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In 1997 my daughter was on a team that made it all the way to state where they placed second in the state. This was with Dixie softball, Belles division (technically 15U). The very next year they went all the way to the national championship, where once again, you guessed it, they came in second. The girls all played some wonderful ball those two seasons, and there were some really great wins. Yet...to this day, whenever anyone talks about those days, it is about the fun they had and the crazy times we all had at the motels or restaurants, very little is about what occurred on the field. This was a rarity in that the coaches all focused on the fun of the game, insisted that all of the parents be involved in not just supporting the team but helping with the practices..etc. It was an unusually cohesive group of kids, coaches and parents. I always muse, when I watch the types that Joel mentioned, how easy it could have been to get wrapped up with the win, win, win mentality, in which case the girls would have probably never made it to even district play.
But the bottom line is, the girls will always have fond memories of the game, because of all that happened away from the field as much as what happened on it.
Scott
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