Keyra had her first game tonight for the Napanee Express Jr. Mite Girls. They played against the Jr. Mite Boys team. Softball Canada has changed the entire grass roots program for softball and has the starting ages being pitched to by the coaches. The thought is, that the kids will get pitches to hit and the kids in the field will get more action as well. I believe that they are bang on with it so far. The pitching at this age is very sporadic. So, you will see a lot of walks if the pitcher can't get it across the strike zone consistently, or a lot of strike outs if the pitcher is really good. Either way, the kids are bored out of their minds in the field. The directive is to not keep score as well. However, almost every kid on the team asked me at least once, what the score was. The kids are competitive, and I think we need to embrace that.
Her team has been practicing twice a week for a month, on top of the once a week throughout the winter in the gymnasium of a local school. Keyra was telling me she was nervous, on the way to the park. She settled into the game quickly. She played in the outfield for the game and had a couple of ground balls to play and throw back in. She went 3 for 3 at the plate with one hit that could have been a double, but we are just happy to get the girls on first base at this point. With the ages ranging from 9 down to 5, its an interesting mix. They have already started the chants from the bench, which Keyra is thoroughly enjoying.
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