No Ordinary Family: A Sisterhood in Softball

Roberta A. Jackson

Nov 2013 · AuthorHouse

About this ebook

"No Ordinary Family," is a story, a true story, about young girls that came together and played softball as a team called the Arkansas Playmakers. I had a fellow author read an early copy before it was sent to the publisher. I asked him to look it over and then get back to me with ways the manuscript could be improved. He had many good ideas, and I hope I was able to implement them to his satisfaction. However, he had one question? Were these girls real? Yes. "Their names, too?" he asked. Yes. The story is real, and unlike "Dragnet" the names were not changed. I did not know what I was getting myself into when I chose this assignment; but, I hope everyone that reads this book will come to understand that not everything has to be a soap opera or a world of drama queens. There are parents that coach hard, but remain parents and see the world as one of many colors not just black and white where winning is everything. Fortunately for the Arkansas Playmakers, the parents and the girls have come together to form a unique family that lives, loves, plays and enjoys life together. This book is their story. It is a story of a brother and a sister, girls that came together to form a team but eventually became sisters first and foremost, the bond between softball fathers and their softball daughters and what makes a team a championship team (on and off the field). It is about how a team became part of a small, rural community in the southeastern corner of Arkansas. I hope those that read this book, find it enjoyable and worth your time and effort.

Ratings and reviews

Super

About the author

I have been a journalist, mostly in the field as a newspaper reporter, for three decades. My expertise is in the area of hard news reporting, but I have been able to expand into feature writing, sports reporting and investigative journalism. Currently, I am a staff writer for the Ashley News Observer, an author and the editor/publisher/photographer for an on-line website about high school athletics. As a former sports writer and sports editor, I have had the opportunity to cover college sports, international track & field, professional athletics and high school athletics in additon to writing personal profiles and feature articles. My news background includes coverage of Hurricane Katrina, the BP Oil Spill, congresional elections, business and finance, tornadoes, an extremely rare winter blizzard in Georgia and the daily activities that range from the police beat to covering school boards and city councils. However, I have always wanted to step out and offer glimpses into what makes the South - a place where I have lived ever since I was 3-years-old - a special place to live, work, eat and enjoy life. I have written about Delta blues, Louisiana jazz, Georgia politics and rodeo. Yes, the South is a rodeo hotbed and Southern Rodeo is as American as the rodeo one finds in Colorado, Texas or Las Vegas. This book, "No Ordinary Family," is a refreshing look at a group of young ladies that are typical of what you will find in rural Arkansas. I got a chance to step away from writing about hot-button issues, crime and punishment and politics when I chose this assignment; and when I did I got a chance to enjoy a unique look inside the world of girls' softball. But, this book is less about the sport and more about the girls that came together as a team and as a family. I hope you enjoy my look at the Arkansas Playmakers and the girls that wear the team's Green-and-White uniforms.