Bekah's Softball

This has been a great year for Bekah in fast pitch softball. She's played for four years at the Division I level. Last year, her team was undefeated and won the tournament championship! This year has been a bit rougher. The team was very young, and Bekah was the oldest player on her team. She was the obvious team leader, and she had a huge role in her team doing far better than anyone anticipated. She's the starting catcher, plays some shortstop, and this year, she added pitching to her list of accomplishments. In her final regular season game last night, she played a stellar game behind the plate for 5 innings, and then, pitched 2 shutout innings to preserve a 2-1 victory! Next week it's tournament time. Way to go, Bekah!

You might wonder why I'm blogging this. I'm a proud father, no doubt! But Bekah learned a lot of valuable lessons this past season. She learned how to encourage the younger players who really have a lot to learn about softball. She also learned when it is necessary to light a fire under a player who isn't performing up to their ability or to expectations (yes, Bekah can light a fire under her peers). She also learned to sacrifice for the good of the team. Her own talents improved, but she helped others get better at the same time.

There are good lessons for all of us who are older than Bekah's 13 years. We need to be driven. We need to expect more of others, but at the same time, we need to encourage along the way. We need to improve consistently as we help others improve. The list could go on...