Girls: practice your bunts, throws, and make-up application
Every time I hear about saving softball, people invoke young girls. We're doing it for all those girls in the stands, commentator Michelle Smith says. I am so sick of this rationale. Why do women's sports have to invoke the future of girlhood as a primary reason for saving the sport? I agree that it is part of the larger argument. But it is almost always proffered as the sole reason--at least during broadcasts of softball games. I haven't completely dissected the rhetoric yet and this is not the reason behind this post, so moving on... Since these girls in the stands are the future of softball and Smith likes to talk about the skills necessary for youth players to develop if they want to play collegiate and eventually international ball, I think I should add that in addition to 1) becoming a leftie (seriously--lefties are ubiquitous on team USA); 2) learning to sneaky bunt or slap; 3) and making it to first in less than 5 seconds young girls are going to have to learn the a...