When young girls first start softball, they typically begin with slow pitch because there is no other alternative for younger ages. When they get older, fast pitch becomes an option, and girls often make the switch. Most people are not aware that slow pitch remains an option for older players.

I started playing softball when I was 7 in a slow pitch softball league like most girls my age. But unlike most, I still play slow pitch.

Many players’ goal is to “go pro” or play in college, which serves as their motivation. But for me, my team provides my inspiration.

I had the opportunity to play on the high school slow pitch team in eighth grade with the same girls I had known since I was 12, testing my skills against high schoolers when I was only in middle school myself. It helped to shape the way I play and approach each game. I grew to be a lot more mature from playing at a higher level.

Eventually, after winning the 2022 spring championship, the seniors who made up the majority of my team graduated, the only junior left to focus on track and field, and three coaches retired. We had to rebuild the team with four sophomores, including myself.

It was heartbreaking to see our team, which had been so close, be split and likely not be able to play the following year. If I had been playing fast pitch, I would have simply tried out for another team, but with slow pitch, that is not an option.

Fortunately, one coach stayed and helped develop our team again. We were able to recruit enough freshmen and eighth-graders to have a full team again that fall. That season, we did not win many games, since we were too focused on learning how to play as a team.

Now, this spring season, we have a lot of extreme progress. We have been working well together, learning when to trust.

To me, that’s the benefit of the smaller team – fourteen girls at the most – that comes with slow pitch softball. I know when each of my teammates needs back-up or more support when batting. In return, my team knows what I need too. They know when I need a moment after making a bad throw or when to back off to allow me to field a ball.

It is odd to think how close I am with girls so much younger than me, but I cannot be more proud of the progress we have made as a team.