Personal Narrative: Playing Baseball In My Backyards

My assistant varsity baseball coach stared me dead in the eyes and said two words to me during my senior year of high school that I would never forget; “Be undeniable.” For me, this was a shockingly new concept. Throughout my childhood, baseball has always a part of my life. From my childhood little league games into my adolescent years, I have always played the game and excelled at it. When I matriculated into high school I could not wait to join varsity and lay the foundation to accomplish my goal of becoming a Division I baseball player in college.

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.

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.

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

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,

I’ve never been interested in sports. I was a fast runner in my Physical Education classes, but I couldn’t kick a ball without falling. My parents signed me up for the local swim team, but after one year I quit. I never thought that not having athletic ability would help me.

It was a warm summer evening and I was on the ride to my softball practice with my mom. She helps out the coach when she can so she went to the field with me to get ready for practice. My entire team was pretty much there so I got my cleats on and started to warm up right away.After I was done warming up, I played catch with one of my teammates to loosen my arm.

Baseball Improved my health a lot. The summer I played for Mountain range, was the summer I learned baseball is harder than I thought. I worked so hard that summer that I lost 20 pounds, I used to be 160 in 8th grade but when baseball came around it went away like dust in the wind. My coaches taught me a lot and got me physically and mentally prepared for baseball, I would not be able to hit a ball until i joined the program. After the games we played the coaches would tell us to run poles,(Which where you touch both foul poles and we would do at least 8 poles) I would run them and try to get faster every time I would see who would be in front of me and then the next game get in front of them. Baseball changed my health in many ways.

Two years ago at Diamond Lakes Ball Field I started to play softball, I was scared and I really didn’t want to play because I was the youngest on the team. To begin with I started to practice with my team and at home with my mom, stepdad, and sister. After a little practice I became better and learned the skills needed to play the game.

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

57,308,738 square miles of land on earth and there is only one place, a small percentage of all that land, where I can be completely content. The grass reminds me of summer. The dirt reminds me of injuries and sweat. The softball field is one place I can go to at any point and time and find myself thinking much clearer. Ever since I was really young I have spent most of my time on a softball field, whether it was practice, games, or for personal gain. It seems as though it runs in my family, the diamond being a home away from home. The diamond gives me this sense of relaxation and security. Stepping on the field and realizing how much one person can learn in a matter of time makes me think how much I can learn about other things like engineering and medical

For five years I have been playing softball. Just last year I was apart of a travel team. We had a great team and worked very well together. We went to multiple tournaments and put our best foot forward no matter what the circumstances were. I have never played with a better group of girls who love the game as much as I did.