IMCOM Softball Tournament

This past weekend we had our final softball tourament in Hohenfels. It was the IMCOM tournament to determine the European winner. We went into the tournament with high hopes. We hadn't lost yet all season, and were hoping to keep that it that way!

We left Friday night after school. It ended up taking us 6 hours to get there because we got stuck in a 3 hour stau (traffic jam). For the first hour, we made it a whole three miles. The last hour, we were at a complete stand still. I had the van turned off and the girls were out on the road playing tag. I'm sure the Germans thought we were crazy Americans, but we were having fun! We finally pulled in after 10:00.

On Saturday, we started our first game at 10:00. We won the first one, so played a second at 12:30. We easily won that one, so palyed again at 2:30. My girls were getting tired by this time! The last game wasn't as pretty! We got schooled by Stuttgart. That sent us into the losers bracket. Several of the girls, including myself, were in tears. This loss hurt.

On Sunday, we played our first game at 10:00 and won that one. It was a close one, but we pulled it off. Our next game was against Stuttgart again. This was the Championship game. My girls were ready to win! We played well, but just couldn't pull it off. We ended up losing in the fifth inning. I was devestated, but tried to put on my happy face. I took the equipment to the van, cried my tears, and then went back to the team.

Hohenfels presented the awards ceremony. They began with us and called me up to give me the team trophy. I'm sure I looked like a wreck, but I was trying to smile. Then all the girls were given a medal. As soon as we were finished, they swarmed me and gave me a big ol' bear hug.

At this point, I lost it again! The tears were flowing! I'm going to miss these girls so much! They are so near and dear to my heart. I have been with several of them for four seasons of softball. These are my girls and I'm just not ready to leave them!

I'm so glad I had the chance to coach during my time in Schweinfurt. It was a great way for me to grow and develop. This is definitely a hard part when it comes to leaving!!!!