Verklempt

I'm so sad. Well, not sad, but well... sad. I can't think of any other wording for it.

Today was Emily's last softball game on the Macomb Eagles (click this link). When you go to their website, you see the photo that was taken of the girls after the Plymouth Canton Pride Tournament, after they took Second Place. The coach on the left side of the photo is Coach Brian. He is the reason Emily was an Eagle this year. Last year she was on his recreational team, the CVGSL Falcons. They took second place in the playoffs, and then he encouraged her to try out for travel fastpitch softball. We took him up on that recommendation and before we knew it, Emily was soaring like an Eagle!

This year was the most fun we have EVER had watching her play sports. It all started last August...

Before we headed to Beaufort S.C. for my brothers retirement ceremony from the U.S. Navy, we attended the tryouts for the Eagles. We told the manager, Matt that we would be on vacation that he could call us via cell phone if need be. One night while in our hotel room, we got the call. Coach Matt asked if Emily would like to play on the Eagles. She was SO excited I thought she was going to rupture something. She was jumping up and down squealing.

That was just the beginning. Starting on Thursday nights, the girls met at a school gym to practice for an hour and a half. This went from September to February. Then in February, the girls started going to an indoor batting cage facility on Sundays, and an indoor soccer arena (for fielding practice) on Wednesdays. It was a lot of training, but the excitement was building, as we were looking forward to seeing all of this put together in competition.

And compete they did! The girls made it through most of their season undefeated. Then the ONE TIME Emily missed a game due to a fever, they lost a game. However the team they lost to, were also undefeated. Thanks to a double header, the Eagles lost the first game, and the Heaters lost the second game. Both undefeated teams were once again, tied for first place.

Mix all of these double header Wednesdays in with 5 tournaments, one being in Plymouth/Canton, and the other being in East Lansing, and it was one hell of a season. It was the most fun we have ever had.

The girls are all so much fun, and being that we spent so much time with these girls and their parents, we really got to know each other well. On every team Emily has played on before, we barely knew the parents. In fact, one of the girls on the Eagles, was with Emily on the Rec team "The Falcons" last year. Her mom and I have gotten fairly close this year, and yet last year, I didn't know her at all! In rec ball, people come, their kids play, and then you go home. It can be very clicky, and you really aren't there long enough to get close to one another.

In Federation (travel) ball, it is a totally different ball of wax. When we were "newbies" on this team I looked at the seasoned parents and how they seemed to know so many people on different teams. I then realized that even though you are so attached through out the year, the girls will eventually move on and their parents go too. THIS is why I am so sad.

It was our first time with a federation team, and it was the best time we've ever had. The coaches did a tremendous job of organizing everything, including fundraisers that helped out with the cost significantly. One of Emily's friends was on another team and when I heard they paid close to $1,000 for her to play, I just about fell over. There is no way I would be willing to let Emily play for that amount of money. The fundraisers were a HUGE help and a pretty good success, even with the current state of the economy.

We always knew where we were supposed to be, we always knew what hotels to stay at, and we never really had any questions. The coaches did a tremendous job and I am just so worried that the chemistry won't be there on another team.

With that, I found out that the Eagles Manager, Matt is moving up to the 14U team, Coach Brian is not taking over the 10U team (which is what we hoped for), and someone new will become the coach. Whatever happens, we really just hope that it is a great team like this year, and that things will run as smoothly as they have so far. Most importantly we are going to do what Emily wants to do. If she wants to try out for other teams, we will let her, although I will never forget this very short period of time we spent with the Macomb Eagles.