With the sound of my daughter crying herself to sleep in the background,  I sit down and think about how much softball has meant to me, and my family.

It started with my daughter trying to be like her cool older brother, and playing tee-ball. Things then moved on to playing recreation league coach pitch baseball, and then onto softball where she made a few friends as a member of the Yankees, or as the Red Sox fan I am called them, the Franklin Taulbee Rushing team.

Around this time Bulloch County’s own Bobby Costlow decided to start up a travel softball team for his daughter to play called The Fury. They started off with one team, and later expanded to have at least three different age groups.

I asked my daughter Sloan if that was something she may be interested in, and she was eager to give it a try. It was early fall, and The Fury 10-u team had already had tryouts. But having known Bobby, he allowed Sloan to come to his house, and he let her try out in his backyard.

I had a feeling she did well, but I remember getting the call that she had made the team and being very excited for her. Telling her and seeing the huge smile on her face, I knew this could be the start of something pretty special for her.

Our first year of travel ball, we were lucky enough to have some pretty awesome coaches. Isaac McDuffie, Jenny Youmans and Cynthia Lee all had playing experience, and all had daughters who were on the team, and were pretty good themselves.

Having only played softball in the spring, one thing we didn’t think about was how cold it can get when you play softball in the late fall and early winter. Our first tournament was in 40-degree weather with about 20 mph winds. I figured if she made it through that without quitting, she had to be pretty dedicated.

I think one of the things that made her decide to keep playing, to be honest, was also the trophies. We placed second in one of our first tournaments in Douglas, and I remember Sloan’s reaction to being handed a trophy, and how excited she was to get home and show it off to her brothers.

When I look back to those early days, and the team photo, it’s amazing to see how many of those same girls are still playing softball, and how successful they have become. Of the 11 players on that 10-u team, nine of them made the state playoffs this year, and are all playing at four different Bulloch County schools.

I have no doubt that the Fury, and subsequent other travel teams that popped up in and around town, is directly responsible for the success this year of our Bulloch County teams. All four schools advanced to the state and Southeast Bulloch, Statesboro and Bulloch Academy all won their region titles.

Sloan went on to play for The Fury the next three years and continued to make friends, and be coached by some great guys. Over those next three years, we had some highs and some lows. From winning tournaments at Mill Creek, with plenty of family and friends able to come watch, to losing games far from home that got so bad due to injuries, that Sloan actually had to go in to pitch.

From sand gnat bites at the crack of dawn, on through sunset in Brunswick, to having my phone, and my tooth, cracked thanks to a Sloan Aubrey line drive in practice, to playing past everyone's bedtime, including the parents, in Savannah, we made so many friends, and shared so many laughs. 

The trip to Savannah stands out for a few reasons. First off we played the first game of a championship series at 1 in the morning. If we would have won that game, we would have begun game two after 2 a.m. As I was on my third Mountain Dew, trying to stay up, I remember looking out on the field, and seeing Sloan, and her teammate Liv Finley screaming and dancing as they waited to play that final game and I thought, this is pretty cool. It was also one time I was all right with coming in second and avoiding a 3 or 4 a.m. drive back to Statesboro.

Sloan continued to play travel ball up until her junior year. Monday night her playing career came to a close as Bulloch Academy lost a one-run heartbreaker to John Milledge in the third game of a best-of-three series in the state quarterfinals.

As I watched from the sidelines as she and most of her teammates broke down in tears, a flood of memories hit me, along with the fact that we will never have a long car ride home again where we can talk softball, or about movies, music or anything else. We won’t have our meals on the road at Waffle House, or whatever may be open late at night. Most of all I won’t get to watch her play a game that she loves, and that has taught her so much.

Softball has taught her to win with humility, lose with grace, and do both with dignity, It has taught her that life isn’t fair, and that sometimes you have to fight for what you want. It has also taught her that the harder you work for something, the greater you will feel when you achieve it, and that hard work pays off.

People have always told me to take it all in, as your kids will be grown, and gone before you know it. Monday night, not only did I see tears on the softball field, I also saw plenty of tears from family members in the stands, that had come to the same realization that I did, that the same little kids we were throwing the ball to in our backyard, had just played their final game.

While it hurts so badly right now, I am thankful for the friends we have made, and for the friends Sloan has made thanks to softball over the years. Travel ball isn’t for everyone, and there may be some drawbacks, but I am so thankful for not only the ability to watch my daughter play ball, but for the time in between games, the hotel stays, eating out with friends, and the ability to get to know my daughter better, all because of you, softball.