05/25/2026
Struggled a bit to find the words for this post...so I'll start with the easy part. These girls amaze me ๐ฅนโค๏ธ
As I watched them yesterday, I was reminded of the Little Apple Shootout, a 1-day 8U tournament in Manahattan, just a couple years ago. In the Championship game, no less than 75% of our dugout was in tears ๐ญ before the end of the second inning. The other team scored multiple runs against us to jump out to an early lead and it sent them spiraling. They hadn't yet developed the tools and skills needed to be truly gritty and keep battling. We experienced a loss after 33 straight wins...nearly 12 months without a loss - it WRECKED them. To this day, that game is all one of my all-time favorites.
It helped teach them that they have to come ready to play each and every game. It provided a foundation from which we have developed mental toughness, the ability to move on, to focus on the next pitch, and to lift up our teammates, especially if we are down. And WOW, this team showed their grit in a big way last night!
In the semi-finals, our opponent took a 4-run lead in the top of the 2nd. We huddled up before grabbing our bats and reminded ourselves that the only pitch that matters is the next one. They went out and played Prodigy softball and batted through the line-up, 15 plate appearances, batted for the entire 35+ minutes remaining on the timer, and scored 11 runs!
In the Championship game they blocked out all the distractions (and there were a LOT), played for each other and battled through extra innings to end the weekend on top! ๐ฅ๐๐ฅ Every single one of them contributed, they put the team before themselves by celebrating sac bunts and RBI's, cheering loud and winning the dugout battle, and playing any position the team needed them to.
The ๐ on top - Emma hit her first over the fence ๐ฃ!!
Prodigy Girls Fastpitch Association