I've always been somewhat of a natural athlete. I'm not braggin'. Sports is just what I've always been good at. And when you grow up with an older brother who teaches you everything you need to know (props to my bro - love ya!), then it just comes naturally. I'm definitely not great at everything but pretty competitive at most things. I was a pretty good basketball player. I used to run really fast. Golf and tennis I'm not too bad at. I am pretty proud of my ping-pong abilities. In fact, my husband is yet to beat me after 11 years of marriage. (I love to rub that in whenever given the opportunity.) And recently a friend (who I whupped up on) referred to me as the Ping Master (and I like it so I'm keeping it!). Buuuuuut, I think I've finally met my match with that darn game of softball...ugh.
Chris and I recently joined a co-ed softball league through our church. We thought it would be fun to do something sporty together since we don't have too many opportunities for activities without the kiddos. So when I showed up for the first practice I thought, "I can totally do this." That was until the first fly ball came screaming through the air at my face at 500 mph. Unfortunately my natural athletic abilities did NOT kick in. Instead I decided to save myself and went for the "duck and cover" move. Sooooo, I'm definitely working on not being afraid of the ball. And, I assumed most of the ladies would be a little ball-shy as well....UNTIL I saw the preacher's wife scoop up a ground ball at shortstop and make the out at second base (no offense Kim. I always knew you could do a toe-touch but I had no idea you could play softball!) And then even more impressive, Jinny (sweet little Jinny whose shoes always match her purse and her hair always looks amazing) made an awesome stop at third base and then fired the ball to first base (man, was I impressed!)! And then of course there was Autumn who played like she had 4 years of college ball experience. So, I was ok with not being the best player out there but I had A LOT of work to do.
Sooo, for the next few days Chris and I tossed the ball back and forth. He would even throw the ball as high as he could in the air so I could practice catching pop-ups. He also gave me some good pointers about stopping ground balls (like, I don't always have to catch the ball but most importantly just stop the ball so it stays in front of me). And after a few days I started getting a little better...just a little.
And then it was time for our first game. I was totally nervous, all the while telling myself that the duck and cover move was NOT an option for this night. It didn't help my nerves one bit that Chris had to miss this game (and the next since it was a double header) since he was out of town. I figured we were playing on a church league which helped the nerves a little, but as soon as I showed up at the parking lot, well, the tailgating kinda gave it away that this was NO church league. But then I figured maybe we would be at an advantage if all the other teams were drunk. No. Such. Luck. They probably play BETTER drunk then they do sober. Dang it!! The first game was pretty bad. I'm pretty sure we scored...no wait...maybe not. But we're putting that one behind us cause we totally rocked the next game and WON! It was great! I played catcher and loved it 'cause I just stood there and caught the ball on the bounce (half the time the ump caught it for me cause he stood right at my left shoulder. I mean, like right there) and then none of the guys on my team ever threw the ball home plate cause I'm pretty sure they assumed I wouldn't catch it anyways. I even got a hit or two that night and then ran like the wind to first base (remember, I used to be a great runner). Unfortunately, running like the wind to first base translates into limping back to the dugout cause you just pulled a groin muscle. Can someone please bring me an icepack, like, NOW!! Turns out I wasn't the only one to pull a muscle. Another guy on our team pulled a groin too. Thankfully we didn't end up like the dude on the other team who thought it was a good idea to slide into second until he broke his ankle...OOPS. There were a few cramps that night too and one case of poison ivy (Jinny, STAY OUT OF THE BUSHES GIRL!) This week we had another pulled muscle on the way to first and a separated shoulder from a dive-and -roll to stop a ground ball. After my pulled muscle I knew I should've listened to the best advice my dad has ever given me ... "Don't play softball. You'll pull a muscle or knock your teeth out!"
The season is almost more than half way over now and our team is 1 and 5. The best part, we're having a great time! I am so enjoying hanging out with some ladies that I normally don't get to spend much time with or just hadn't really formed a friendship with before. The guys on our team are so encouraging (they make a lot of mistakes too so thay can't blame ALL the losses on us girls). With that said, we'll keep playing and probably keep losing but we'll have a great time (and we'll be sober!).
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