Tuesday, June 03, 2008
State Of The Spanko
I have been somewhat reticent lately in giving you, my faithful readers, a Spanko family update. I spent much of the winter talking about Maribel and her run to basketball greatness. I’ve offered some brief comments, but no proper explanations outside of Maribel. So please allow me to take this time to give you, my faithful readers, a recap that I shall call the State Of The Spanko.
Colette is completing her sophomore year in high school. Since Maribel has been so successful, athletically, and since I am an avid baseball fan and former softball player of some fair talent, Colette decided that she would join her school softball team. Now, my younger daughter has a great many talents, but athletic coordination is not one of them. I feared that her new interest would result mostly in embarrassment, frustration, and tears. I thought that she might spend most of her time viewing the games from her team’s bench. But I kept my worries to myself and supported and encouraged her.
Fortunately, Colette does not enter into any endeavor part way. She immerses herself in it, and tries to learn as much about the activity as possible. Mom and Dad Spanko, Angela and I, worked with her as much as we could, sometimes tossing a ball around in the rain or even snow. The results were rather interesting. Colette proved to be an utterly awful hitter. The girls play fast-pitch, which Mom and Dad have always avoided. Colette usually swung well after the ball reached the catcher’s mitt, and it didn’t seem to matter to her whether or not the ball was over, or even close to, the plate.
In the field, initially, it was difficult find Colette a position. She did not seem to be very adept at fielding ground balls, and had difficulty judging fly balls. She could throw the ball well, just not terribly accurately. However, she was fairly consistent at catching balls thrown directly at her, so she started out as a first baseman, or first base person if you will.
Colette was reasonably competent at first base. She started out having difficulty on low throws, but appeared to be improving. She continued to struggle on ground balls. In addition, first base is a position traditionally given to a person who is one of the better hitters on the team, which was not one of Colette’s specialties.
About a week before the season started, the team’s starting catcher got into some difficulties with her parents (she liked shopping and boys more than grades and homework), and was not allowed to play for a couple of weeks. The coach began auditioning a new catcher, and asked Colette if she wanted a go. So Colette put on the catching armor and got behind the plate. As the story was related to me, the first pitch thrown to her missed her mitt by a few inches and hit her directly in the face. Colette remained in her crouch and barely moved. The coach rushed to make sure my youngest was all right. Colette apparently told her that she barely felt the impact, and thought that using the mask and padding was the best way to stop the ball.
To make a long story short, it turns out that it was nearly impossible to throw a ball past Colette, not matter how far from the plate it was. If runners tried to steal, she made strong, although not always accurate, throws. She used her natural leadership skills help the coach with pitching and fielding strategy. She was not, however, a very good hitter, but catching is frequently a position where hitting is not a priority. Indeed, she looked like a ball player.
Well, it appears that I have used up my allotment of writing time. I shall make an effort to pass along details of the other Spanko family members within the next day or so. For now, you will have to take my word that you will find their stories fantastic.
Colette is completing her sophomore year in high school. Since Maribel has been so successful, athletically, and since I am an avid baseball fan and former softball player of some fair talent, Colette decided that she would join her school softball team. Now, my younger daughter has a great many talents, but athletic coordination is not one of them. I feared that her new interest would result mostly in embarrassment, frustration, and tears. I thought that she might spend most of her time viewing the games from her team’s bench. But I kept my worries to myself and supported and encouraged her.
Fortunately, Colette does not enter into any endeavor part way. She immerses herself in it, and tries to learn as much about the activity as possible. Mom and Dad Spanko, Angela and I, worked with her as much as we could, sometimes tossing a ball around in the rain or even snow. The results were rather interesting. Colette proved to be an utterly awful hitter. The girls play fast-pitch, which Mom and Dad have always avoided. Colette usually swung well after the ball reached the catcher’s mitt, and it didn’t seem to matter to her whether or not the ball was over, or even close to, the plate.
In the field, initially, it was difficult find Colette a position. She did not seem to be very adept at fielding ground balls, and had difficulty judging fly balls. She could throw the ball well, just not terribly accurately. However, she was fairly consistent at catching balls thrown directly at her, so she started out as a first baseman, or first base person if you will.
Colette was reasonably competent at first base. She started out having difficulty on low throws, but appeared to be improving. She continued to struggle on ground balls. In addition, first base is a position traditionally given to a person who is one of the better hitters on the team, which was not one of Colette’s specialties.
About a week before the season started, the team’s starting catcher got into some difficulties with her parents (she liked shopping and boys more than grades and homework), and was not allowed to play for a couple of weeks. The coach began auditioning a new catcher, and asked Colette if she wanted a go. So Colette put on the catching armor and got behind the plate. As the story was related to me, the first pitch thrown to her missed her mitt by a few inches and hit her directly in the face. Colette remained in her crouch and barely moved. The coach rushed to make sure my youngest was all right. Colette apparently told her that she barely felt the impact, and thought that using the mask and padding was the best way to stop the ball.
To make a long story short, it turns out that it was nearly impossible to throw a ball past Colette, not matter how far from the plate it was. If runners tried to steal, she made strong, although not always accurate, throws. She used her natural leadership skills help the coach with pitching and fielding strategy. She was not, however, a very good hitter, but catching is frequently a position where hitting is not a priority. Indeed, she looked like a ball player.
Well, it appears that I have used up my allotment of writing time. I shall make an effort to pass along details of the other Spanko family members within the next day or so. For now, you will have to take my word that you will find their stories fantastic.
