Softball Smiles

Last weekend, we finished twenty years of travel softball - which began when Carrie was 14 years old. There were a couple of years where we had Katie and Colleen playing on an 18U team and Chrissie playing on a 16U team - and Bob and I splitting our time between the three of them. Those years were full of wonderful friendships, more than one trip to an emergency room and a chance to bond with our daughters over something that they loved. Kelli's final weekend was probably her best of the summer. I captured this photo of Kelli following a stand-up double (the first of three for that day). Nothing like finishing your summer season with a big smile on your face.

The "On Deck" Circle...

A new inning begins. A pitcher takes her warm-up pitchers, the catcher throws down to second and the infield meets on the mound. At the same time, a batter waits on deck and another is “in the hole”.

As you can see here, Kelli and Lauren are watching the pitcher and mentally preparing themselves for their turn at bat.

That is, until you have to wait for the opposing catcher to get into her gear. At this point, the seriousness turns into an episode of Star Wars and the bats become light sabers.

May the force be with you!!

Tools of the Trade…..

For nearly 20 years, Bob and I have been following our daughters throughout Indiana, Michigan and Illinois on summer softball travel teams.  Living out of hotel rooms, packing coolers, numerous injuries and emergency rooms.  But I wouldn’t trade those summers for the most glamorous vacations in the world.  A month from now, the softball travels will come to an end, but the memories will last forever.

 

Summer Ball

For the next three weekends, we’ll be on the road throughout Indiana with Kelli – living out of coolers, perched in our lawn chairs and working on our tans.  This will also give me a chance to practice my “sport  shots” with my new camera.   The camera is doing an awesome job – it’s the photographer that needs some lessons.

 

Successful Summer

I just found this photo on the Wahoo Softball Website. This was the organization that hosted the four tournaments our travel team played in over the summer. Of those four tournaments, we finished 3rd in the first one and won the third and fourth tournament. As for the second one, according to the website - MOTHER NATURE was the champion. (The entire weekend was a washout).

We saw many of the same teams throughout and we were the only team to win two of the four. This photo was taken after winning the final tournament.

I Have My Life Back.....

After five months of softball, I have my life back. It seems like I've been sitting in bleachers and a lawn chair for as long as I can remember - and eating out of a cooler and a concession stand. I can't remember the last time I really COOKED a meal.

So...........what am I going to do with myself now???

First of all, I'm going to give my house a good cleaning and then I'm going to:

• Scrapbook.
• Make wedding bouquets.
• Try to create a beautiful wedding invitation.
• Take a calligraphy class (if I can find one).
• Catch up on a month's worth of Days of Our Lives (thanks to my DVR).
• Research ideas for wedding favors and reception decorations.
• Enjoy some time with my grandchildren.
• and lose weight so I can buy a drop-dead gorgeous mother-of-the-bride dress.

It's a good thing I have eight months until she starts playing again.

Wahoo Shootout

Here's some photos from our last softball tournament of the summer - the Wahoo Shootout High School Invitational in Columbia City, Indiana. Our Clay Colonials were victorious once again - winning the Championship Game by the score of 10-0 over Homestead.

Kelli played 1st base in this game. She's normally a Center or Right Fielder, but she was headed to the infield for this game.

In the on-deck circle.



I swear, the kid can't play without biting her lips!



The "meeting on the mound".

Between games, this is the norm. Find a spot in the shade, catch a quick nap and send text messages.

...then there's always the smiling pose before heading back to the field.

...and for the second time this summer, the Championship Team Photo. (Kelli is smiling, even with the ice pack on the arm).

The Last Inning of the Last Game of the Last Tournament.....

This past weekend was the final tournament for Kelli's travel team - this one in Columbia City, Indiana - and like the tournament two weeks ago, we swept right through this one to the championship.

In the bottom of the 5th inning, Kelli came to bat with two on base. She executed a perfect slap and was in the process of beating out the throw at first, when the first baseman stretched wide to catch an off the base throw and tangled up with Kelli. It happend so quickly that I couldn't tell you what happened. A couple of the fathers thought it looked like their arms got wrapped up. Anyway, there was a collision and they they both went down hard, with Kelli landing on her right arm. I was sitting near home plate and I could hear her crying. By the time I got to the fence, two of our fathers and our coach were in the dirt trying to console her. She was covered from head to toe in dirt, with tears streaming down her face. Coach Olinger told me he was just happy when he pulled off her batting glove and didn't see a bone sticking out. They eventually got her off the field and got the arm iced down. We won the game a few minutes later by the 10-run rule, got another huge trophy and the much anticipated championship t-shirt.

Kelli was in a lot of pain and in no mood to join the team for dinner, so we started for home. As we drove through Warsaw (still an hour from South Bend), we stopped at the hospital. I had a feeling our wait time there would be substantially less than at Memorial in South Bend. The staff in Warsaw were wonderful!!! Luckily the arm is not broke - the diagnosis was a severe sprain with hyper-extension. She is in an arm brace for two weeks and very thankful it's not a cast. It was nearly 10:00 before we got home and we were both exhausted.

I'll post some weekend photos a little later.

The Spoils of the Sport.....

This coming weekend is our last on the road with Kelli's travel team. Of course, it's supposed to be in the 90's. Can you tell I'm looking forward to another weekend in my lawnchair, with heat and humidity and smelly softball player feet? So, the other day I find this picture on Kelli's camera. Looks like it's one of those "self portraits". This is my child who would put a bandaid on a bruise when she was little - a major hypochondriac. Looks like this scraped knee has put her into a state of panic!!

She has toughened up over the years - had to if she was going to play softball. If it's not the knee, it's the hip. Look at this way honey, after this weekend you'll have all fall and winter to heal up before you do it again.

Wahoo Frenzy Champs

This was our third straight weekend on the road with our Clay travel team. The first weekend, we finished 3rd out of 22 teams. The second weekend, "Mother Nature" was declared the winner. This past weekend, we were in Wabash, Indiana for the Wahoo Frenzy tournament. There were 14 teams from all over the state. We swept through our Pool Play on Saturday with a perfect 3-0 record - which made it nice because we didn't have to play an early game on Sunday morning.

But, prior to those three wins we were up early and on the road at 5:45 a.m. for our two-hour drive to Wabash. 15-16-17 year old girls don't always function well for those early morning games. It takes an hour or so of warm-up just to get their eyes open, their arms throwing, and the bat connecting with the ball.

We played two games at 9 and 11 and then we had to figure out what we were going to do with them for the next 5 hours, until our evening game. We ended up at Pizza Hut and then checked into the hotel. While the girls napped, the parents sat around by the pool and refreshed ourselves with beverages. Then, it was back to the park for the 7 p.m. game, which we end up winning in 5 innings. As the game ended, I heard Kelli laughing and pointing out beyond her Center Field position. Looks like we had a unpaid guest.

We got back to the hotel in time for the girls to take a quick dip in the pool (before management locked the gate). The coaches ordered pizzas, the girls all escaped to ONE room and the parents sat outside and stayed as far away from girls as possible.

I dont' think any of the three players in my room budged until almost 10 o'clock on Sunday morning - and that was only because we had to check out by 11. We made a stop at McDonald's and then it was back to the park for our first game at 2 o'clock game. Of course, there always seems to be time to just lay around on a blanket until coach tells you that it's time to get going.

So, we won that first tournament game against Logansport, and then faced off against Elkhart Memorial at 4 o'clock and won that one, which brought us up against Mishawaka Marian for the championship game at 6 o'clock. It's kind of funny - to be that far away from home and do battle against a high school that's 15 minutes away from your high school back home. Most of the girls on both teams knew each other - either from Little League or from Travel Teams. Marian jumped on top 1-0, but we came back in the 4th inning with 2 runs to take the lead and never looked back. We won the championship game by the score of 4-2 and took home the trophy.

... and here's Kelli and Angela modeling their championship t-shirts.

Another Weekend - Another Softball Tournament

This makes three weekends in a row.

I need a break!

I'm tired of.....

1. Living out of a cooler.




2. Listening to Kelli's choice of music.




3. Spending my weekend driving all over the state of Indiana. (This weekend, I broke down and got us a hotel room).




4. Smelling softball player's feet - after playing a multitude of games - while they sleep in my car driving home.

Look at these beautiful, smiling faces! Who would ever think their feet could gag a maggot!!

Another Road Trip

We were on the road early this morning - Kelli, Hannah and I - on our way to North Manchester, Indiana - about 75 miles. We get there - the sun is shining brightly - we start warming up and our game gets underway at 11:00 a.m. Five innings into the game, the skies start to darken, the wind begins to blow and the rain starts to fall. We headed for some shelter and withstood a five minute cloudburst. Things cleared up, the fields were made ready and our girls prepare to finish the game. The umpires looked at the skies, checking the clouds moving in from the west. They decided to postpone everything for an hour and sent us all to our cars. As we loaded everything in the back of the car and grabbed some snacks from the cooler, this was a shot of the threat coming our way.

Within just a few minutes, the wind was howling - people were scattering and the sky directly above our car looked like this.....

The skies opened up with torrential rain and hail and we sat in the car for 20 minutes, until our coach called on Kelli's cell phone and said that everything had been cancelled and we needed to be back at 8:30 a.m. tommorrow. Be prepared for a LONG day!

So, we drove 150 miles (at $4.07 a gallon) and played 5 innings.

Let's hope we get our money's worth tomorrow!

How to Survive a Softball Weekend....

How do 12 teenage girls survive six softball games in 32 hours?

....well, first of all - you laugh alot!

....and you share your IPod earphones with your bestest buddy between games - while you text your boyfriend and try to convince him to drive an hour (one way) to watch you play.

....you make goofy faces and pose for photos.





...and try to grab a quick nap in the shade before game number 3.






...you celebrate an exciting win in Game 4! (After committing an error early in the game - Kelli came through with a bases clearing double in the 5th inning).






...you try to find a spot in the shade to eat and rest during a four-hour break.






...and you work crossword puzzles in the latest PEOPLE magazine - with a little help from your team mates.

....then you come to the realization that you'll have to win 3 games - back to back to back to take the trophy. Between innings, you cheer on your team mates from your favorite perch.

The sun is beating down and you face off against a tough team from DeKalb - who you defeat in probably the best played game of the tournament - 3-1.

...you manage to make it all the way to the Final Four before being defeated 1-0 in the Semi Final Game. What a great weekend! We're so proud of each and every one of you!!! Let's do it again next weekend!

Couldn't Ask For More....

Our Clay girls made it to the Final Four in this weekend's Wahoo High School Tournament in Warsaw - losing the semi final game 1-0. We had a big win in the 8:00 a.m. game - with Kelli scoring our first run and then driving in two more with a double in the 5th inning. We beat a very good DeKalb team - 3-1 in the 2:00 game and then had to turn right around and play again at 4:00.

I'll post some photos tomorrow. Right now - it's off to a hot shower and a good night's sleep - more than 5 hours.

Next weekend - we do it all again!

Update.....

We're home from a long day of softball - just enough time to repack the coolers, wash out the uniform in the sink and throw it in the dryer and grab some sleep before we drive back to Warsaw early in the morning.

We went 2 and 1 today - winning our first two games 3-0 and 4-3 and losing our last game 4-1.

The second game was the most exciting - tied going into the bottom of the 7th - Kelli on 2nd base and little Katie Buchs coming through with a clutch hit. We were all holding our breath for the play at the plate and Kelli slid under the tag. The umpire signaled "SAFE" and we all went crazy!

The CCAC complex in Warsaw is a great site for softball tournaments and we're looking forward to a successful day tomorrow. I'll post fun photos of the girls on Monday - but here's where we're playing.