BOOKS BEFORE BATS!
It is the #1 expectation of the PQ Girls Softball: All players give their best effort to their education. While we hope softball is a memorable part of their lives, few will make a career of it; a sound education will take the player further in life. Keep the grades high!
RESPECT THE R.O.O.T.S. OF THE GAME OF SOFTBALL….
Rules: The rules of the game exist to make the game fair for all, sometimes they work in our favor, sometimes not.
Officials: Officials are not perfect (just like coaches, athletes and parents!) and sometimes make mistakes. However, there is no excuse for treating officials with disrespect when they make errors.
Opponents: Without them, we'd just be practicing! Good opponents push us to do our best.
Teammates: Encourage and support one another on and off the field, be 1 team, not a group of players.
Self: Set high standards for yourself and live up to them.
THE E.L.M. TREE OF MASTERY
The Tree of Mastery is an ELM tree, there are three things you need to do to climb the Tree of Mastery:
E is for Effort. We want to give our best effort every time we come out on the field. We could be better than another team without learning and improving if that team is a weak team and we could be weaker than another team but be learning a lot and getting better all the time. We always want to improve ourselves by giving our best effort always!
L is for Learning. We want to continue learning and improving every week in practice and every time we play a game. If we continue to learn, we will get better and that is more important than whether or not we are better than another team.
M is for Mistakes. Most people think it's bad to make a mistake, but mistakes are part of the learning process. You can't learn something as complicated as softball if you are afraid to make a mistake and people that are afraid to make a mistake often don't even try very hard. We want to learn from our mistakes and not let them discourage us or keep us from working hard.
Additional Glossary Terms
Altered bat: A bat that has undergone structural changes or tweaks after being approved by officials.
Approved bat: A bat that has gone through testing in order to meet the high standards of an official organization of the sport such as USA Softball.
Backstop: A fence, screen, or other barrier located behind home plate.
Ball: A pitch that moves through the strike zone without the player swinging at it.
Base: One of the four corners located in the infield that a player must touch when attempting to score a run. First, second, and third are known as bases or bags, while home is known as home plate.
Base path: An invisible line the runner is on from their previous location to the next base.
Batted ball: A hit pitch that travels into either fair or foul territory.
Batter's box: The designated space a player must stand in at home plate when attempting to hit a pitch.
Batting average: A statistic that reflects the number of hits a player receives divided by the number of at bats.
Batting order: A list that includes the name, jersey number, and position of every offensive player in the order they will bat.
Bunt: When a player holds the bat parallel to the ground in order to tap the ball into play.
Catcher: The defensive player who crouches behind home plate to signal and catch pitches.
Change-up: A very slow pitch meant to throw off the rhythm of the batter.
Coach's box: A space near first and third base where each base coach stands during play.
Count: The tally of balls and strikes for the player who is at bat.
Curveball: When a pitcher releases the ball in a way that causes it to spin (in a curve) through the air.
Defensive team: The group of players currently on the field.
Designated Player: A player who goes up to bat to hit in place of a teammate on the official lineup roster.
Double play: A circumstance where one ball is hit followed by two outs.
Earned run: A batter gets a run based on their skill instead of as a result of another player's error.
Error: A misplay or fumble by a defensive player that results in a runner getting on base or moving to the next one.
Fair ball: A ball that lands within legal territory.
Fly ball: A ball that soars high in the air and goes into the outfield.
Foul tip: A player hits a ball that's immediately caught by the catcher.
Grand slam: When a batter hits a home run with players on all of the bases.
Ground ball: A ball that bounces on the ground after it's hit.
Hit: A batter moves to first base after hitting a ball into fair territory.
Hit by pitch: When the batter is struck by a pitch and gets to move to first base.
Home run: A batter hits the ball into fair territory and runs all four bases.
Infield: The diamond-shaped area that includes all four bases.
Inning: A portion of the game in which the teams alternate between defense and offense. Each team gets three outs per inning.
Line drive: When a batter hits a ball that moves swiftly and directly into the playing field.
No-hitter: A pitcher completes an entire game without allowing a batter to hit.
On-deck Circle : The location where the next player on the roster waits to bat.
Outfield: The space outside the base path of the diamond-shaped field.
Pinch hitter: A player who substitutes as a batter for another teammate.
Pitcher: The player who throws the ball to the batter at home plate.
Rubber: A place in the middle of the pitching mound where the pitcher puts their foot as the ball is thrown.
Run: When a player crosses home plate and is declared safe by the umpire.
Scoring positions: A scenario in which players are on both second and third base, ready to run and score.
Steal: When a baserunner moves to get onto the next base as the pitcher is letting go of the ball.
Strike zone: The space at home plate where the pitcher targets throwing the ball.
Tag out: When the player with the ball either taps a runner or touches a base to get them out.
Triple play: A scenario where there are three outs on one hit ball.
Windmill: The underhand throwing style of fast-pitchers.
Sourced partially from: https://www.aaastateofplay.com/softball-terms-and-definitions/
Hat tip to Annelise from the Harrison Park Community Center