Personal Narrative: My Trip To Arkansas Tournament

My team won 3 out of 4 hockey games in my hockey tournament. It was the championship game for a banner and a medal. We were playing the Ice Dogs who we had originally beaten 3-1. Over the summer we did so much dry land on the track and my dad said it will all pay off today. I stepped on the ice for warm ups and the ice felt smooth under my skates. I was prepared for a hard hockey game.

We were not expected to be in this position after starting the season with two wins and six losses. With the bases loaded, I stepped into the batter’s box for my second at bat in the 2017 PA District 2 AAAA High School Championship game. Our opponent was stacked with three prospective Division 1 pitchers. I was nervous to say the least, but then my “moment” arrived. I saw my pitch, and launched a bases clearing triple that added to a lead that would eventually produce a victory for my team. We moved on through the playoffs, and eventually landed at Medlar field in State College, where we delivered our first baseball State Championship in school history.

This year I went to Cooperstown, New York. It was a really great experience. The whole week with me and my team was spent in a barrack. There were 104 teams. I met a lot of new people from California, Missouri, Texas, Hawaii and more.

Our team went undefeated for our first 16 games, and then our 17th game we had our first tie. We were used to killed the team we tied to, but that proves if you don’t come ready not everything is going to go your way. Some of the kids kind of took it the wrong way. We won 14 more games after that and kept playing strong. Then we had our final playoff game to see who was going to state or not.

The whole experience exceeded my expectations by far. I was just happy that we made it that far yet alone won. So far in my life, it was the most exciting/scariest moment I have ever been

We had to compete in a dreaded lip syncing contest and a bean bag tournament. Even though we thought it was going to be embarrassing, the lip syncing contest turned out to be the best event of the night. The night was a total success. From then on, softball was a place you could be yourself. That may be cliche, but I really felt that way. No one judged you (and if they did they kept it to themselves). We were able to goof off and I don’t think anyone would have come out of their shells if we didn’t get up and do something we originally did not want to

“Tweet Tweet,” screamed the birds as the sun smacked Tyler and me in the face with its Florida heat hotter than jalapenos.

Well the week of our trip to Memphis Tennessee had finally arrived ! My colleagues Beverly,

When I qualified for the AAU State wrestling tournament I never thought I would have done so well. Being in 8th grade and it being my last year to go to AAU State I put in the hard work and qualified for AAU State and I was overjoyed with happiness. For the next 2 weeks, I practice my heart out trying to get better for AAU. The day that wrestling starts the older group doesn’t wrestle till 4, so we went to the mall till 12 then Wells Fargo. The team started to warm up around 3:30 and I was one the first matches up. I won my first match with a pin and my second with the 11-3 win. My third match was against the kid that won the tournament and I lost to him 2-5.

It was dead silent as the ball sat in the air and as if time had stopped. It was December of 2015, I was 13, my team and I was playing for 3rd place in the Colt Classic Tournament. It was a night game at Barrington Station High School. We were playing the Barrington Colts, which was weird considering they are playing for 3rd in their own tournament that they were hosting, before the game, I was talking to some of my teammates Aaron Pattis, Stephen Harris, Bradley Jenkins, Ayden Anderson and I were talking before the game, going into that game we speculated that we had this game in the bag easily as a result of how well our team was playing. Little did we know, we had another problem coming.

It was any other Ole Miss basketball game. I had gotten my box of popcorn and a huge, cold, fizzy coca-cola. I was in the same seat I always was, between my sister and my dad, and I had the same humongous guy sitting right in front of me. Even though I was only 7 and wasn’t actually sure what was going on, I still wanted to see what was happening! Of course, I wasn’t going to ask this person to move, I had no idea who he was but, that didn’t last much longer.

It was great talking with you. I always enjoy meeting someone from SC. Plus you are a Gamecock fan like myself. I went to the A&M game last year when they came to town. Hopefully this season is better than the last one.

On that first Saturday in June 2012, my teammates and I fulfilled our life-long goals of winning a state championship together and proving to the people that did not believe in us that we could do it. On that day, those fifteen guys I had grown up through grade school with were no longer just teammates and friends, they became brothers to me. Another reason Huntington Park is so special to me is because I was the final pitcher in both championships, meaning I had the ball in my hand when the game was on the line. Standing on the mound in front of ten thousand people with all eyes looking at you is a nerve racking feeling but there was no better feeling then being the guy that our coach trusted to bring home the trophy for our team. Lastly, this baseball stadium known as Huntington Park is so special to me because after receiving that trophy and medal for winning the championship I also received my high school diploma at home plate because our team missed the graduation ceremony. There are not many people in the world that can say they received their high school diploma on the same field they won a state championship. Huntington Park may not be a special place for anyone else but it will always be a special place for my teammates and myself. Those two days our dreams became realities and that is something we will all look back and cherish forever. Whether it’s passing by the stadium in my car or attending a Columbus Clippers game during the summer time, any time I find myself back at Huntington Park I still get the chills from knowing I played on that

It was 9 a.m. and my mom barged into my room. She turned on my light and told me to get ready. The light hit my face forcing me to wake up. I could hear my mom and dad packing and loading our luggage into our truck. Today’s the day, I thought, Today was my last softball tournament for at least 4 months. I got that same feeling that I get when you go down the first arch on a roller coaster in my stomach. This happens every time I have a tournament or game. My stomach flips and I get butterflies in my stomach. I get nervous to make a mistake, make everyone mad, and frustrate everyone, especially my family. My anxiety consumes me and I get so nervous when the ball comes to me that my heart starts racing. I don’t want to be the one to let everyone down. But I’ve been getting better at not being scared. I’ve been trying to believe in myself more and have been overcoming my fear. I put my thoughts aside and got up, brushed my teeth, put my contacts on, washed my face, and got my uniform on. I brushed my my hair, put it in a ponytail and got some gel to slick back my hair. The gel felt like slime as I slicked it back on my hair, and I put my bow on. I went to my room to get my sweatband and was debating on what color I should wear to match my uniform. I decided to bring both of my headbands and decide which one I should wear today on the ride over to the ballpark. I got my bag that I had packed yesterday, double checked that I had everything I