Inside Pitch: College Senior Grace White on Watching a 10U Travel Ball Tryout… “I Loved the Girls’ Fun, Innocence & Hope for the Future!”

Grace White is a college senior who plays first base for Union University, a DII school in Jackson, Tennessee, and is majoring in Journalism. She is the Sports Editor for the Cardinal & Cream, the school’s student publication, and has a younger sister who plays in the Virginia Unity club organization.

In today’s Inside Pitch, Grace recounts a travel ball tryout she attended and helped out at last month along with her sister, Esther, and her father who was asked to provide  evaluations of the attendees at the event.

The trio from the White family were there to instruct and work with the nine and 10-year-olds competing to make the roster of a Unity organization 10U team, but these young players weren’t there thinking of being recruited (yet) or the possibility of taking their game to the next level–which, in this case, would be middle school!

Instead, these pre-teen elementary school athletes were there competing for the fun of the sport, to be around their friends and to “dream big dreams!”  

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In January, travel ball coaches for Unity 2023 – Rowsey held tryouts at The Dugout, an indoor facility in Henderson, Tenn., to find girls to be on their roster in the spring season.

Head Coach Andy Rowsey and assistant coaches Joe Morris and Brandon Cooper, as well as guest coach Scott White, evaluated the 20 participants to see which girls they thought had the skills and attitude to be the best contributors to the program.

The coaches led the girls through various stations and drills, including a throwing competition, Around-the-Horn, bunting, front toss, and live pitching. They did their best to not only evaluate but also teach the players some things in order to help them whether they make the team or not.

Rowsey’s team was previously part of the Xtreme organization out of Lexington, Tenn., but after talking to a couple of people, he decided to join Unity in the Fall of 2022.

“I got in contact with Josh [Johnson, head of the Unity organization],” Rowsey said. “I found out a little about Unity and kind of what they’ve been doing and decided it would be a good thing.”

Coaching a 10U team is different than coaching a team in an age group such as 14U or 16U. These girls aren’t necessarily getting recruited yet. Instead, they are still growing their love for the game and learning new skills that will help them in softball and in life.

“It’s really special when you see it click,” Rowsey said. “How we do it is just try to put a lot of fun into it. As a coach, you want to keep the pressure on them, but you have to be able to read when it’s a little too much for these young girls. But when they start being able to accept that and become stronger mentally, that’s a good thing to see.”

Nine-year-old Hadley Elliot was one of the players to try out for Rowsey’s team. Playing softball is her favorite thing to do, and her dad Phillip Elliott has loved watching her love for the game grow.

“When she came in one day and was like “Dad, I want to play,’ it warms your heart,” Phillip said. “Most nine-year-olds I know don’t have her work ethic, and that’s not from me saying ‘Hey, we need to go out here and do this.’ It’s from her literally coming home and saying ‘Hey, can we go outside and hit? Can we go pitch?’ It’s the joy of those things, just watching her grow in that.”

The game has also taught Hadley life lessons and encouraged her to dream big dreams about her future.

“It really doesn’t matter if you win or lose because you’re still going to be playing a lot,” Hadley said. “You get older and start getting better and everything. When I get older, I really want to try to get up into the college level.”

Even at such young ages, these girls look up to the older players they see around them and on TV. They’re wide-eyed when they experience their first college softball game and see the athletes that seem larger than life standing at their positions on the field.

They “oooo” and “ahhhh” at the speed of the game and how hard the players hit the ball and how cleanly they field the ball. The girls fight each other for a foul ball that comes into the stands where they’re sitting and wait for the team after the game is over to ask for autographs and pictures from each player.

The number on their jersey the next season is the one their favorite player wears. These nine and 10-year-olds want to be like those college athletes but don’t understand yet how hard it is to achieve that dream.

They haven’t experienced the grueling practices and intense morning workouts. They haven’t emailed coaches in an effort to get noticed. They haven’t attended prospect camps and felt the nerves when they realize that this one at-bat might be the only one they get in front of the head coach.

Instead, these kids are full of hope, just living in the moment and taking it one game at a time, all while having fun with their friends.

May all the softball players out there try to remember what it was like to be in 10U again and find ways to carry that joy through the rest of their careers. Phillip summed up the innocence of those 10U girls perfectly.

“They love the game, but they also still like to run to the concession stand,” Phillip said. “It’s so enjoyable when you walk up to them, and they’re just beaming because they get to play a game they love.”

— Grace White, Extra Inning Softball correspondent