On Friday night, I went to the batting cages with Isaac and a friend of ours. I used to play softball and have sorely missed the sport since I stopped playing about 11 years ago. I even won MVP my last year playing, it is a sport I actually understand the rules of and excel at. Unlike soccer where my proudest moment was catching the ball as it soared perfectly into my arms. I grinned and threw the ball to a teammate, proud of my stellar catch. Minor detail: I wasn’t the goalie. Apparently goalies are the only ones allowed to use their hands, psshhhhh rules shmules. Also, I was in middle school when this happened, not first grade like you were probably imagining.
Anyway, since no adult softball leagues are currently in session, I figured hitting the batting cages was second best. I assumed the two boys would hit baseballs and I’d spend my time hitting some slow/medium pitch softballs. Wrong. Immediately upon arrival the boys informed me that I would be hitting baseballs with them, no room for discussion. As it turns out, I wasn’t as terrible as I thought I would be. In fact, I had some really good hits! Even though I didn’t knock every single one “out of the park”, if my bat managed to make contact with the baseball hurling towards me at 70mph, I was pretty happy.
What I wasn’t anticipating was the after effect of hitting 100 baseballs traveling 70mph. I can barely lift my right arm, my right hand has been shaking continuously since Friday night, and the entire left side of my body (especially my left butt cheek) feels like it has been hit by a semi-truck. A semi-truck filled with angry baseballs all chanting my name. Seriously, I have to use two hands to raise a glass of water to my mouth, it’s that bad.
Now I’m not sure if the pain I am in signifies that I need to:
a) never go to the batting cages again
b) go to the batting cages more often
c) re-learn proper batting technique so I don’t turn into a worthless pile of aching muscles and shaky limbs when I actually start playing on a league again
Regardless, it was fun to take the first step towards getting back into playing a sport. Even if it turned me into a 90-year old woman incapable of sitting on the toilet without a “eeerrrrrghhhhhh ouchhhh.”
The Other Courtney 
I can relate to the soccer mishap in middle school! 😀 I did the same thing in middle school with volley ball! Even though I understood, intellectually, that I was supposed to hit the ball rather than catch it, the rest of me apparently didn’t understand that in the midst of all the activity.
Hope your arm is feeling better! 🙂
LOl I’m so glad I’m not the only one!! Yep, intellectually I also knew not to CATCH the soccer ball, but it just felt so right. Why else would it have soared perfectly into my open arms?! Yikes! Glad you can relate 😀
Keep it up! But maybe next time do the softball ones and not the big boy ones!! And def stretch those muscles out before and after.
Haha good call! Although I’m the type of person who will now need to prove to myself that I can hit the baseballs and get in good enough shape to not let it make me sore. Stubborn that way 🙂
Hahaha …I don’t care what your previous commenter said
… you have forever cured me of ever wanting to go to a batting
cage! (Ok … truth be told, I have never even thought about going
to one … so the ‘cure’ was more like a ‘convinced’.” And … the
previous commenter … I hope he is right about how it will get
better for you. He sounds as if he has gone though it nod nods. And
… 100 of them? That does seem like a LOT! Wow.
hahaha yeah I’d say if it’s not something you are particularly interested in to begin with, you’re REALLY going to be miserable when you can’t move the next day!! In hindsight, I probably should have just hit 50 balls. Or even 20. 100 Courtney? REALLY? Sigh…I don’t usually do things in moderation. Do/did you play any sports, or is it not your thing?
I used to swim in college…now I only swim for exercise. I have gotten into biking though.
How are you feeling tonight? Has the soreness abated some?
Ahh competitive swimming is intense! I was always amazed at people who did it. To be honest still really hurting tonight haha! But at least my fiancé is in just as much pain so we can laugh about it together. And then whine because laughing really hurts! Was still worth it 🙂
Great story! As any of us a little older people will tell you, it only gets better. You have to measure the value of the physical activity in ratio to the inevitable pain and soreness you will experience the next day. I usually manage the ratio, but…………..(no pun intended to your current situation) sometimes it seems a lot of pain for little reward. My advice is to do what you like, pain is temporary, glory is forever!! Thanks for the story!!! 🙂
Hahah that is very sound advice!! I know, I have a little glimpse of what getting older is like, can I opt out?? I am going to keep hitting the batting cages and hopefully it will get better each time. Either that or I might die from dehydration/starvation due to not being able to lift food to my mouth.