Process of Elimination

More often than not, family and friends will say how I “made” Clare into a ballplayer, as if such a thing were possible.  My not-yet-four-year old picked out the bat and wiffle ball all by herself at the Avenue Drug Store in Oak Park.  After that, anything else played with a ball was a distant second.

Oh, Clare tried soccer and basketball, playing both with the abandon of a runaway bulldozer.  I didn’t see that she had much of a future in either sport unless they did away with penalties and fouls.  Clare also loved serving in volleyball, but she never grew into enough of a giant to make use of that skill.

One summer, I signed her up for tennis at a camp the high school was running, and the tennis coach did say some nice things.  This is where money came in; we could only spend it on one sport.  So ended any chance of the next Serena hailing from Berwyn.

Clare loved throwing a football at recess in grade school, which could explain why her boyfriend is an ex-offensive lineman; it’s all about protection.  She also loves to swim, to the point we were told she was a lock to make a swim team as a 10- or 11-year old.  But softball and swimming are both spring sports.  The splash my daughter was meant to make had to be on the diamond, and over the fence.