Despite the less than ideal start to the softball season-not being able to tryout, not being able to practice for the first few weeks, not being able to play in any of the pre-season tournaments, Chloe ended up having a pretty awesome freshman year of softball.
The first week of regular season Chloe was finally cleared to play softball. Granted she was still having daily headaches, which unfortunately would remain with her through the end of the season, however all of her other symptoms had improved and the doctor thought for her it would be best to let her return to as much of her regular way of life as possible. Sometimes her headaches did affect her game, but for the most part she was able to fight through them or deal with them, and still play to the best of her ability.
As soon as she was 100% cleared the head coach called her up to play with the JV/Varsity team and that's where she would stay and play every game for the rest of the year. She got moved around a lot at first. There were a lot of injuries on the team and the coach was moving people around trying to figure out a good fit for them and what worked best for the team. At first Chloe mainly played outfield in Varsity and 2nd base or shortstop in JV. They also had her catch, and tried her at 3rd.
There was a little bit of a learning curve a different spots that she might not have played as much, but for the most part she was able to make adjustments and play each position well. She did make errors, but for the most part she was able to compete wherever they put her. She quickly moved to the top of the batting order and would bat lead off or in 2nd position for most of the season. She was really good at having quality at bats, getting hits, and getting on base.
Partway through the season the unthinkable happened. Pretty much all of the pitchers were out and they turned to Chloe. Chloe hadn't really pitched much over the past two years. Her competitive coach had asked her to make a choice between pitching and catching and she had chose to catch. This was definitely hard and stressful on her, having not done it for so long. She didn't even really know how to throw any pitches besides a fast ball. She quickly learned a few. And just like that she was the JV pitcher and then the Varsity pitcher as the last varsity pitcher joined the injured ranks. Chloe had to dig deep during this time. It was stressful-the team relied on her. She stepped up though and did really well. In fact she pitched and help get the teams first win in 2 years-that was huge. The Varsity only won one region game all year, which made it hard, but the team as a whole made huge leaps and bounds. The JV pulled off several wins. I felt like the older girls really supported her and encourage her-it's hard to take on the role of being the main pitcher for Varsity as a Freshman, but they made her feel good about it.
Bryce was so good for the entire season. He would sit through both the JV and Varsity games without too much fuss. He even made some friends with some of the other kids who were there every game, which was really good for us and him both.
It was for sure an interesting year. It was an intense one, and a trying one at times, but Chloe truly enjoyed her time on the softball team and we enjoyed watching her.
A couple of fun facts about this season-Chloe started wearing bows and loving them-HAHA we never thought we would see the day. Her name was in the local newspapers several times and that was pretty neat to see. Almost all of her grandparents were able to make it to at least one game and aunt and uncles a few times as well-she has lots of family support and she loves it when they are able to come and watch. I helped with one of the team dinners and ordered cupcakes in the shape of a softball-they showed up white, luckily Aunt Tiff was able to turn them yellow before the dinner. It was fun helping out and getting to see the girls in a different environment-they sure can eat a lot ;)
#ChloeEllison #softball #ladyflyerssoftball
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