Lowcountry Dream Fastpitch Softball Organization - Dobes - Summerville, SC

This past weekend concluded my time as a head softball coach.
Through the past three years, I have met and had the privilege of coaching some of the most amazing girls ever! I was so blessed to watch some of them begin their softball journey, just learning the basics at the beginning. I was able to watch eyes light up when they learned a new skill and did it for the first time. I watched their first home runs, their first double plays, their first strike outs when pitching, their first wins, their losses, their love for each other. I watched them spread wings and age up. I've watched some move away. I've watched some move to other teams. One thing remains the same, I will always love and cheer for every single girl that I have had the pleasure of coaching. I have also had the privilege to coach and meet so many amazing guest players along the way. Most of which, I still keep in touch with and follow their softball journey. ❤️
I have met some incredible families along the way. We've made memories, shared stories and tears and laughs through the years. I see former players and hug their necks. I keep up with them and cheer them on from afar.
I have experienced the lows of coaching and could probably write a book, but I've also been so blessed to experience what coaching is all about, the kids. Making sure each of them knows they're special. Teaching life lessons and making sure they try to be good people. Making tough decisions at tryouts was always the hardest thing for me to do. I made sure every kid played every inning of every game, except for one game in 2.5 years and it crushed my soul and I never did it again.
I want to thank Samantha Horner for being my ride or die right hand, voice of reason, gummy bear giving, tender hearted coach who's been with me through the highs and the lows of lows. I also want to thank Cory Christensen, Jordan Buso and Ashlie Green for helping coach. You guys were eyes and wisdom and experience. All four of these amazing coaches shared my passion. All four of these coaches gave selflessly to the girls and also loved them. I couldn't have done it without you. I am forever grateful for our time we shared as coaches.
It was never about winning. It was about making each girl better in her time spent on our team. If winning happened along the way, excellent. If not, we learned and got better. This last tournament couldn't have ended my last season on a higher note, and I think the girls needed it as much as I did. We played up in age group most of our 10U season. It was a hard sell to parents and not everyone bought in. We still chased tough competition. Most teams we were facing were all second year 12U teams, some three years older. This last tournament, everything came together. Our pitchers pitched amazing, EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM. The bats were coming together. Defensive plays were happening. I know I said it in a previous post, but I told the girls if they won two games I'd treat them to ice cream. They battled so hard all tournament. A 15 hour day in the heat day two and about an 11 hour day the third day. They won three games in a row the last day and ended up 3rd place in 12U Nationals!!!!!!! Their faces, their excitement, the cheers from the opposing team.....it made every tear, all the stress, everything that the coaches experienced all season long, worth every bit. They proved to everyone at the field that day, this group of 10U players were ready to compete at the next level. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!
Don't worry, I'm not completely done coaching🤪....next project is a Dream travel volleyball team coming soon. Stay tuned and follow the Dream girls and some new faces soon!! 🏐

THANK YOU FOR ALL OF THE MEMORIES!!!!! ❤️❤️❤️

This season is one for the books. As a coaching staff, I'm pretty sure we experienced every possible thing coaches experience in a lifetime. Nothing seemed to go according to plan, but the end goal never changed. Despite many setbacks, the goal for the season was to prepare these girls for the next step. When you can get a set of parents to trust the end goal, trust the process and trust the coaches, great things can happen. We, as coaches, felt the best decision was to move to 12U about halfway through the season. Some unforeseen events challenged the decision for sure. Tough losses against some great teams along the way definitely created doubt. But the coaches dug our heels. Our parents that trusted the process, that weren't in it for the wins and rings, but instead for the long term results were amazing. The coaches were able to take from each loss what needed to be worked on and help the TEAM grow through them.
We went into the final tournament of the season, a 12U NATIONALS DC Fastpitch tournament not knowing what to expect. But, I made a deal with the girls that if we could pull out two wins, I'd treat them to ice cream. It was a rocky start for sure. After pool play, we finished #7 out of 8 teams. Saturday, we spent 15 hours at the ballfield in some insane heat. That night, things started to change. The girls started believing. They got this fight in them. It's almost like everything just started clicking. We won!
After walking off the ballfield after 15 hours, around 10:15 PM, we were back the next morning at 7:15 to play the first game of the day at 8:30. We went in with no expectations. The girls still had the fire from the night before and we won again!! They all let me know I owed them ice cream. Next up, a team that beat us our first game of the tournament. Each coach knew we could have won that game, but the girls had to believe. Well, THEY SURE DID!!! They WON AGAIN!!!! Now to play a tough team we hadn't seen yet. After an international tie breaker, THEY WON AGAIN!!!! The girls' faces when they ran off of the bases and onto the field, you would have thought they won the national championship. Now, in the semi final game we had to face the team that beat us 11-0 the first day, then 3-0 the second day. We held them 0-0 the entire game until the very last inning. This VERY SPECIAL, TALENTED group of 10U girls battled until the very last pitch. One base-hit in the outfield scored two runs and that would ultimately be the final score of the game, 2-0. Like Coach Sam said, "each time we played them, they were less successful." The girls could have hung their heads, but they ran off the field when the timer went off with smiles on their faces, jumping for joy. Their faces said it all, now they saw what the coaches saw all season. THEY ARE SPECIAL AND THEY ARE GOING TO DO BIG THINGS!! These girls finished THIRD PLACE IN A 12U NATIONALS TOURNAMENT competing against some girls that were three years older than them, mostly second year 12U teams, some getting permits soon (running conversation through the weekend). Can you imagine what they'll be accomplishing in two years when they are the second year 12U team????? As we were shaking hands in the final game, the parents for the opposing team gave us a standing ovation and cheered for the Dream team. I almost cried on the spot seeing and hearing this. I know it really made the girls feel special as well. We were stopped several times on the way out of the park by people from several teams complimenting our girls and letting us know their future is bright.
I want to personally say thank you to the parents that pushed through the tough losses with us. That trusted their kids with us at tough, hot practices. Parents that TRUSTED THE PROCESS and were able to see the TEAM growth through the season. Parents that knew that our coaching staff had all of the right intentions for their daughters.
I couldn't have imagined a better ending to this season. I went into the season telling them my goal was to prepare them for the next level and not just any 12U team, but a highly competitive team. To make sure they'd be able to hold their own against girls twice their size. This weekend, these girls made my heart beam with so much pride. Each and every single one of them had moments they shone. This season has been a roller coaster of emotions, but the end was the brightest rainbow after the storm.

From our Dream family to yours ❤️🤍💙🎆🎇

Day 1: Opening Ceremonies

We had a blast. The girls traded pins with teams from all over the country. We danced. We sweat (a lot). We took pictures in the photo booth. Everyone loved our outfits and said we had the best get-ups. It was a great time. ❤️🥎

Game day today. Catch us at 6:30 and 8 at links on pics below.

It's almost time!!!

Lowcountry Dream is Space Coast World Series bound!!

We are excited for all of the pre-tournament festivities! We are excited to see all of the hard work pay off that these girls have been putting in the past couple weeks! 🥎❤️🤍💙🥎

It was a GREAT day to be Dream! The girls and some of the boy's team met up at the water park for some team fun in the sun. ❤️🤍💙

🎉🎉SWYD🎉🎉

Help us congratulate this pitcher/catcher duo pitched a shutout game playing up in 12U!!!

Way to go Kenzie and Tegan!!!!!!

Our tournament was cancelled and we wanted to play, so we hosted an impromptu round robin at our field. It was a great day of softball. Huge thank you to Lowcountry Rage 12U, Hanahan Hawkettes 12U and Berkeley Elite Mitchum for joining us.

Lowcountry Dream is looking for a few talented ball players to add to our roster. ALL positions considered. We push players to reach their potential. We travel to face good competition. Looking for first year 12U or second year 10U player. Please pm for more info. We'd love to have you out at a practice or a private tryout.

STOP WHAT YOU'RE DOING AND HELP US WISH THE HAPPIEST OF BIRTHDAYS TO COACH ASHLIE!!!!!!! We love you! Thank you for giving your time and effort to these girls!!! We hope you have the best day!!!

This weekend we traveled to Hoover, AL to play in the PGF Super Select Southern Championship. Without a doubt, the best competition we've seen yet. The best and fastest pitching we've seen. We played well in moments and just really couldn't get the bats going as a team after the first game. We challenged them and put them in tough situations, loading bases twice with the game on the line in extra innings. They were definitely aggressive on the bases. We saw some incredible plays and hustle. Playing the tough teams has definitely shown where we need to grow. It was a beautiful park and the weather was perfect. We played some great teams. We enjoyed time together off the field. We learn, we grow and we move on to the next one.