had never done anything to alter the color of my hair. This was an abrupt change from my dirty blonde with white highlights.

Here's a list of the teams I have coached or helped coach over the last 12 years:

• Red (T-ball, Miriam): 2014
• Iron Men* (T-ball, Miriam): 2015
• Ponies** (pitching machine, Rebekah & Analee): 2015
• Stormtroopers (T-ball, Miriam): 2016
• Pink Angels*** (modified fast pitch, Rebekah): 2016
• Hogwarts Express (T-ball, Miriam): 2017
• Fantastic Beasts (fast pitch, Rebekah): 2017
• Bouncing Ferrets (pitching machine, Miriam): 2018
• Order of the Phoenix (fast pitch, Rebekah): 2018
• Fire-breathing Kittens (pitching machine, Miriam): 2019
• Base Invaders (fast pitch, Rebekah & Analee): 2019
• Pancake Batters (modified fast pitch, Miriam): 2020
• Pitch Perfect (modified fast pitch, Miriam): 2021
• Screaming Goats (fast pitch, Miriam): 2022
• Burninators (fast pitch, Miriam): 2023
• Mitt Fits (fast pitch, Miriam & Winnie): 2024
• Mad Batters (fast pitch, Winnie): 2025
• Bunt Force Trauma (fast pitch, Winnie): 2026

*I didn't sign up to coach this team, but after a couple of games, the coach's husband was in a car accident and could no longer come to games. At that point, I stepped in and coached the rest of the games that season.

**Barbara Bird coached this team, but she asked if another parent could step in as an assistant coach to (1) base coach and (2) take over when she was gone for a week, so I acted as an assistant coach.

***Kris Whitehead coached this team when no other coach could be found for a group of girls who all registered without teams. She asked if there was a parent who could help, so I offered and helped with base coaching.

That's a whole lot of teams and a whole lot of ball. I have to note that I only coached T-ball or assistant coached other people's teams until 2017. I knew the league needed more fast pitch coaches, but I was admittedly scared to take on something as serious as that until I went to my dad and asked if he'd be willing to coach with me. He was more than game, and our father-daughter coaching legacy began. 

I took care of all the paperwork: registering the team, getting signatures for waivers, scheduling practices, creating lineups, tracking tournament play. Dad was the steady hand that helped girls with the mechanics of hitting, throwing, catching, running, fielding, etc. I base coached first; he base coached third. I learned as much about the game as I did about coaching in general from him. It was a blessing to have that time and shared experience together.