Softball Road Trip, Part 2

Danielle's team played 3 games on Saturday and 2 on Sunday. Since it was a true showcase, there wasn't any bracket play. Everyone played 5 games, and it didn't really matter who won or lost. The point of a showcase is to give players the chance to show their skills to college recruiters.  It's neat to see all the college coaches and recruiters standing behind home plate, taking notes and whispering to each other. Of course, everyone there was competitive & wanted to win, but that wasn't the ultimate goal of the weekend. It changes the game a little when you aren't necessarily playing to win. Sometimes the coaches will put one player in over another so the college recruiter can see them in action. That means you aren't always fielding your winning defense. It's definitely a new game for us this year.

Yes, that's her breath.

Our games started early, with warm-ups starting before sunrise on Saturday. With the time change, we started right around sunrise on Sunday. The lights on the field welcomed us in both days. It was cold and frosty and early, but it was softball! I was entertained by the melting frost on the grass on Saturday and watching the fog roll in on Sunday. Ron and I both expended a lot of energy complaining to each other about being cold. :) Ron says he's missing a lot of insulation this year. It's definitely an adjustment!

 

Danielle plays centerfield this year, which is her favorite position. She loves it because she gets to run and make plays that a lot of girls can't make because they're not fast enough. She had some great catches again this weekend. It is so fun to watch her fly across the field and snag a ball you thought for sure was uncatchable. She generally is in the top 3 batting wise, but she really struggled this weekend. We're not sure why, other than sometimes it just happens. I think sometimes when you have a bad game, it gets in your head and snow balls. I know she was frustrated with herself and felt like she was letting her team down. Realistically, she ended up 6th out of 12 batters for the weekend, so it wasn't terrible. It just wasn't her best and she knew it. Softball certainly offers a lot of opportunity for building character.

 

 

We went to dinner and a movie Saturday evening and then were back at it early on Sunday. Sunday was a little better, but still not stellar. We finished up early in the afternoon and then started for home. The scenery on the way back was so beautiful. The leaves through the mountains were beautiful. We listened to Christmas music all the way home, Danielle finished up her homework, and we stopped a few times to eat and use the restroom, finally getting home around 9:30pm. I'm pretty sure we were all in bed by 10. It was a weekend full of ups and downs, and it was a long weekend. But, it was a weekend of watching Danielle play softball, spending time with my husband, and talking to Tyler through text way more than he would have talked to me if I'd been home.