Let's get it started...

I grew up in this little tiny ag town most of my life. Our summer temperatures reach the 100's during late June and stay there throughout most of July and August. Some of my fondest summer memories are of playing Little Miss Softball every summer on the softball fields at Rivera Middle School. Rivera has between 6 and 8 softball and baseball fields and back then, the league had big time sponsors who would pay to have thier name painted on a big green plywood fence to mark the outfield. We would strive to hit the ball over that fence.
My dad sometimes coached, either alone or with my best friend's dad, Lou. I honestly can not remember whether we won or lost back then, but I do know we had a great time. As I got older, I moved from the "minors" (looking back I think that was late elementary school to early junior high) to the "majors" (late junior high to high school). When I moved up to the "majors" (by the way...I LOVED saying I played Major League Ball!), Dad stayed down in the Minors to coach my sister and I got a new coach.
Whether being coached by my dad or someone else, I loved the game. I may not have been the best player on the team, but I learned to appreciate the sound of the bat making contact with the ball, the smell of the fresh cut grass, the smooth moves of the safe sign being given by the blue and most important, I learned the value of a coach that knows his or her stuff.
Those summers out on the fields of Rivera laid the ground work for the parent and coach I have become today. I was speaking to a friend that has known me since back in those Little Miss days and updating her on my daughters' current teams and coaches and she laughingly, and I hope lovingly, said, "Susan, you know how you always hear about 'Stage Moms'? You are like a 'Stage Mom of Sports'! You are always jockying in the background to make sure your girls get the best experience possible."
And so the story begins...