Payton’s Softball Regular Season

Payton played in two divisions this season. It was her final year at the 8u level, and the league needed more girls at 10u, so she played in that division as well. She was nervous about playing 10u because that is kid pitch, instead of coach pitch. And she knew there was great pitchers in the league, so she was afraid she might not be able to hit against them.

Just so people understand, at 8u, a coach pitches to their own team. We are trying to get the kids into hitting the ball, running the bases, making plays in the field, etc. At 10u, the kids start to pitch, but there are limits. There is only one walk per inning, then once there are four balls, the coach comes in to pitch. 

Payton was drafted by Coach Chad to play for DB Homes. I told her to pretty much expect to play in the outfield every game, but after the first few practices, she did a solid job in the field, and Coach Chad liked putting her at 2B or SS (depending on who was pitching/catching). 

The team went 10-2, with the only two losses coming against the top team in our league, who went undefeated. We made it to the finals, and played against that team once again. It was a tough battle, and they managed to come out on top. Payton was pretty excited to earn a trophy for the first time outside of All-Stars. 

Payton finished her first year with some decent hits. She had three doubles. In fact, her first hit against a kid was a line drive into the gap. Her proudest moment was when she made contact against the best pitcher in the league. At that point in the year she was still looking for a hit against a kid. She had a bunch of walks, and she had hits off me when I had to come in (she had one game with two really nice doubles). I am not lying when I say this, the girl she was facing is probably one of the best 10u pitchers in the entire state. Payton fouled one off, then with two strikes managed to connect with it. Unfortunately, it went right to the second baseman and she threw Payton out at first. 

But, that moment gave her confidence. Coach Chad hyped her up. The next game is when she got her first hit off a kid. And she probably told everyone about almost getting a hit against the best pitcher. I think she tells more people about that moment than her actual hits. Payton made some nice plays in the field as well. She caught some flyballs, and had a few groundballs hit to her that she was able to field and get the out at first. 

The funniest moment this year was one of the first times she tried to steal second base. In 8u there are no steals or lead-offs, so that was a new thing for her to learn. Payton likes to think she is super fast, when in reality she is pretty slow. I am not being mean, she probably inherited her speed from me. She took off for second, and the catcher threw the ball way left. The SS catches the ball, and instead of just hustling into second with a steal, Payton stops, and decides to go back to first. The SS, who is probably the fastest girl in 10u, sprinted after her, and easily tagged Payton out before she got to first base. Eventually she figured out how to steal, and ended the season with a few stolen bases. 

She loved her first year at 10u, and I think she actually preferred it over 8u. For one thing, I think she likes the non-compression ball when in the field. She also really wants to learn to pitch, although there were moments when pitchers got hit by line-drives, and that would scare her about playing the position. She tried catching one game, and she hated that position.

So how did her 8u season go? Incredible!

Her team finished the regular season 6-5-1, and earned the third seed. They made it to the finals and managed to beat the team that took them down three different times during the regular season. It was an incredible game between two evenly matched teams.

Payton ended the season with 41 hits. Three of them were doubles, and a good chunk of her hits were very hard hit. She made a bunch of great plays in the field. When she made a mistake, she was usually pretty hard on herself. I was proud of how she cheered on her teammates, and became a leader in the dugout.

I have to tell the story of our semi-final game. We were losing 5-1 after the second inning. The girls came walking into the dugout with their heads down, looking like it was over. Now, I am not one for fiery speeches. But I watched Remember the Titans the night before and I was channeling my inner Coach Boone. I said “girls, do you wanna be done? We can line up right now and end this if you want. No shame in it, just give up now and we can all go home.” They yelled NO, and some of them even looked a little pissed that I would suggest it. So I kept going “alright then, we have to start hitting, we have to run hard, we have to make plays in the field, but most important, we need to have fun. We can do this, but it has to start now!” Then Payton yelled PURPLE DRAGONS ON THREE, and the team counted down and did their scream. We proceeded to score five runs that inning (the maximum), and the final scored ended 14-6. It was like a different team out there. Not saying it was my speech, but I definitely think Payton’s energy and enthusiasm helped get the team fired up. 

This was our final year at 8u. Payton spent four years on this team. I was the head coach for three of them.  I am proud of how hard the girls played this year, and how much they have grown over the years as softball players. It was an honor to coach this group, and I could not have done it without the other great assistants I have had each year. Thanks guys! Also, thank you to the parents for putting up with my 9000 group texts and GameChanger updates. You folks were one of the best groups of parents out there. I never had to worry about complaints, always got quick responses to questions, and felt like you all loved this team, and even made a few friendships along the way. You’re welcome, I will take credit for that! Making you huddle together in freezing cold temps for practice is great bonding!