Playing softball since the age of five, there have been a few very important lessons I've learned. My weekends, summer, school breaks, and basically any free time I had for the past 14 years were usually committed to anything softball related. Looking at all the experiences and lessons I've learned from the game, I wouldn't trade those 14 years for anything. Committing all my time to this sport has shaped me into a much better person, and has given me quite a few life lessons I can relate to.

1. Patience is important

People are always going to judge how you performed in a game too quickly. They won't see all of the effort you put in outside of those 7 innings. There will be times when the outcome of the game won't be what you wanted, and you'll know you were capable of much more than you showed. But there will also be those games where all of you hard work pays off and everything goes right, just be patient.

2. Everything is mental

The game of softball is basically 90% mental and only 10% physical. You have to think through everything, and do it in basically half a second. Whether you're on the field, up to bat, or even running bases, you have to be prepared for every possible situation you can encounter. And whether the outcome of a situation on the field is devastating for you, or one of the best things you've experienced in the game, you have to forget it ever happened and be prepared for what comes next.

3. Hard work beats talent

You can't get anywhere in the game without working hard. You can have some of the best talent on your team, but if all you're going to do with that talent is be the player who slacks off, you won't get anywhere. Hard work is noticed and rewarded. Be the girl who hustles hardest on the team, who shows up to practice first, and leaves last. You'll be much more of a team leader than you think. Don't practice until you get it right, but practice until you can't get it wrong.

4. Your team is your family

Spending all your time at practices, scrimmages, games and tournaments, your teammates become your family. They see you at the lowest of your lows and the highest of your highs. They'll become some of your best friends, and a huge part of your life. No matter what, these girls will always be there for you.

5. Self-Reliance

There will be times in the game where you'll feel by yourself. You'll be in a situation when you have to rely on yourself to get through it. You'll have to learn to motivate yourself, and put all of that extra effort in possible to make it through. Because of this, you'll learn to become independent and to rely on yourself when in tough situations.

6. Communication

Communication is everything, if you don't communicate with your teammates, you'll get nowhere. You'll clash into each other on pop flies, make overthrows when in a run-down, and run into basically every negative situation in the game that you can imagine. You have to communicate with each other when it comes to everything.