Random Thoughts ...

I have moved...

Changed something on this blog and for the life of me I can't reverse it - have been unhappy with not being able to make it look cute like so many others that I see - so visit me at my new spot.

www.ellenprentice.blogspot.com

Thanks

Season is over...

This ones season is over.  It was a trying season for her with a very young team behind her - a lot of pressure sometimes to pitch the outs to get 3 so they could get off the field.  She handled it well most of the time - this is a photo of the Geneva Firecracker 4th of July tournament where she pitched the games of her life so far - her 400 pitches in three days - threw hard until the last pitch.  So proud of her in this tournament.  

Oh to be thirteen and ripped like this again.  Her arms are two different sizes the right one is definitely bigger.  Taking a little break - tryouts are the 25th - she needs to move up to the 14U team this next year and she is defiantly looking forward to that - she will be back with a lot of her friends from the year before.  Should have a good turnout at this age level and will have a good shot at putting 12 talented girls on the field and some pitching relief for her as well.  One of her good friends.  

So we are all looking forward to next year.  

Even last night at BP's summer volleyball league we played Kaneland and their was a parent we played against in softball this summer that told her she was a good player and knew she was frustrated and told her not to give up that this was a character building year and things would get better.  So as this season is over - we have already started volleyball for fall and once tryouts are over then it will be back to hitting and pitching lessons for the fall and winter - to get ready to come out next spring and rock.

Something I have been trying to explain to a couple of people and have had no success...

Just happened to stumble across this on someones blog and this is what I have been struggling to communicate to two very important people in my life and not having much success - this is what I have been trying to say...

Not too long ago I covered the baseball and softball high school state tournaments for a local network.

I noticed some very distinct differences between the losing teams in a couple of the championship games.

The losing team of the first championship game was the orange team. These high school girls played awesome. They played hard the whole time. Each time one of their teammates was up to bat they were cheering loudly, constantly encouraging her, congratulating her on a hit or telling her it was okay when she struck out and came back to the dugout.

This went on the entire game. They never let up. They had smiles on their faces the entire time. They knew they had had an amazing season and they were proud of where they were.

Then there was the other game.

The losing team of this game was the red team.

Their attitudes were unbelievable. Not one of them was cheering a teammate on. In fact, while one girl was batting I actually heard a teammate in the dugout say, "She better not get out."

No encouragement, no congratulating teammates on a hit or telling her it was okay when she struck out and came back to the dugout. Not even any high fives.

Both teams had had great seasons. Had earned trips to the state finals. Both teams had become accustomed to winning, wanted it badly, expected it.

But only the one team came out of it with smiles on their faces. And only the one team was able to laugh and enjoy the rest of their weekend.

Yes, there were tears from both teams, but only the orange teams tears were quickly followed by supportive hugs and kind words.

The following is a quote by Charles (Chuck) Swindoll. A Christian pastor, author, speaker and educator.

The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.

Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill. It will make or break a company ... a church ... a home.

The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past. We cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable.

The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude ... I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me, and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you ... we are in charge of our Attitudes.

The train has started to leave the station...

This came in the mail the other day and I am afraid that it has started the train leaving the station and I am powerless to stop it and it is exciting and terrifying all in the same breath.

Candidate for Admission?

Application online in August?

Although her attitude tonight I could drop her at a dorm in an hour and leave her - to fend for herself.

Tomorrow I could maybe unpack her as fast as she packed herself.

I guess that will be what Senior year is about as I have heard from girlfriends that have gone through it.

Some days college is not here fast enough and others you wish you could go back to elementary school.

We are trying to schedule some inside senior photos - although I need to schedule around two sports, wisdom teeth removal bruises, sports med hours and her sleep.  We have began "Senior things" and although some are exciting - most are leaving me with a pit in my stomach - not because I don't think she can do it - I am sure she will fly - not because she can't take care of herself - (although for the first few weeks I do wish to be a fly on the wall)   not because I don't think it will be the best times for her to date because she is a good kid with a good head on her shoulders and she should use it correctly but because  it is  me and it is just plain selfish - I will miss her.

I found this funny...

He was still trying to figure out how to lower the spare...not having good luck...

Me - I was trying to figure out if I was going to help him...since the last time I had a flat tire I called him because I was at the airport in remote parking after a long girls weekend with two other girlfriends that had NO clue how to change it and I guess I was not calling him to come fix it - I was calling him to tell him I had a flat and would probably be late - but before I got far into the conversation - actually right after I told him I had a flat - he responded with What the )(*&$^*&^ do you want me to do about it - I then proceeded to hang up the phone with enough adrenaline to lift my van and change the flat with one hand and no jack.  ONLY to go to the back of the car and find my sister in a panic trying to help find the spare - and to find it she had ripped the carpet out of the back of my van and put it up over the back seat.  The spare was accessed from a bolt in the carpet - not under it - so I sat my sister and girlfriend on the curb and proceeded to change the tire - my sister still convinced I could not do it flagged down the little man with the yellow light on his small white pickup that patrols the remote parking for help.  After he got done staring and scratching my car I told him I wanted one more shot and yes I finished changing the tire that he couldn't figure out put the flat in the car packed our luggage in the car and drove home.  I have had one more flat since then on the Envoy and have changed that one by myself in the garage - so when he had a flat - hahahahahahahaha - I did lower the spare to the ground for him when he went in to change as his frustration and the sun had him sweating a little.  I did get some satisfaction when he came out and the spare was on the driveway and I had a big smile - but after that I repeated what he told me and entered the house.  Stuff always comes back around full circle :P)

I saw nerves on the field last night...WEIRD

BP is like her DAD - goes by the motto don't let them see you sweat and 99% of the time you won't see either of them look nervous - us other two in the family - not so much.  But last night BP played somewhere else on the field for the first time that I can remember since her park district softball days - which probably was maybe 5 years ago.  I don't ever remember seeing her somewhere else since she was little but I have no memory left anyway.  Her coaches threw her in at 1st last night at the end of the game.  I was nervous to have her somewhere she hasn't played before - (didn't want to be the parent in the stands everyone looks at when their kid doesn't know what she is doing)  then when I looked at her closely she was nervous - my nervous meter than escalated.  She did fine but it was weird to see her face - it was facing me and it wasn't covered by a helmet - usually all I can see are her eyes every now and then but it was nice to see her face.  She ended up doing really well - caught a pop up - wasn't very pretty but it was an out none the less and then took a throw and got the last out.  I am looking forward to seeing her behind the plate this weekend in her tournament - fun to watch somewhere else but makes me too nervous.  With her behind the plate I only get nervous when they yell going 4 and there is a larger girl on third ready to plow her over.

Yep not her confident - I am in control face. 

Gotta love a french manicure on your first baseman.

OK here is the not so pretty pop up catch but an out is an out!!

Not sure what she is looking for but I am assuming there was another runner on base she was looking for a double play.

Not her usual look as a throw is coming to her - 

You can almost hear the don't drop it - don't drop it - don't drop it

It's in the glove I can see it peekin out - foot on the bag for a little bit - now get your foot off of there before she steps on it !!

Yep, no relief there to get out of that inning and....

See that on the board. And...

smiles in the outfield for the team meeting = great night at the diamond.

New Secret Weapon...

Our coaches this summer have been trying some new things with the girls and most of them are working.  Here is a huge one...

She almost gets halfway to first before they have touched the ball.  And the first base coach - he has no enthusiasm for her getting there either.  

Pictures of someone else for her mom...

I had these photos of a girl on BP's team and her mom wanted to see them so I am putting them in this post.  Bp's team has won the two out of the last three games that they have played.  This is huge for them.  These girls are starting to figure out they have the skill and determination to do this and it is so exciting to watch - they have all played together for awhile now and have not had an easy road.  It is great to see them start to win and believe they can win and deserve to win.  Not all the way there but closer than ever before.  I hope they continue - they have put a lot of hard work into it.  Some quite a bit in the offseason.  

This one bites her lip while she pitches by the end of some games it is quite swollen.

This one Erik caught all her muscles right after she released the ball - BP would be able to tell you the pitch that she threw by how her hand is - me not so much these two have worked their tail off this year and it is showing - proud of them.   Julie I have more and I will get them too you.

ER trip avoided...

On Thursday night before we were leaving for BP's tournament in Crystal Lake  - Steph had a game.  I had gotten a text from BP's coach and was trying to answer it and I looked up and Steph was face down in the dirt yelling something about her ankle.  She ended up being carried off the field and was out of the game for awhile.  I had no idea what she did and Erik came over and said he caught it on camera.

You can see the angle of her ankle right here it got stuck and she stepped on it and it cracked but good.

The start of her descent into the dirt.

Bless her heart when she got home she wanted to see the photos to see if the pitch she through when she went down was a strike - I looked at this photo and I don't think so as Brookie's hands were up in the air trying to catch it.  We had a photographer there the night of this game taking action shots of the game and he got a couple of shots after this one but I can't nab those off of his sight.  Brookie her catcher and best buddy ran out to the circle and made sure she was comfortable - she lifted her head up and slid her mitt under steph's head and then put her head back down on the mitt so she didn't have her head in the dirt.  Jeff's carried her ankle and the other teams coach and our other coach carried her off the field.  I was thinking broken ankle and ER visit before leaving for the tournament.   But, she sat the rest of that inning and then by her turn at bat she came out of the dugout with her helmet on - she was favoring that foot but got a hit and gimped it to first.   Sad thing is she is still faster than her sister with a bum wheel.

She pitched a great game - she can only pitch 4 innings in a conference game and she came out after 3 and the score was 5-0 us - they ended up losing 10-5 - she came back for the last inning and held them scoreless but time ran out.

Morris Tournament

Morris is where I have been since Friday night.  We had four games 0-3-1 - the record does not reflect the way they played.  I saw these girls play the best that they have played ever this weekend.  The game they tied I think was the best.

Yep - the cameraman was there - he does a great job - he climbs on bleachers, he can see over fences - he moves around - me I like my chair.

A photo of the new bat - she had a triple - a single - hit by pitch and I don't know what else - she has had a taste of the other side of the fence and wants some more - may be some of her problem?  Trying to get her to her hitting coach for a tune up.

This girl played her heart out this weekend.  The other player the one that found Stephanie's IPod that she lost on Saturday.  We get all the way home and BP says the Express teams coach came in and asked if anyone lost an IPod and we asked what color and he said I am not telling you what color - you tell me what color.  Well BP didn't know SP lost her IPod so I quick called the tournament director and got a contact number for the Joliet Express Gold team and called it - he didn't have the IPod but had heard they had one and he called that guy and that guys wife or daughter called me back and they did have SP's IPod - so long story short - I TOLD HER YOU DON'T NEED TO TAKE IT YOU WILL LOSE IT - but nice to have some faith restored that somepeople will still try to find the owner of things that they find and I think IPods are a favorite to find and not return.  I will be sending them a Olive Garden Gift card for a thank you.

This one also played her patoot off this weekend - she dove and got more this weekend than I think all season - great to see she is the one that dove and came up firing and got the double play and gave me goosebumps - She is looking to see if she can double this one up 

I am excited for these girls - they haven't won but the amount of progress they have made is incredible - now how to make them understand that - they are lookin for the "W" but they are on the threshold of turnin the corner - just need to convince them to keep fighting.  DeKalb on Monday - Ottawa on Tuesday - Crystal Lake on Thurs thru Sat - tournament - gonna go stay there 8:00 am game on Friday morning would require a 4am wake up time - NOT goin to a hotel

Mr. Hughes sister - I will get some photos of our scorekeeper - she is a real gem - I think you know her - stay tuned - I'll get some and you can take them to Grandma!!!!