Dreams and Goals Realized
I have to start with this. I have been hoping and waiting to post this for so long, and it is finally a reality for Gracie! I'm sure that November 12 will be a day remembered for a very, very long time. This fall has been such a roller coaster of emotions for all of us, revolving around Gracie's recruiting opportunities opening with D1 schools. September 1 began the time of uncertainty, and navigating the past couple months has been challenging to say the least. She has always known where she wants to be, but not sure if that goal would be her reality. She has done everything she can to put herself in that place, and she finally got the call from Coach Anderson asking if she wanted to "officially be a tiger."
I have never felt more impatient than the past 2 months, and we were told to enjoy the recruiting process...ugh. NO. I know God has a plan, but sometimes it's so hard to be patient and wait for it to unfold. Anticipation vs Anxiety. I have definitely been the definition of the latter. Not gonna lie, there have been some sleepless nights, and that is not normal for me. So, I'm putting this out there with a little background...
Those who know Gracie understand that this is what she has wanted since about the first time she went to a softball game at Mizzou at age 7. While she is more than just softball, her drive to do well at this exceeds almost anything else. My first memorable experience with her and Mizzou softball was when we all went to a home Mizzou game against Auburn in the spring of 2016 at the U field. I remember exactly who was there... Jim Cunningham, Sophie, Nick, Owen, and me, and possibly a couple others out by the bullpen past the first base dugout. Gracie was playing with a softball, throwing it to herself over and over again. One of the throws was a little off and it went into right field during the game. Game stopped, Nick was not impressed, and we left shortly after that. Oopsie. Gracie has come a long way since then. She has helped with fieldwork, gone to many camps, attended so many games, and followed Mizzou softball (and softball in general) religiously.
I don't think I heard the words actually come out of her mouth until the end of June this past summer when she was finally willing to start speaking her goals/dreams into existence. She finally told someone when they asked her where she wanted to go that she wants to be at Mizzou. She entertained the idea of other opportunities because you have to, and you never know what the schools are looking for and what opportunities there might be. Nick and I even encouraged her multiple times to go on other visits, reach out to other coaches, have a back up plan. Gracie would oblige, but I could tell where her heart was. So, just over two months of highs and lows, still playing school ball, going to school, and doing the other "normal" things, here we are, elated that she has made it!
I am hesitant to even write and post this, so afraid that we will wake up from this dream and it won't be true or that something will happen. Or someone will say "just kidding." But it's real. It doesn't happen for very many, and Gracie is one of the few who will get to go on after high school and continue playing her sport. And she will do it in the SEC. It is so humbling to think about that. Gracie will be among the elite. I know there is still a lot of time between now and then, and a lot of growth will continue. It has to. Much more work to be done, but for now, we are so proud, excited, and happy for Gracie. She posted her news on Instagram and twitter (X), which blew up. There are over 18.6K views in less than 24 hours. She was the last headline on krcg sports last night at 10pm.
Words cannot describe how grateful we are to those who have helped her along the way. She made many calls last night to share the news including family, club coaches, Taylor Bartlett, Kirsten Mack, Sadie, among others. I know that she wants to reach out to Coach E, as well, but not sure how to do that. He helped her over the hump in becoming the consistent, explosive hitter she was meant to be. I think I have mentioned this before, but watching and listening to them interact during lessons was unbelievable. They spoke the same language; it was foreign to me, but whatever he said, she understood and she did it.
So, this process has overtaken the rest of our recent activities. But there are other accolades that need to be recognized and adventures to be shared. Gracie's Junior season in school ball was unbelievable. I'm certain I said the same thing last year, thinking it can't get much better, but it did. Here are the results.
Aside from the gross rain most of the day on Saturday, it was a pretty good weekend. We had one forfeit, and then went 3-1 losing to IPF in the first round of the championship bracket. Ironically, I believe that there were no more games played after that because it got to be too late on Sunday evening due to rescheduling multiple games from the day before.
Meanwhile...
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