Travel Softball

Hi my name is Jimmy and I am going to be updating this blog on how my daughter is doing with her travel softball this season.

My daughter started playing softball at age 7 in Jr.Pixie in the Rec league at Russiaville, Indiana.At first she wasn't going to play but after watching a few practices of her sisters she decided she wanted to play.She was pretty good at it and continued to get better with every practice and pushed herself to be the best she could be at what ever she was doing on the field.The next year she broke her wrist right before the season started and had to set out a few weeks,which killed her not to be able to play with her team.After having worn a cast for a few weeks the doctor said she could play as long as we wrapped the cast in some soft material, which we did.She was so excited she because the day of her release she had a game and was able to play,not in the position she was normally to play but,she stepped up and played where she was asked to and did the best she could.She made the all stars that year even though most of the season she played with a cast on her throwing hand.After the Jr.Pixie was done she moved up to Pixie league and played 1st base in her first year which fired her up even more and made her work harder at the game she loves.This time no all starts but, she did play travel ball for a few months during the summer.She had a blast even though at some tournaments they had to play 3-5 games in one day with the temps reaching close to 100.Then comes winter time which we thought would mean a few months break,not to happen,the coach that coached her in Jrs. asked if she wanted to play a few months of winter ball.Her answer was a resounding yes she wanted to play.After a couple practices she was asked if she wanted to try and play catcher which she answered with another yes.She picked up the catching pretty good and got good at knowing the game situations and where the ball should go depending on what was going on on the field.They won a couple games and lost more but it was fun in her eyes.After that ended she decided she wanted to play travel and not rec ball anymore.I was all for it but her mother wasn't sure, so it was back to rec ball for another season.
Her second season wasn't bad she got more time at catcher and got better then she was,still pushing herself as she does with almost everything she does.Another regular season down and another year of all stars goes by and she keeps talking travel ball is what she wants.Finally talk her mother into it late,but as they say better late then never :)
So I start on the quest to get her on a team.I put up a post that I had a daughter looking for a team and started getting emails for tryouts with teams.Took her to a couple of them and nothing panned out.Then I get a call from a coach asking if I could have her in Westfield on a Friday by 5pm. I call my wife and ask her if she can get her there by that time in which she said she could.So Friday gets here and they go to the tryout,I am at work as I work second shift.During my lunch I called to see how the tryout was going or how it went,my daughter answered the phone with an excited voice yelling she made it.I did not believe her at first as it was only 40 minutes after the tryout time,well she finally convinced me and I was just as excited as she was.The team is out of Westfield,Indiana and called the Indiana Mayhem they practice out of Roundtripper sports academy.So far she has only had a couple practices with the team and more then likely will not have any games till next spring or so.
Well that is how the travel ball got started and I will post again on the new things she is learning and how she is progressing through out this travel season.

Travel Ball is a very expensive and time consuming thing to do and is not for everyone.Not only do you have to pay for being on the team, which pays for uniforms,bags,helmets, and the tourneys you will be attending but, you also have to pay for the gas,which with the prices is gonna be a killer in itself,room and board when going far from home.Then you get into new equipment in which you may need such as bats,glove,cleats, etc...
I bought my daughter a new bat it is one of the best out and is made by Anderson Bat Company it was very expensive but, she needed a better bat then the one she was using which was her sisters and was to small for her.I will not go into the cost of that as it still kinda makes me ill when I think about it but, you can check on Andersons website to see for yourself.
I am looking into getting sponsorship to help offset the costs we will incur during the season. I am putting a pay pal link on here for anyone that would like to sponsor her in this endeavor she is doing.I will not say you have to or what you have to donate any amount will help.Some people may see this as begging but, I am not asking anyone to do it only if they want to.This is something she really loves and hopes one day it will help her pay for college.So if you would like to donate it would be greatly appreciated.

She has had a few practices with her team and it is going very well.They are really doing a great job of teaching the fundamentals of softball from hitting,bunting,catching,and throwing.She has learned that when she swings she does a thing called casting, that is where she throws her hands to the ball instead of keeping them inside the ball(I think I am to blame for this habit)so they are breaking her swing down so she does it correctly and can get more power behind the ball.They are teaching them the correct way to move after a fly ball when hit,for some reason kids want to take a step forward instead of back as they should when going after a fly ball.The way they have them doing it is different then what she has been doing and will take some work on her part to change it.One thing they are trying to instill in her is when at the catchers position is to throw her helmet when the ball gets past or a throw is coming in for a play at the plate,which she hates to throw it because she is afraid it is going to break.They are also teaching her to turn sideways when throwing instead of standing facing her target,she has a bad habit of that but, I am sure that habit will get broken LOL.That is all I can think of for now will write more when I think of more.