Welcome To The Show

The video game MLB The Show 24 will be unveiling a player mode for females. It made me think back to a special little girl I coached a decade ago.

First Things First» The video game MLB THE SHOW 24 is coming out soon and with it the news that a female player mode called "Road To The Show: Women Pave Their Way" will be available. 

Starting on March 19, anyone can pre-order the game and follow dreams that any female might have had growing up. 

This is a long time coming for women who have been languishing on softball teams for decades when some of them would’ve rather played baseball. 

And I guess that's where I'll start this short narrative story. 

When E stepped onto the field for the first time, she was slight in height and lacked any sort of muscle definition in her arms or legs. Honestly, I was fearful what might happen to E since she was playing in her first competitive soccer match and was one of the smallest, youngest players on the field. But, we were down two players already due to illness so I had no choice but to start her. 

As E jogged onto the field, she pulled her blonde hair in a ponytail and wore eye black as she slid into her spot on the field. With most players, when they step onto the pitch for the first time they resemble Budweiser Clydesdales because their brains haven't caught up with the legs that are mo—not her. 

I could tell all the team moms were nervous; they were chatting amongst themselves on our sideline as they sat in their lawn chairs, wondering what stupid move I was going to pull next to make their kids look bad. In our West side suburban community of Salt Lake City, getting females to kick a soccer ball around was about as easy as telling ten 12-year-olds that they don't have to go to that quinceanera this weekend, the one next weekend or the one after that.