Softball: A Short Story

“Be remembered!” echoes through my mind every time I get up to bat. From tee ball to now, softball has made a massive impact on my life. Ever since I was five years old, I have been playing the game that I love the most.

The life of a young baseball player is a very enjoyable one. Baseball has always been my favorite sport, it requires the highest amount of concentration and mental strength. Physical strength is also required to be able to hit and throw the ball; these are all skills required that apparently my freshman year of highschool I did not posses. I had always believed that I had the necessary skills to play baseball and play it well. However, tryouts my freshman year proved me wrong.

Softball is a growing sport for girls within the United States. Whether you are an 8-year-old girl, to a senior in college softball, it’s a sport that many are attached too. A new form of hitting came into play during the 2005 Women’s College Series. Slap hitting is a new form of hitting that changed the way the game of fast-pitch softball is being played. Slapping changed the way coaches and players think about how they are going to field a slap hitter. This form of hitting is becoming a major role within fast-pitch softball. When I got the opportunity to learn how to slap hit I was excited to gain this ability. With practice, patience and determination, I began to learn the hitting style that I use today.

Softball is a sport that is known throughout the United States and the world. Softball originated on Thanksgiving Day in Chicago in 1887. The game was actually said to have begun as an indoor game. Softball was started by a group of men who had gathered at a club to watch the Harvard vs. Yale football game. When the news came that Yale had defeated Harvard, 17-8, one Yale supporter, overcome with enthusiasm, picked up an old boxing glove and threw it at a nearby Harvard alumni, who promptly tried to hit it back with a stick. This gave George Hancock, a reporter for the Chicago Board of Trade, an idea. He suggested a game of indoor baseball. Naturally, Hancock's friends thought he was talking about playing a game outdoors, not indoors.

This paper is going to be over the topic of softball. The history of softball, how it has changed over the years as well as the creation and invention.

Blood, sweat and tears. All for one sport you love. Going to the fields, putting my cleats on and batting.(Cumulative) From the time I stepped on the diamond, I knew softball was going to be something I was good at. Usually most people start off playing t-ball and work their way up to the big leagues. Not me. I started my third grade year. Of course I was hesitant (nervous), but I got over that fast enough. I played every position possible. I was a strong hitter (usually making it on base every time). But that’s 10 u. Over the years, I became exceptionally good at softball. I had many compliments on how good I was. Parents were telling my parents how good I was. But that was only the beginning.

Each of my years playing softball has been a momemtous experience for me. Indeed, I have learned valuable lessons about life. I have not only gained experience on how to approach different life situations, but the game has also provided an insight of me. In other words, softball has impacted my life and will also shape my future. Therfore, this will seek to discuss some of these impacts contributions to my life.

Fastpitch softball is a game of mental precision. It has its ups and downs. One game, you may feel as if you are unstoppable. While the following game may send you crying the entire car ride home. Even the rush of hitting a home run or the excitement of pitching a no-hitter, are no match for the mental games that always seem to follow a disappointing play. There are moments in each athlete’s softball career in which this disappointment becomes too much. It swallows them completely and consequently leaves them questioning why they ever started playing the game. It may even cause them to consider quitting.

The long series of events started when I was seven years old and my parents signed me up for Bobby Sox softball. I soon grew to love the sport and came back to the organization every year until I turned ten. I stopped playing for the league and tried out for a local travel ball team and made it. I soon had a career out of playing travel ball, it was my whole life. I had been on many teams and created many memories. As I got older, I didn’t enjoy playing softball as much as I did before. I was scared to tell this my dad this because he had high hopes that I would play in college. When I told my dad that I wanted to quit softball, I learned that I need to do what makes me happy even if it disappoints people.

From the young age of five, through the eleven years full of learning curves and numerous injuries, I was shaped by my self motivation and peers. Softball was a profound component in my daily life. When I was younger I would have never thought softball would have such an incredible impact on my character. Today, my past experiences shape me into an individual who can be seen as not only a leader, but as someone who can work as a team to achieve goals and standards. I remember learning to pitch for the first time.

SHREVEPORT, La. – The Ladies softball team picked up their first win of the season, 4-2, in game one of the doubleheader, but five errors led to four unearned runs by the Wildcats in a 5-1 loss in game two between Centenary (1-5) and Louisiana College (3-1) Tuesday night, February 7.

I started the first few weeks wanting to impress the head coach to prove to him I deserved a spot within the starting nine on the varsity level. I practiced hard, never goofed off, and went to the cages with my dad on the weekends. I wanted to make the varsity level to show my family and myself that I could do it and that I was good enough to compete at the varsity high school softball level. When I was younger, I made the team I wanted, I never considered failing to be part of me. The big week came, the teams were posted all seven freshmen had made a team but yet to find which side of the paper their name

The first pitch that the coach threw to me seared the hair right off my head since it was going so fast. “Strike one!” called the ump. Alright, I needed to believe in my abilities. The next pitched was hurled right in line with my face! When I opened my eyes, I saw that the baseball was a perfect pitch and the catcher hadn’t moved his glove. The coach was making a fool out of me with his famous curve ball. “Strike two!” the umpire proclaimed. The next pitch was the one that I would make my mark on. The pitcher wound up and thrust the ball toward the catcher’s glove. I loaded and fiercely swung as hard as I could. After what seemed like forever, I looked into the catcher’s glove, and there was the ball. I felt dreadful. “Strike three!” I heard in the background. As I walked back to the dugout, I wondered what did I do wrong, what could I have changed, and what does the coach think of

High school softball is a sport enjoyed by young girls all across the country. It is a game that can be competitive and fun. Being on a softball team can also teach responsibility. To be an Amory Lady Panther softball player is one of the most unbeatable feelings in the world, which can be achieved by trying out and making the team, working extremely hard at practice every day, and being the absolute best at an individual player playing a role as a Lady Panther.

“Not everyone is going to see or accept you for who you are, and you have to accept that.” I was told this quote everyday by my mother. Today was no different, walking up to the raked field, quote on my mind , eyes on the fresh red clay, and the sound of my metal cleats against the concrete. I was ready for this day. After months of hard work from November to February , the tryouts for Central softball team were over. Over the span of four months, I pushed myself harder than I ever thought I could, but what I did never seemed to be enough for the team.