Loucks Park was one of my favorite places to go as a young child. My father would take my sister and me to Loucks Park almost every Sunday and Tuesday during the summer. After our church services on Sunday mornings, we would change in our van and walk across the street to the park. There were usually tee-ball games doing on during this time, so we would sit on the bleachers and watch them. Our father would attempt to explain to us what was going on, but we were too preoccupied with wanting to go play on the jungle gyms. On Tuesday evenings, we would go to Loucks and practice on the softball field when no one was there. He taught us how to throw and catch a ball, something that neither of us could do very well at the time. He also had bought a tee for us to practice hitting, which was quite entertaining for us. My father had not realized the true potential of my strength until one certain incident occurred. We were practicing our hitting, and I had finally begun to understand how to do it. My father went onto the field and stood in front of the pitching mound in order to stop my ground balls. They usually did not go very far, but this particular time I hit the ball so hard that it landed right on my father’s shin. He did not have a glove, therefore; he had nothing to stop the ball with, nor was he expecting it to happen. Instead of yelling in pain, my father ran over to me, gave me a high-five and said, “Great Job, Kiddo!” Although I was quite young at this time, I will never forget how proud my father was of me on that specific day. From that moment on, my only goal was to learn how to become the softball player that my father had always wanted me to be.
When I was six years old, my father signed me up for the Greater Scottdale Girls Softball League (GSGSL). This is our town’s local business sponsored league, which plays all of their games at Loucks Park. I started out in tee-ball division, where I made many new friends. Each division lasts three yea
rs; therefore, I knew the basic rules of the game by the end of this division. My father took me to every single practice and stayed to watch me the entire time. On the drive home, he would complement me on everything that I did right and let me know what I needed to improve on. I didn’t realize it at the time, but this was terrific bonding time with my father. He let me know how proud he was of me every day, which made me feel like I was very special in his eyes. Every time you move up a division, you get placed into a draft and put onto a new team. My father decided to become my coach though, so I was automatically placed onto his team. I was ecstatic about this, but it also made the game a lot more serious because I wanted to win every game for him. Our coaches were our pitchers in this division, and my dad practiced pitching to me almost every night. I did very well with having him as my pitcher and could not wait to show off my skills at our first game. It was a bright and sunny Sunday afternoon at Loucks Park for the first game of the season. I did not sleep very well the night before because I could not wait for this day to come. My dad was always a spectator at my previous games, but now he was right on the field with me, which made this an extremely important day. I was third up to bat with my father pitching, and the two girls before me had hit very well. My nerves were nearly jumping out of my body as I stepped up to the plate. My father looked at me, gave me a smile and said, “You can do it, Caitlin. Just relax.” I could not relax though, and I began to shake after I missed the first pitch. The second pitch had come in too fast and I missed again. My mind was racing at this point because I knew I only had one more chance. My hands were sweating profusely as he released the third pitch. When I swung the bat, it completely slipped out of my hands. I ran into the dugout and began to cry. My father came in to comfort me and this was the first time I felt how much he truly believed in me. He reassured me that everyone makes mistakes, which is something young children tend to have a hard time believing. My father made me believe that I could do anything I put my mind to. His words of encouragement that difficult day still affect my life today. Every time I want to give up, I think of his belief in me and it gives me the urge to continue. I am now able to see my father as more than a coach, but rather a very important support system in my life.The next level, titled the intermediate division, was my most difficult time at Loucks Park. My father decided to be my coach again, which I was very excited about at first. He let me chose our shirt color and I picked periwinkle, which he was not extremely thrilled about. In this division, we got to pitch to each other instead of our coaches. My father had been practicing with me for a long time because I wanted to become a pitcher more than anything. It seemed to come naturally, and I actually was a very talented beginner. We were top in the division, with our biggest competitor one game behind us. I had been pitching extremely well throughout the season, and I was confident that I could pitch against our biggest rivalry. My dad felt that same confidence in me and he started me as pitcher for the game. It was a cool, gloomy Tuesday evening, but Loucks Park was as crowded as I had ever seen it. Our entire season was riding on this one crucial game. We were ahead the entire game, but only by a few points. I was pitching and hitting very well, and I was sure that we were going to win. It was the last inning, and the opposing team was up to bat. There were two outs and they were down by one point. They had girls on first and second base, and their best hitter was up to bat. My dad came out to the mound and assured me that he knew I could strike her out. He seemed as though he was not nervous at all, but I knew that he was. My dad hated to lose, even if we played as hard as we could. He went back into the dugout, stood along the fence, and gave me a wink. I took a moment to breathe before I stepped back onto the mound. This was the most important pitch of my softball career up to this point. I got into my stance and threw the first pitch. It was a strike, right down the middle. I only had two more to go, and the game would be over. I decided to throw the second pitch inside, and she swung and missed just like I had hoped. The crowd was going crazy at this point, but the only voice I could hear was my father’s. He was yelling along with the rest of the team, “C’mon, Caitlin!” I knew that if I could just strike this one girl out, he would be the happiest man at Loucks Park that day. Glaringly, I approached the mound and looked my opponent straight in the eye. She snarled back at me as I got into position. I threw a perfect pitch, but it was just a little too perfect. She swung the bat so hard, it sounded as though she hit a cement block. I watched as the ball flew over my head and rolled to the fence. The girl that had been on first base was rounding the third-base corner when our outfielder threw the ball in. The first girl had already scored to tie the game, so we had to get the out in order to continue to play. My body was trembling as the outfielder threw the ball to me. I stuck my glove out, but completely missed the ball, which allowed the girl to score. My father screamed at me, and I fell to my knees and began to cry. I was not upset that we lost the game though, but because I knew how disappointed my father was with me at that moment. I walked off the field, but no one said a word to me. It was completely my fault that we lost. If I had thrown a better pitch, we would have easily won the game. I didn’t think that I was ever going to be able to forgive myself. I walked off the field that day believing that it was going to be my last game. I walked over to my mother who was in the bleachers and told her that I quit. She told me that it was just a game, but she didn’t understand how much more it was to me. After two hours of anticipation, my father finally came home. He came up to my room and gave me a hug. I broke down into tears and told him that I was never going back to Loucks Park again. He began to look at me in a way that I had never seen before. At that moment, my father began to tear up as he told me how proud he was of me. I couldn’t believe that he still had faith in me after all of the mistakes I had made. He told me that he could see the dedication in
my eyes the entire game, but could feel my apprehension as we went into the last inning. He reassured me that it was only one season and that I had many more to come. My father told me that he would not trade me for the world, not even for the best softball player in the country. Although my mother tried to comfort me after the terrible incident, my father was the only one who could give me the strength to move on. He apologized for yelling at me at the game, but he felt he had to be harder on me than the rest of the teammates. He promised to never yell again, but to give words of inspiration instead. At this moment, my father and I created a bond that no one would ever be able to break. He became the one person that I could confide in, no matter how terrible my action may be. Loucks Park allowed me to gain a new confidence in my father, and I realized that he would always support me.My last years at Loucks Park were some of the best years of my life. I went from junior to senior division, with my father as my coach. We started attending tournaments during my junior division. My father and his good friend decided to pick an all-star team from the league. They paid for us to attend tournaments throughout the rest of our years in GSGSL. We traveled to many towns, such as Washington, Plum Borough, Penn Hills, McKeesport and Crafton. We won some tournaments and we lost some, but we became extremely close as a team. They became like sisters to me and our coaches were like our fathers, even though only one was really my dad. We earned so many trophies as a team, and we dedicated all of them to our coaches. I truly enjoyed seeing the expressions on my father’s face when we won tournaments. We decided to begin a home tournament at Loucks Park, in memory of the founder of the league. I spent a lot of time with my father while organizing this tournament, which was great bonding time for us. I realized how intelligent he truly is, which I had never known before because I wasn’t around him often. We started this tournament my junior year in high school; therefore, I only got to play in the tournament twice. During my last year in GSGSL, my father decided that he did not want to be my coach. Being a coach was very stressful at times, and he wanted to be able to relax and enjoy my games. I was so used to having my father there with me on the field that I it just didn’t feel the same anymore. I felt like I lost the passion for the game when I lost my father as a coach. He did not realize that his decision was going to cause a negative effect on my game. I tried so hard to impress my father as a coach that when he wasn’t there, I felt no need to perform at my best. My final year of GSGSL was not how I dreamt it would be in any way. Although my senior year did not go as well as I hoped, the rest of my years at Loucks Park left me with unforgettable memories.
Loucks Park was the one place that brought my father and me together. We spent almost every summer day together, which meant a lot to me being that he was not very involved in any other aspect of my life. As a child, I did not realize the significance of the time I spent with him practicing softball. I also did not realize how important softball was going to become in my life. My father hadn’t always supported me in everything that I did, but when it came to softball he was with me every step of the way. Loucks Park allowed us to open up to each other and express out true feelings towards each other. Although he got upset with me on many occasions, he learned how to talk to me about issues rather than to yell at me. I believe that without the opportunities that Loucks Park has provided us with, my father and I would not be as close as we are today. We have spent a large portion of our lives at Loucks Park and it holds a very dear place in both of our hearts. Loucks Park allowed me to spend time with my father that I would not have normally had. I am thankful for every moment that I spend with my father, but our time together on the softball field will be treasured in my heart forever.
^all above photos taken by Caitlin King
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