It is the year of 2013 and my bowling career is starting to kick off. In that year, I bowled in a Saturday morning league that started in the late summer time and ended in early Spring. Approaching towards the last week of League, I received a letter in the mail stating that I have qualified for the Illinois State Bowling Tournament. Ever since I have bowled this league, I have made State every single year, but never performed as well as I should have. Hopefully, this will be the year that I make some scholarship money for my Bowling career when I go to Highland. It was edging toward the last few weeks of the league and now it was time to start making the teams for State. Since I attended Dakota High School, there was no bowling team …show more content…
Once we arrived to the hotel, our team went to the bowling alleys and watched the other kids bowl at the earlier squad times. Once we arrived, I have never seen a place more compact in my life. Just think, every individual bowler brought both of their parents and maybe a couple friends., it was a nightmare. We didn’t get to see much but the back of people’s heads so we went back to the hotel and swam in the pool and lied in our beds to watch some television to get a good night sleep for tomorrows matchup. During my sleep, I had a crazy dream. It was more of a series of flashbacks to league morning on Saturdays. But anyways, it started with me and my league team bowling back when I was a little kid. I remembered all of the greatest moments of my bowling career. All of the splits I have picked up, all of the people cheering for me, all the high games I’ve had was all coming back to me in this dream. The memories all led up to this moment to be cherished and to be never forgotten. I will never forget that dream. As soon as I woke up, I was the most energetic kid in the whole neighborhood. My parents would just look at me like I’m crazy but they were probably right, I was getting a little out of hand. Once I was showered and ready to go, my team met up before we headed out. We all grabbed some breakfast at McDonald’s which was my go-to as a little kid. It was always the same meal, Hotcakes and hash browns. But that’s beside the point. We arrived
I click my cleats with my bat and dig a hole in the batter's box and stair at the pitcher. The pitch comes in slow almost in slow motion. I swing as hard as can. I hear the crack of the bat and I see the ball fly over the fence. I can't believe it. I never thought in a million years I would ever hit a homerun. I hear my teammates screaming. I round first, I'm almost at second when the shock wears off and I realize that I just won the game. A huge smile crosses my face as I round third and head for home. I get closer and closer to home. I stomp on home. Then before I know it the lights go out.
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.
I went home to think and i was looking at my old baseball cards when I saw Babe Ruth, I wish I could be like him someday I thought to myself. I was getting a little tired so I decided to go to sleep. I had a dream about me in nbl but that would never happen in real life.
That morning I woke up on the second week of summer, ready for my championship baseball game against Portsmouth. Our U11 all star team sat in second place in the tournament going into the championship against the number one seed Portsmouth Eagles. The whole day leading to the game, all I could think about was the game, not even the amazing apple pie my mom made because my sister begged for it.
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.
Then in the fourth inning we scored one more run making it five to three going into the bottom of the fourth at this point I was beyond scared because the coach told me to be ready to pitch. In the bottom of the fourth inning they scored one more run making it five to four we did not score in the top of the fifth and in the bottom of the fifth West Central got their first two batters on base. The coach walked on to the mound and motioned to me that I was going to pitch. I was very scared; all I was trying to do was throw strikes which I did, we got out of the inning without them scoring. Then the bottom of the sixth came where again their first two batters got on base, I thought I am going to lose the state championship for my team, but somehow I struck out next three batters. When the bottom of the seventh came and we were still ahead, I knew that we were going to win I was not scared at all anymore. I got the first three batters out to win the championship the team’s first ever state championship.
I told myself, "come on Lina you can do it," next thing I knew it was two strikes and three balls. it's now or never Lina strike three the ball was over the fence and into the street but it was as if it turned around and headed right for me I put my glove up and felt something hard hit my hand I caught the ball but it was already too late the girl already hit a grand slam(she got four people in including herself)my eyes started burning I tried to hold them back some very strange back but I felt something sliding down my cheek I ran into the dugout and I could not stop my feet. I got to my mom I held her like there was no going back, all I felt was a warm body hugging me. I slowly looked up and cried "I don't want to play I disappointed my hole team."
Later that day I went home, I was so mad at myself that I told my parents and sisters that I won't do it ever again and that it was just a waist of my time, but to my surprise the next day I found myself at the bowling alley still struggling. During the practice the JV 1 coach came up to me and told me the most important thing in bowling “don't look at the pins, look at the second arrow”. It seems like nothing helpful but in reality it is. It's a small thing but it makes the game perfect. Thinking back I was close to quitting bowling but with one help from the coach my life changed completely. After two weeks of practice came the first match I was really nervous because I thought that other girls will make fun of me because I didn't get past 100, but in reality none of us did because we were starters first year bowlers we had a lot of things to learn to become better. In the middle of the season was another time where I was considering quitting, being a freshman I was asked to play with the JV team which mean the there are girls who are more experienced and have bowl for a year or even more. I was so nervous about again the judging me that I did really bad that math but the coach didn't give up on me yet, he wanted me to play for the rest of the season with his section, and that was the place where I learned the
We had traveled in the minivan for 5 hours, for a group of 13 year old boys this trip felt like eternity. However, our excitement kept us all jaunting to each other about silly middle school shenanigans, who can dougie better, and how we were all going to “murk” this tryout. Johnny Evans, Malik Chatman, Gavin Rose, Ronnie Fountain, and I were all selected to try-out for the 14u Team South football team. This team would represent all the best players in the southeast and clash them against other regions best athletes. This would be a 3 day try-out. After leaving Orlando, the van had finally reached its destination. Coach Rose jingled to the car “Atlanta is the place to be, with orange peaches and southern tea,” we all stared at Gavin as his face turned as red as a Crayola. We pulled into the lot of the hotel all participating athletes had been assigned right off of I-75. We all unloaded the van of our luggage proceeded to the check in, Coach got the keys for room 325 and 326. I was so tired of riding in back of the van that I did not really care how the room would look as long as I could put my bags down and fall right into the bed. Malik, Johnny and I entered our room 326 to the right was with a bathroom sink, a mirror, and shower. On the left, a mini kitchen with a stove, island table, and refrigerator. In front of us, there were two wooden dressers pinned together with a television on top. Near the window, there was a small table with a lamp as well as chair in the corner.
We practiced everyday nonstop and won game after game. We became infamous to the other teams for our ability to decimate our competition. Everything was going well until the semifinals when I was called up to bat. I never had to bat in any of the previous games because there was a turnover before I even had a chance to bat. I was completely dumbfounded, I double checked with the coach to make sure I was truly next, I then asked the batting coach and he said the same. I nervously put on my gloves and helmet as I watched the previous player who had stuck out come back to the dugout with his head down. It was the last inning and there were players on first, second, and third. A tied game between us and the White Sox. I slowly dragged myself to home plate and stood there. I raised the bat behind my head and held it firmly just as my batting coach said. I concentraded my breathing as sweat began to collect on my fore head. We had two outs and all I had to do was tap the ball and we would go on to the finals and then glory. The pitcher gazed took a deep breath and paused. Then in a blink of an eye he
I slowly opened the door and as I walked in I could feel a few heads turn and look at me. The room was dimly lit, with dark walls, much unlike the rest of the ice rink, as the rest was very well lit and bright. I scanned the room for a seat, and I found a small one between two guys I didn't know. I actually didn't know a single kid in the room. The nerves began to set in, deeper than before. As I put my gear on I looked around the room at the different bags the kids had, to see if they already had Little Caps bags or if they had bags from other AAA teams. Unfortunately, most of the kids already had Little Caps or bags from other AAA teams, indicating that they were pretty good at hockey, which meant a lot of competition for getting on this
I woke up, and it was time to play baseball. Me and my Dad were getting ready to leave. I put my uniform on, grabbed my baseball bag, grabbed my cleats and left. We had to go to Fenton for the game. We stopped at the gas station, and got some snacks. We left and were on our way again. I checked my Instagram, and played games every now and then. I didn't know what position I was going to play, but I did know it was going to be catcher,pitcher, or 2nd base. It felt like the longest ride of my life, because I was ready to play baseball. We finally got to the baseball fields. We were walking trying to find what field I was playing at. I found my team (Dirt Dawgs) warming up. So I started warming up too. We still had a little bit before
We had all gotten ready for practice and coach told us we were going to go on a trail run. We loved trail runs because coach didn’t care how fast or slow we ran . we all loaded the bus so we could drive there I decided to sit with
I opened the fridge and found the leftovers of my burrito that I didn’t finish last night. I finished that up and got ready. After an hour I got ready in my basketball clothes and went with my mom to play the game, even though my stomach was not agreeing with my choice of plans.
Just before the sun set, the neighborhood kids would gather in front of my house, all 12 of us, along with various parents. We would all walk over to the suburbs by the golf course to get our treats, partially because the neighborhood was safer to walk around than our own and also because the residents were older retired