Most of the girls that try out to play softball have never played before. They come to us with hardly any skills, but have an insane amount of desire to learn how to play. Last year, I saw a huge amount of improvement in our girls in the short amount of time that my head coach and I had with them.
The school I teach and coach at is a low income school in an urban area.
The majority of our students and softball players come from low income families. Most of the girls I coach have never had an opportunity to play softball before. The girls I have the opportunity to coach are some of the most dedicated, excited group of girls I've encountered. Even with their limited playing experience, their excitement and fervor to learn the game is what made me come back to coach for a second year. This is a great group of girls that I coach and they deserve to have the best opportunity possible to develop their skills.
My Project
My students need a Softball Pitching machine and softballs to use during their daily softball practice. The pitching machine we currently own and use is old and outdated. It's very difficult to align the machine so it pitches true, which makes it difficult for the girls to practice their batting skills. If we are able to get a new pitching machine that pitches true, it will allow our girls to get a very real batting experience. Since our girls come to us with limited experience, getting them the most authentic batting experience possible is essential to their skill development. We will use this machine on a daily basis in practice since we are able to set up a batting cage in one of our gymnasiums.
I see coaching softball as an opportunity to not only provide these girls with an opportunity to incorporate physical fitness into their daily lives, but it also provides them with confidence.
These girls are able to make huge strides in their skill development in a short amount of time. Having new equipment that actually works correctly will allow them to develop those skills at an even higher level.
DonorsChoose is the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.
As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Ms. Riss and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.