It's safe to say Craig has come to terms with and mastered his role as a girl dad. He does all the things (except hair when absolutely necessary), and he does them all really well! This summer and fall he was able to add coach to his list of accomplishments. I'm sure it wasn't the coaching gig he envisioned when he was younger, but he rocked his first season as a little league girls softball coach. Pitching was a little rough for him at first, but thanks to lots of practice and help from his "hind" catcher (me), he improved and was much more comfortable at the games.
Carter had been asking him to coach for a while, and I'm so glad we were able to work it out so he could. I'm not gonna sugar coat things, it was a tough few months with a busy big sister and a baby, but we made it work. I wrestled Cam at most games, because Carter looked at me after the first game and said, "Momma, if you don't come, no one will be here to watch me!" Broke my heart! Thankfully, that was never the case. Our sweet neighbors saw us practicing in the yard and asked for her schedule, and I think they came to almost every game. Craig needed help at a few games, so we got a babysitter so I could be his 3rd base coach. After one of the times I helped, Carter said, "wow, Momma, you really do know about softball!"
Growing up in a town where sports equalled life, it was pretty typical for the coach's kid to be exceptionally good. That may be the case everywhere, but it wasn't for Craig and Carter. This was her first season in the new league, she was much younger than most kids on her team, and she struggled. We practiced and pep talked and did everything we could to help her. She struck out almost every single time she got up to bat during the regular season, but she always had a great attitude! One of the things I love most about Carter is her resilience. She's living proof that practice does pay off, because she turned on during the two tournament games. She got 7 hits and didn't strike out one time. During the fall she started to bond with her Daddy over the Braves stellar season, and it made all the difference with her skills on the field. At one of her tournament games (after watching loads of baseball), she slid into home under the girls' glove and was SAFE! It was wild! I don't think I saw a single kid slide in this league, they don't even teach them how, but she said learned that from Ozzie Oz (Albies). I will never forget how excited Coach Craig was when he swooped her up from home plate with the biggest hug.
I'm so proud of Carter for not giving up when things were hard, and I cannot wait to watch her as she grows in her sport! I'm also super proud of Coach Craig. He took his coaching role very seriously, and he desperately wanted each of the girls to improve their game and have fun! He wrote each of them a note at the end of the season telling them how proud he was...I only read Carter's note, and it was precious.
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