My Experiences with Softball
I have been playing the sport of softball since I was five years old, and I am now a freshmen in college; which is crazy to think about. I quickly fell in love with the sport, and I started to want to pursue it since a young age. I went from t-ball to coach’s pitch then to fastpitch. I adjusted to all the new rules and the speed of the game very early on. I played every position you could think of, but I fell in love with first base and the outfield. I am a lefty for both hitting and fielding, so my options on the infield are limited. In rec ball, my team was very talented and we all loved to just play. We would show up and play hard and end up winning championships.
When I was in sixth grade I started playing travel softball. I started out playing for a team called Lady Stormers, and I remember being so nervous to play with all these girls I have never met before. It was a lot different than school ball, but I grew so much as a player and a person. It helped me understand the game a lot more, and I got to play against high level competition. Since then I played on two other teams before I landed on the team that helped me get to my dream of playing college ball. My sophmore year I tried out for Pa Chaos which is a high intensity organization that is well known for getting girls to the college level. The practices were some of the hardest days of my life, but I learned so much with skill wise and knowledge. I got to travel all over like from Florida to Georgia to Colorado. I was able to play against some of the best players in the country and be able to compete in front of a lot of amazing coaches. Most importantly, I met my best friends through travel ball, and it allowed to me to be able to connect with people outside of my area which was amazing.
My highlight of my career is probably my sophmore year of high school ball. My team went on to break numerous school records and go 30 and 1 on the year. We won the section, league, district, and the state title. It felt like a fever dream that you never wanted to leave. It was one of the best years of my life! That year restored my love for the game again because there was a time before that I started to forget why I played and wanted to not play in college anymore. On the other hand, once that season started we bonded as a team and got so close with managing to always stay composed in every situation which resulted in championships. I have some of my favorite memories from life during that year.
Flash forward to now, I just wrapped up my first semester of college and playing softball. It went by so fast and I was enjoying every minute of it. It has been a dream come true to get to play at the division one level! I have been wanting this since middle school and not that I get to do it, it feels amazing. I did struggle in the beginning due to not knowing the girls, all new coaching staff, and all new schedule. It did take me a little bit to settle in, but once I did, I just got into a rythythm that helped make it easier. I am very anxious for the season to start because I think this team will make a run for a ring!
