We all know that softball players are mostly daddy’s girls. This is because softball dads have helped us through it since our teeball days. From every strikeout, home run and dive catch to broken bone – we know we can always count on them to be there for us, while also wondering why we didn’t catch that ball or why we didn’t swing either way. They always have us.
They introduced us to the sport we love.
They signed us up for tee ball and all the years that followed. Even though at our young age of four they still encouraged us to try the sport as if we were one of the boys. It has been a true love story ever since.
The only ones want the best for us — no matter the cost.
They started by buying our first pink glove for our tee ball debut. They didn’t want us to have a pink glove, of course, because really — pink and baseball don’t mix (they thought). But they still bought it and let us indulge ourselves. When we switched to the big high school leagues and travel ball, they bought us bats, cleats, clothes, etc. Whatever Nike or Mizuno got their hands on, they bought for us, because softball girls get dirty, of course.
Also, let’s not forget the t-shirts from each tournament, because if you didn’t get a shirt, did you really go to the tournament?
They spent countless hours with us.
No one in our lives has ever put so much time into us. The number of times they have taken us to the field is really uncountable. They sat in the backyard and put balls on the tee or passed with us. Also pitchers — who could forget all the times that our fathers hit a ball to the shin for us. They drove us to camps, games and classes. All those hours really count. They wanted us to get better and learn from them. But hey, we make good company, so they really enjoy hanging out with us too.
They are always reliable.
No matter how far our games are, you know they’ve packed the car with the cool box, snacks and luggage. Even if they always yell at us that we are late. They wouldn’t take that time back in an instant. Fifteen minutes, or five hours away, you know they’ll be there. Hey, it’s a social event for them too. They can hang out with all the other superhero softball dads.
If we happen to get a flat tire on the way home from practice or leave our lights on all day, you know they’re already on their way to save the day.
They always know what to say (even if we don’t want to hear it).
Win or lose, you know they have something to say on their way home. If it’s a win, spend the journey home talking about the great plays you’ve made and all the hits you’ve had. However, they still always have to make the “well, you could have done this…” comment that we never want to hear. But we listen to them because we know they’ve put up with a crank every time. Or we just put in our headphones and casually agree.
If it’s a loss, you’ll be sure to look for your mom to take you home because you know the ride home with daddy will be super quiet, or full of comments that we don’t want to hear at the time, but on the long run will make us better.
They are our largest support system.
We sometimes like to think that they will drive us crazy because of a bad game or a mistake, but in the end there is no one who loves us more than these fathers. They do it all for us. They make us cry about our problems, even if they make fun of us or call us babies. They let us in, and finally they said something funny to cheer us up.
They take care of us even on our worst day — from every cut, bruise to blister, they help us fix them all. Because their little girl can’t have anything to stop her from being great. They never let us down because they only want the best for us. Whether it’s an on-the-field issue or off-the-field you know they’re there for us.
They are our biggest role model.
There is no one we really look up to. They raised us to the people we are today. They taught us how to act in all situations.
They showed us how to be successful and how to be humble but proud. They taught us to achieve goals and to have faith, because no one trusts us more than they do. They taught us many life lessons. If we could be half the person they are, we will have lived a successful life. Most of all, they taught us that complaining doesn’t get you anywhere, you have to work hard for what you want.
Even as they learn to be a lady, they always bring out the tomboy side in us.
They love us more than any man ever could.
They love more than we could ever know. We also love them more than they could ever know. They hate to see us cry and only want pure happiness for us. They want us to play hard and not play with our hearts. They even tell us that no man will ever be good enough to scare us a little inside because they don’t want us growing up. Because they remember the little girl in the pink glove pouting in the backyard and not wanting to practice. Now we are the teenage girls who move out of the house and go to school, practice without them. They are so proud. They are proud because they love us.
Softball dads are real heroes. We’d be lost without you, and I’m sure they’d be lost without us.
As our softball days continue or come to an end, there is no one to thank more than our softball fathers.
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