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Kennedy WhalenCarriereEnglish Comp IIMarch 22, 2017Discourse Community: Travel SoftballTravel softball is a very competitive softball league. It is the next step most serious softball players make after playing at the recreational level. It begins at 8u and continues up until 18u. However if you’re really good at this sport you could end up becoming a professional softball player although it is extremely rare. It requires a lot of time and effort. Travel softball must be taken seriously in order to compete at such a high level. You have to travel to games/tournaments every single weekend and can even end up playing as many as eight games in one weekend. In order to join a travel softball team, players have to try out. It is very expensive to play on these teams because there are many different fees for things such as uniforms and equipment and even the fees to get into certain tournaments.The goal of this is to find out how discourse functions in the travel softball community. The article “What Is Travel Ball Softball?” by Jeff Gordon helps us understand the basic fundamentals of the travel softball community. We ask the questions of “Who would want to join a travel softball team?” and “Why would they want to join?”By researching articles and interviewing a few people that have a connection with the game of softball I was able find out many answers to my questions. Softball is a large discourse community that had a broad set of common goals. While the main goal is to play the game you love and have fun it is also a major goal to work hard to win the game. I myself, joined this discourse community at a very young age and this gave me a greater understanding of both the physical and mental aspects of the game of softball. In order to join these teams I had to do all of the things I am about to mention; some of which were very easy and other not so much. Young girls around the ages of nine or ten who have played a couple of years of recreational softball are the ones that look into joining an ASA team. They want to build on the skills that they had developed at a younger age while playing and see that this is the best way to do so. In order to join a travel softball team you must try-out. Coaches hold many tryouts so that they are able to see what each girl has to offer the team. Not only do you have to have great skills but you also need to have a very good attitude. If all of the girls are not able to get along and work together then the team will not be good and will end up just falling apart. Once you are on a team coaches have many different ways to train their players. Their plans consist of a variety of drills such as the “rapid fire drills” for example. This drill is mainly for middle infielders and it allows you to practice fielding hard hit balls and keeping the ball in front of you. Travel softball coaches do a great deal of work to ensure their players become the best players and people that they can be.Each team shares a common goal; they all want to be the best. However each team has a different identity than all the rest. In a way each team has their own shorthand, whether its different signs or plays they make up. For example, a team could come up with a code name that only they know, which signifies a certain play that needs to be made. Communication is big part of how we achieve our goals. There are many different signals are used by the third base coach to talk to both the batter and any runners on base. It's a team effort and sometimes a signal may tell a runner to steal a base while at the same time the batter has been given the sign to bunt, causing a successful stolen base and achieving the goal of moving the runner around the bases and getting closer to the main goal of scoring runs and winning the game. We also have a scoreboard as a way to communicate the games progress to fans. When it comes to travel softball, players not only increase their skill levels by playing, but they also make and build friendships that will last them a lifetime. There is a strong bond that forms between teammates and coaches.Questions: My dad (softball coach):When did you start coaching softball? –“When you started travel ball. About 9 or 10 years ago.”How did you connect to this group in particular in the first place? –“You wanted to play softball and I wanted to help you so I decided to become your teams coach.”What is your favorite thing about coaching? –“Getting to help players reach their full potential and making a difference in their athletic careers.”Alexis Barton (current travel softball player):Why did you decide to start playing travel softball? – “I had played recreational softball for my town and wanted to compete at the next level”How old were you when you joined your first travel softball team? “I was 9”What is your favorite thing about playing travel softball? –“All of the friends you make along the way”Mike (softball umpire):What do you like most about being an umpire? –“I enjoy seeing all of the different teams and watching each one compete.”How long have you been an umpire? –“for about 6 years”What is the most frustrating thing about being an umpire? –“when parents try to argue with every one of the calls I make.” Based off of the answers to these interview questions asked, I was able to gain a greater understanding for each role in the travel softball discourse community. Each one is very important to creation and stability of the entire organization. Sources:Gordon, Jeff. "What Is Travel Ball Softball?" . N.p., 08 July 2015. Web. 25 Feb. 2017. ................
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