If you were to ask me if I felt my travel softball team could win the ASA Pennsylvania State Championship, I would have said no, only because the odds were against us. My team was already low on players due to injuries and we had competed in three other games that day in the scorching one hundred degree heat. Despite this, we had managed to win each game up until the championship and this meant that since it was a double elimination tournament, whoever played us would have to beat us twice. Knowing that we only needed one more game to compete at the best of our ability and win felt like we had already accomplished a major step in what our team had set out to do that summer. I remember having the feeling of excitement and nervousness going on throughout my body. As my team and I stepped onto the field, we had only one goal in mind: WIN. That’s when it all began. After a few innings had passed, the game was tied. Suddenly, in …show more content…
The pressure had begun to sink in. Together, we dashed onto the field to finish what we had started. The opposing team had gotten two people on base and with two outs, the runners were on third (tying run) and second (the winning run). We had accomplished getting the first two outs by ground outs, but the power hitters in their line up were due up next. I became extremely anxious, for I had hardly played first before and although I had managed to not mess up before, I did not want to make a mistake now and cost us the victory. While the tornado of thoughts whirled around in my head, I was brought back from my daydream by a ground ball being hit straight to me. I yelled “I got it”, fielded it, and turned to touch first. As I stepped on the bag, an eruption of cheers from the field and stands roared. We had done the, what seemed to be, impossible. My face lit up with a bright smile and I knew that I had made the right choice by continuing my never ending softball
I have always loved sports and the competitiveness that comes along with them. In so doing, I have decided to eventually become either a high school or college coach at some point in my life. Subsequently, I decided to interview the Vilonia High School Cross Country Coach, Coach Sisson. As I walked into her office, I instantly noticed all of the trophies and team photos from all of the past years of coaching. She is also the school nurse so her office has first aid equipment intermingled into the trophies and team pictures. While I set up my notes and questions for the interview on one of the desks in her office, she was finishing up a diagnosis of one of the high school students who felt sick. After her patient left, I quickly started the interview in order to waste no time. She began with how she got involved in coaching. The Vilonia School District expressed their interest to her as being the next cross country coach several years ago. She was widely known for her passion for running and she gratefully accepted the position and has been a coach for numerous years now.
I am now officially in my Senior year of Cross Country , and am close to the end of my season. My first race of this year though was a big accomplishment for me, because I hadn`t been able to run. When I ran that race though it made me just so happy I was able to finish it, I was`nt happy with the time, but there is always time for improvement. I was glad to be racing again and being apart of the team again. I believe that my injuries were a barrier in my way, but they did not stop my sports career.
The importance of softball in my life goes unnoticed by others, but I owe everything I am to this sport. I am an organized, cooperative woman who does not let failures affect my work ethic. Although my friends and family do not give my softball career much credit, I am confident that the lessons I’ve taken away from this sport have proficiently prepared me to step up to the plate and score a successful
As the clock struck 3:15 we began warming and limbering our muscles. I stretched my legs as far as they would go to the side and reached for the grass. I ran my fingers through the grass and counted along with the team. I felt my legs slowly begin to loosen with each stretch and sprint that we did. Following our series of warm-ups we began playing catch Pop! The sound of a ball hitting leather filled the outfield. As our coaches approached the throwing stopped and the field returned to silence, the buzz of anticipation in the air. Coach McGownd and our assistant Lori gave us a run-down of the practice plan, which included infield-outfield (IO), hitting drills, fielding drills and various base running drills. As he spoke, a few of the upperclassmen whispered back and forth amongst themselves. I caught bits and pieces of phrases like “come on it’s just the first day” and “how about no”. I stood drinking in every word and ignoring their muttered curses. I had never played softball and was determined to learn as much as I possibly could about the game. Coach McGownd asked us to go to a position we thought we might want to play. I ventured across the field and stood by first base. My parents and a few of my friends had told me that I would make a good first baseman so that seemed like the best choice to me. I had no clue how to actually play the position. My emotions ran amuck, ultimately stopping at optimistic.
I looked in their faces and knew mine mirrored theirs. I didn’t want it to, but it did. Just ten minutes ago, we all were so jubilant. We were so sure we were going to win. We had all wanted it for so long, but we finally felt is as our destiny just a few moments ago. But as our opponent threw the ball in the air, I knew she was just about to serve another ace. However, when the ball landed three feet in front of our best passer, something snapped inside of me.
I have been playing baseball as long as I can remember. My dream ever since I was little was to win a State Championship in high school. Baseball is the only sport that I could literally play every day and not get tired of it. I told myself that I would never give up my dream of playing baseball as long as I live.
There I was walking to see who made the softball team. I could feel the butterflies in my stomach, worried that I would not make the team. As I looked at the names nervously, I could feel goosebumps appearing on my arms. To my surprise my name was on the list and I could not have been happier.
I encountered a “bump in the road” at a young age. I began playing softball at age six when Kylie, my elementary school friend, came to show and tell with her first place T-ball trophy. At the time, I had only played soccer, but the thought of swinging a bat as hard as I could and having people in the stands cheer for me, inspired me to ask my mother to register me for the local recreational league. Before I knew it, I was lacing up last year’s soccer cleats and stepping up to bat in my first coach-pitch softball game. My father, being the coach, stood on the mound and lobbed in the fattest meatball every hitter dreams of. With the ding of my second-hand garage sale bat, the ball sailed over the shortstop. Some may have called it beginner's luck, but I called it a sign.
I felt as though I was watching a train barrelling towards me, an inevitable bullet that had come tumbling out of the opposing pitcher’s arm. But instead I stood immobilized, watching my team's only chance of winning whiz by me. Strike three. I heard my team from behind me shouting “SWING!” with my mind screaming the same. But my bat remained unmoving, the pop of the catcher's glove like the nail into the coffin that was our defeat. All I had to do to keep our hopes of winning hope alive was swing, and yet I couldn't. I stayed on the field afterwards, tossing the ball up in the air and swinging away, landing it on the thick maple barrel of the bat.
To this day, this game haunts me and sometimes I find it hard to sleep at night because I am too busy thinking of what should have been. Looking back, the way to describe the ending to my senior season is disappointment; not only in myself, but in my entire team. Being the only senior it felt like more of betrayal than anything. It felt like my teammates knew they had more than a second chance to redeem themselves so they were not as heartbroken and sympathetic towards the loss and towards
I enjoyed the praise and cheers from my teammates that are like my brothers. They all contributed to my success and lifted my high as they knew that this moment I would never forget for the rest of my life. I honestly did not want to leave the field that night so I meandered and fooled around with everyone for the longest time after the game. After the game I met up with my mother and father as they seemed to look more proud than I was at the time. They talked to me and told me how great I have become over the years of hard work and dedication.
My sophomore year eager to begin baseball season, I've have so much detonation and disappointment from the prior year. The team and i had been preparing our butts off this off season. We were determined to break the curse of the baseball team. Out of the past teams no one never made it passed the fourth round and we were willing to do anything to change that. This was the year that we told our self's that were we going to make it the distance and nothing was going stand before us. We needed to be the team to recall as the ones who broke the condemnation and made it to state.
This season was only the second year that I had been in marching band, even though we did do parades in middle school. The year before, I was selected to be drum major of the upcoming marching season. I was excited to meet the challenge of getting back to the state championships. It was also nerve-racking because I felt if we didn't make it to state, it would be my fault. To be truthful, later on I experienced both sentiments from some of the most influential, heart-warming, absolutely awesome friends that I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. This would be the year that our band would adopt its slogan, its mission statement: Band #1.
With shaky knees, I hesitantly made my way up the large white steps. With the back of my hand, I brushed away a few salty tears of relief. As I stood at the top of the podium and looked up into the packed stadium, my mind drifted back to everything I had gone through to achieve this moment, the day I became a state champion.
A million thoughts ran through my head when they called my name. I can remember thinking ‘Me? Is that my name? Did they call my name? I don’t believe it. I can’t believe it!’ I looked out into the audience and saw the most proud smile I’ve ever seen resting on my grandma’s face. The day I won my first pageant is one I will always remember.