"You throw like a girl" is one of my biggest pet peeves in youth baseball. I've been around youth baseball for 20 years, and now I'm president of the local league. More than once I've heard a coach say, "Don't throw like a girl!" and more than once I've said, "Hey! What's wrong with throwing like a girl?!"

I really didn't want my sons (with no sisters and therefore not as much exposure to girls as some other boys) to get the idea that being a girl was bad.

So for the last 4 years, my son has been on the all-star baseball team with a girl. When she was much younger she was really as good at baseball as almost any boy on the team, although some of the coaches didn't like to admit it. They still picked her every year, though, because she was that good.

At almost 15, though, the boys are starting to out grow her in a big way, so it won't be long until she can't hit their fast balls anymore or out run the throws to first. (That's okay becuase she still plays football and competitive fast pitch softball.) She gets comments sometimes from other teams. so this year at the state tournament, she smacked a ball way out in the outfield and burned the outfielder. Because I'd heard a comment from one of the boys on the other team, I stood up and yelled, "That's how to hit like a GIRL!"

It was such sweet revenge for having to listen to all those misogynist coaches all those years!

So yeah, take it back! Do it "like a girl."

Karen