Personal Narrative: Softball

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.” Maddy (who was just up) hit the ball and was on first. Now it was my turn. I started my journey to the plate. I looked at my first base coach Timmy for reassurance. He must have sensed my nervousness because he smiled and gave me a reassuring nod. I turned my gaze back to the batter's box and jogged the rest of the way. After what seemed like an eternity i finally reached

I take one foot out of the box and let out a breathe I didn’t know I was holding in. I once again looked to my coach Mike for direction and go to take a practice swing. Little did I know the catcher was getting up to pressure Maddy back to first base from her lead. As I was taking my swing I heard a thud, my bat had hit something solid. I immediately filled with remorse and tensed up. My bat suddenly got heavy with guilt. The catcher dropped the ball and fell to her knees clutching her back. I went limp and looked around confused and shocked. I didn’t know what to do so I started walking towards the dugout. Timmy met me halfway and put his hand on my shoulder I looked up at him and that’s when I realized tears were streaming down my face. I felt weak like a helpless child. Timmy reassured me that it wasn’t my fault. “You have the right to have one foot in the box and take practice swings, it’s going to be ok,” he said, but I wasn’t really paying attention to him. I looked around at my team and the crowd they were all shocked like me. I could hear the girl’s muffled sobs from where I was standing. “Do I really hit that hard?” I thought to myself. The other team’s coaches walked the catcher back to the dugout and a new girl came in. I reassured Timmy I would be fine then walked back the box. The game resumed and I got