Personal Essay: A Career As A Sports Player

Do you know how to help a girl overcome her shyness and build confidence? Suggest she tries out for a travel team of her sport of choice that she excels at while doing. This is what helped me when I became a player many travel softball teams I have became a part of; becoming a member of the teams made tremendous impacts on my life.

Every since I was a little girl, I have liked playing softball. I started at the age of 9, now I'm 12 and love the sport. I hope to be playing it for a long time. When I'm older, I hope to be like Jennie, and love softball just as much as I do now. Jennie has taught me to follow my dreams, and accomplish what I believe I can do. I found softball and want to play it for as long as I can. "I don’t want to be just a face. I want to go out there and prove something on the field." ~Jennie

I have played softball my entire life, always striving to be the absolute best I could be. Softball is a difficult sport because players are expected to fail seventy percent of the time. Playing this sport requires tough mental strength. I have always had a supportive coaching staff, that always motivates me to excel. The coaches I had played for were always individuals that inspired me. Never would I have thought that a

I flew out of bed and put on my uniform. We were at the field around 8 a.m. the reason why we had to be there so early was because I had 3 games! We won both the first and second game. I didn’t get out once. It was time for the third game. I was pretty scared because they were pretty big and scary. They also had a winning streak. The 1 to 3 innings were pretty intense. But when it came to the 4th inning and that’s where things got very intense. The score was 8-9 we were losing by 1. And I was up to bat. Two outs, one person on base, and the last inning. I stepped into the batter's box, she winned up for her pitch and throw ball. I step out of the batter's box and look over to my 3rd base line coach. As I did so, out the corner of my eye I saw a familiar face in the crowd. It was my….

When I first joined softball I remember it being such a beautiful day it was really fresh out in the softball field, the sky was light blue with birds flying high above, and the softball field’s grass was dark green and looked great for a picnic. I felt all alone in the big diamond field, my head had second thoughts as I seen all those other girls who were also going out for softball talking to their friends as they were waiting for the coaches to get to the softball field. Since I knew no one and was the youngest one out there going out for softball, I said to myself, I should not come back tomorrow, even though deep inside I knew I wanted to join. I had that second thought mostly because I was lonely and I didn't know anyone. I didn’t give up, I went out to tryouts everyday until the teams were made. The second day of practice as an official team I arrived at practices one hour early, and so did one of my teammates. One of my teammates said, “Hey you’re on my

As soon as I step on that red dirt all my worries, problems, and thoughts leave for the 2 hours that I am on the field. Softball has meant so much to me because I struggle with school, I’m not artistic, and I can’t really play any instruments, so without softball I wouldn’t have anything. Softball is the one thing I’m good at and I love playing it. When I step on the red dirt with the other eight girls we work together and we put aside our differences for 2 hours. Those two hours with the other girls make softball so much more enjoyable because they love the game as much as I do and it is truly amazing how sports brings people together. People think sports are just sports, but in reality to athletes it’s an escape from life, it’s our second family, and most important we feel like we belong there. Sports make you feel like your apart of something bigger than a team. Softball has been my second family and I have made so many amazing friendships that might last for the rest of life and even if they don’t, I will never forget all my friends or the memories that I have playing ball with

A field shaped like a diamond followed by a meadow of grass. Sixty foot base paths that surrounds the infield in a counterclockwise direction. A batting count of three balls and two strikes. Three outs total in all seven innings of pure determined, back and forth softball between two teams. This place has been my home for years. I play softball because of the love I have for the game, and because of the feeling that takes my breath away every time I step onto the field. The softball field at Glendale Community College is now my new home for the next two years.

“Softball has been noticed since 1887”. Ever since I was in t-ball, i’ve played ever since then because passionate about playing. I like softball because I get the time to play and bond with my teammates. My strong suits in softball are throwing and hitting because i can throw hard, and hit strong and it’s my passion to play major league softball. “softball is important in my life because i played ever since i was in Rag ball and t-ball “.

Softball. My favorite sport. It’s not a contact sport so, the chances of me injuring another player are slim to none. Or so i thought….. I was in Traverse City last year with my team for a softball tournament. It was the fifth inning of our morning game, we were down by a few runs and I was on deck. “There is one out,” I thought to myself “I have to get on base.”

I was rounding the base, running to third I could hear my mom and mina (grandma) yelling “run maddison, run”. In that moment I knew my love for softball would take off. I was about 4 or 5 years old, on a T-ball team named after the major league baseball team the Red Sox. I had games every Saturday that my mom, sister (Cassidy) and Mina would some to while my dad worked most of the time. I continued to play T-ball throughout the years than eventually moved to the level of softball. I learned to absolutely love the sport and learned how to play well with others and work as a team and in a quick moving and fast pace environment.

My partner is Cathryn Cusano, she has lived in Easton, Pennsylvania throughout her entire life. Cathryn has a love for softball and has played ever since she was a little girl. During Cathryn’s senior year of high school she had multiple offers to play softball for elite colleges in the area. She started out having an amazing season, the team was also thriving which eventually resulted in them making it to the playoffs. It was the first round of playoffs and Cathryn was on first base, one of her teammates was up to bat. The first pitch is thrown and it’s a ball, the second pitch is a perfect strike down the middle and the batter slams the ball to center field. Cathryn takes off running for second base and her knee gives out she falls to the

“This one is an easy strikeout bud!” my dad would say. “Ball four! Batter take your walk” the umpire called out. After the game my dad would give me his motivational speech, telling me how much he looks up to me for finding love in the game he loved as a kid. Hoping to cheer me up from a bad inning but it wasn’t just a bad inning; I just didn’t like baseball.

The softball team has gave me unforgettable friendships, the ability to play with such inspiring athletes, and has given me skills that I can carry on due to coach Sal. The first year I had started on West High’s softball team was sophomore year. I remember going to the try outs, feeling awkward, due to me not being close to any of the girls since we were twelve and eleven. All the girls that were my age, the ones I was friends with when I was younger, were all on varsity. Since it was my first year back as a Falcon, Sal placed me on JV. Sal would sometimes ask me to sub for them on the weekends, but I wouldn’t because I felt too uncomfortable, since I haven’t talked to the girls in so long. Junior year came along and at the end of winter I asked Sal about how the softball team was doing and how I was considering playing for them that coming summer. He then informed me how the team was doing spring softball, and that I should go to the practices that following night, and I did. From then on, I loved

Everyone 's at least broken a bone or injured themselves before right? Well this is one of those tragic stories where I unfortunately injured myself.

The sound of the whistle jolted me into action. I dove from the block, and a wave of silence crashed over me as I hit the water. For a moment, there was a sense of serenity as I swam under the surface. The spell broke as I rose for air. I could hear everyone yelling and cheering. Tuning out the noise, I tucked my head under the water, staring at the pool’s tiled floor. Nearing the wall, I lifted my head to gather a breath of air before my flip turn to start my second lap. Looking up, I saw five of my team members at the end of my lane cheering for me. With a renewed energy from their excitement, I turned and continued the race. After the race was over and I was out of the pool, I took my hard-earned ribbon and scurried back to where my swim