Personal Narrative-I Am The Star Baseball Player

It's been five years and a half since I take the decision to leave the baseball team. Five years ago I was on a baseball team. I join the baseball team because I like baseball and my family like it too. I join a new team so I didn't know anybody on the team. The longest practices we have had on the team are from 5pm to 12am, and the shortest practices we have had are from 5pm to 9pm. The position that I use to play on was on the first base. But the problem was that I didn’t have enough time to sleep. I slept about 5 hours every night. Because I wasn’t sleeping enough I couldn’t do my homework from school or study. My grades start to go down and I was falling asleep in class.

“Every strike brings me closer to the next home run”(Babe Ruth). I was wondering how much baseball really affected my life and the choices I make. The answer is a lot, and it still continues to leave a mark on this life I love. Over the many years of my involvement in the game I have learned that life is full of ups and downs. Baseball teaches people to bounce back from negatives, this I believe.

As soon as I made my very first varsity baseball appearance, I knew that I had to be the very best I could be or there was never going to be a chance of ever putting on that white and maroon crisp cleaned dri-fit Russel number 18 jersey. My heart was beating beyond faster than it should be at my first at bat because I had always heard “Just wait you haven't seen nothing yet, wait till you face them varsity pitchers.” Players older than me had constantly been saying that throughout my freshman season and it kept repeating over and over in my head like a broken record. Although I had studied the pitcher and had seen with my very own eyes, he wasn’t as good as everyone talked him up to be. I was still overawed and very nervous about messing up.

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.

I have known Lauryn Banks my entire softball career. Three words that come to my mind when I think of Lauryn are dedicated, supportive, and extraordinary. She is truly one of the most incredible teammates that I could ever have the honor of playing with. Lauryn is the epitome of hardwork. Our high school has an extremely competitive softball team. However, this did not discourage Lauryn. After making JV her sophomore year, she worked incredibly hard to make Varsity her junior. Not only did she make the Varsity team, she was by far one of the most stand out players on the team. Her hard work paid off when she was awarded second team all district infielder. Lauryn is both vocally a leader on the team and a leader by example. Whenever the team is down Lauryn is always there to pick us up.

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.

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,

Until I became a high schooler my dream was to grow up always playing softball. Softball was my all time favorite sport to play. My dream was to be a softball athlete my entire life. When I was younger I started playing as a little kid and I grew up playing until my sophomore year in high school. I played on and traveling team and started on the high school team practicing and playing with all my closest friends. I played for DeWitt and Maquoketa and I had fun both way. I always tried to stay active in it.

“Heyboer, you’re at first. Head on out there.” As my coach said that, my nerves started rushing up my back. I was at Bicentennial park with my dad and my softball team for our last softball game of the summer. I was so nervous. Tension grew and my heart was about to burst out of my chest.

Six years ago I played my very first baseball game and I was the pitcher. Now you may think that when I was four I couldn't pitch. Well you were right I just played next to the pitching machine. Getting any baseball that came my way. Popfly, grounder, line drive, you name it I caught it. I was very good at baseball and I loved to play baseball.

The day I heard about baseball i really wanted to play it. If i picked a position it would be first baseman because of the get to touch the ball a lot. i've hit a homerun before. the ball went so high in the air the sun made it look like it disappeared. The next day my mom went to sign up for the babe ruth league for newton. i played short stop. at the end of the season i had 13 home runs. me and my father and mother were both surprised at how many runs i had, i had 21 runs and 13 of those were home runs. then the next year i signed up again and this time i was my favorite position, first baseman. when the season was over i had 42 runs and 15 of those were home runs. Then my dad said i should play football so now i was laying baseball

“Hoh! Hah!” The umpire shouts after my third strike, hencing that the batter has struck out. I jog to the dugout, put on my helmet and batting gloves, and as I walk out to the on deck circle, my coach, Nick, said, “You had a good inning, but you’ve gotta back up home if there is a runner on third and a ball hit to the outfield. Luckily, we have Sousa at centerfield. Stay hot.” Coach Nick is a short, strong twenty-seven year old who played in the Minor Leagues until he got hurt. He is patient and forgiving, but he does not care about winning as much as he should. Sousa, our fastest player and our third hardest hitter, hits a line drive to left center field and gets to first base. His first name is Alex, but my team calls him “Sousa,”

My profession as a baseball player has been all about development since I was a little kid. After reading the article and chapters from the book I can see where Strengths Based Leadership has been used on me to promote growth at certain times in my career.

I’ve played baseball for as long as I can remember I was an average baseball player not one that would get a hit every time I stepped up to the plate. I remember stepping up to the plate sweat dripping off my helmet and the palms of my hands were sweating. As I got ready for the pitch I thought to myself why am I overthinking this. I swung and missed at the first pitch. I could feel my heart pounding and my stomach was starting to hurt. I swung and missed again I heard strike two. For a second I thought I got this. The next pitch I hit far but it was just foul. I could hear my teammates screaming go Alex. Then I swung and missed strike three and I walked with my head down back to the dugout. For the rest of the day I didn’t want to talk to

A young kid growing up with a burning desire to be a great ball player. My greatest love of things has always been baseball. Baseball taught me determination. Baseball taught me the greatness of having a hard work ethic. Discipline, manners, and staying positive all shaped from baseball. It is greater than just a game. Without baseball I don't believe I would be who I am today.