My Umpiring Career

I step up to the plate. The hot lights of the Mets stadium hit my face. Clayton Kershaw was pitching. He is the best pitcher in the MLB. The pitch comes. It was a slow hanging curveball right over the middle. I swing will all my might. I hear the crack of the bat and I see the ball fly over the fence. I trot around the bases and I am approaching home plate. I step on home then I wake up.

Throughout my teenage years I loved to play baseball. I was in different clubs, organizations, and teams. My whole life was dedicated to playing ball. Then things started to change going into my freshmen year, I started to get into computers. I decided to enroll into a computer class at Franklin high school. I started to learn a lot stuff about computers and also I was pretty good at it. Also at the time I was still managing to be in baseball. Then going into my senior year I had to choses in between being in baseball or going into computers. I knew going into computers will help me get a head start in my carrier. So I chose to go into computers and quit baseball. I thought I will never have to quit baseball my whole life. It was a very big significant event in my life but good things have come with it. I got three CompTIA certifications, paid for half of my

To whom it may concern: Next fall, I will be attending Lansing Community College. I have been accepted to several universities in addition to LCC; however, I knew I wanted to pursue my softball career at the next level while being able to afford my schooling. With that being said, I chose a community college not only to play softball but because I am still uncertain about my future career. That way I can play the sport that I love while paying less than I would at a university to take my basics.

Lights blaring into my eyes, the crack of the bat, the shouting of the overly-devoted parents, the salty aroma arising off of the freshly roasted peanuts, all came together to create the overwhelming presence of a little league baseball game. This was a place where I spent most of my time on week day afternoons, in the spring, watching my brother succeed at America’s pastime. He was really quite good at this sport called baseball; he had just been granted the position of starting pitcher for the team. Sometimes things that have occurred in my life, and stuff I have received, that I may not have necessarily deserve, can be taken for granted. However, after what was about to take place my eyes are given a new perspective.

This particular Sunday, we had already played four other games. We were nearing the end of our fifth, the championship game, and I was almost up to bat. I slipped my gloves on, black with white lightning stripes, giving me a sense of power. The player up to bat sadly strikes out, giving us our second out as the game is tied. The ump looks at me motions for me to approach the plate. I stepped out of the practice circle and took a few practice swings. Lift, step, plant, twist, bring the bat around, follow through, slap. Lift, step, plant, twist, bring the bat around, follow through, slap. Over and over, the same swing I’ve spent countless hours perfecting back at our practice academy in Olathe.

it's a hot Texas Sun beat down upon my neck a fast ball whizzed past my bat and into the catcher's glove after you had another strikeout. I trudged back to the dugout thoughts of failure filled my mind of my confidence slowly vanishing. I wasn't accustomed to anything less than success before high school. I prospered in youth athletics while living in South Dakota. I had a phenomenal baseball coach to transform my robbed potential into success on the baseball diamond. Unfortunately, my father's Air Force career demanded that we move before my baseball season. Without me my team went on to win the city state championships advancing all the way to the Little League World. When I was younger my family moved to not affect my athletic performance the difficulties began I was torn from my tight-knit community in Northern Virginia and forced to adjust to life in West Texas prior to the start of my freshman year. I struggled to regain the close friends and relationships I left behind for the first time in my life.

Last year, I experienced something that changed my life forever. It didn’t make me a different person, it just changed how I viewed things in our daily lives. Last year, I volunteered with a group known as Challenger Baseball. Challenger Baseball is a program, that gives differently-abled kids, a chance to experience all the fun parts of playing baseball. Each player is paired up with an able-bodied buddy. Not only do the buddies help the players play baseball, but they are also there for the player to talk to. Last year, I volunteered to become one of these buddies. At first, I was a bit nervous, not knowing what to expect. However, that fear quickly turned into joy. The smiles on all the players' faces, was more than enough to get rid of any fear. Although

A pitcher is either glorified or criticized, depending on the game’s outcome. The more I played, the more I learned to ignore noise, doubt, and the past to focus on the immediate. To pitch well, I live in the moment while simultaneously knowing what is happening behind me. I developed a keen sense of intuition in order to quickly stop a player from stealing second base or bunt. Learning to trust my intuition has assisted me in other areas of my life: by paying attention to the study guide, I get a sense of the upcoming test, assessing how my brother closes the door when he comes home, helps me determine his mood, trusting my first answer choice during tests, has improved my

I stayed on the mound even when there were three outs. I belonged to both sides. At this point during practice, I could feel my muscles in my arm starting to ache from the strenuous exercise I was putting on my arm just through a practice. After every inning my coach would look up at me through his baseball cap squinting. He always said the same line, “ Janie, you want me to give this a go?”

We were in the streets of the neighborhood, Ann Elizabeth to be exact. We had just began to play a game of baseball with my brothers new metal bat. Mom had already left for work and my dad was getting ready to leave as well. He was running sort of late. My brother and I were about to start the game, we check around us to make sure no one was near us to play a safe game. We saw our little sister and brother at the front doors neighbor's house playing with their daughter last time we checked. As my brother threw the baseball, I was getting ready to swing then bam! Before I knew it the bat had already crashed into my little brother's head. Let me remind you that this was a metal bat. A metal bat had ran cross my little brother's head. I was so terrified. My little brother was only 4 at that time. I did not know what to do. I held him in my arms. He was still conscious. I was holding my hand over his open wound. He bled a lot. My other brother had ran to let my dad know. My dad came rushing outside,

“Play Ball”, the ump said as I was on the mound. Sweat running across my face as I stepped back and threw the first pitch. I knew I had to start things right. 3 outs later it was time to hit. “Play Ball” the ump said to start the 4th inning. Our team was winning it was enough for a mercy rule.

As my Varsity baseball team suits up for practice we whip out our “Easton Mako Bats” and our “Evo-Shield arm sleeves.” Everyone prepares for the season as we break in our new 200-dollar gloves. As I Un-zip my “Demarani Bat Bag” I search for the stick of eye black that seems to add spice to my game as I smother it under my eye, to “reflect the sun” of course. Our accessories become a part of our game, and we begin to value them more than the game itself.

lukas k//After school I hung around with my friends until baseball practice at 4:30. until baseball practice. At baseball practice we practice and fielding and hitting.after baseball practice me and my friend Max walked back to his house, after baseball practice me and my friend Max Walked back to his house, because it's only five blocks away.we hung out and rode bike for a couple hours until my dad pick me up. When my dad picked me up, he informed me that I could babysit. my dad picked me up, he informed me that I could babysit. After thinking about it, I said “yes”. He brought me to McDonald's, then to Shanes. The person I babysit for. After babysitting until 330. I went home, took a shower and went to bed. The next morning I got up at

From softball, to jobs, to community service, the plethora of knowledge I received shaped me into the person I am today. My involvement in a variety of activities make my success in life, possible. Although I may continue this sport after high school, it has still given me lifelong lessons that I will hold on to for the rest of my being.

My sports career started before I was in kindergarten. My family and I were sitting at the dinner table. Excited, I asked my family if they could teach me how to play the game of football. Since they had agreed, I ate my food as quick as I could and put my shoes on to go outside. Then, the rest of my family came outside to our big front yard. I had not realized it at the time, but this was about to be the most important moment in my sports career.