Hey you,
You know that feeling that you had the very first time you got your first home run? That feeling of pure awe when you realized that your body had so much more strength than you thought you were capable of?
Remember when you first threw that ball and felt like you held the world in your hands? Remember when you made your first out during a game? When all the coaches and your teammates cheered and you couldn't help but smile the rest of the game?
Remember that field where it all started? Every single time you pass by that field, it will still feel like home.
Hold on to these feelings. Never let them go. No matter how many times you feel like you're not good enough or not talented enough, remember that you are so much more capable than you think.
Never let coaches make you feel inferior. Never let them see you cry. Never let them see you hurt when you sit out.
Remember these feelings of pure joy when you first played the game and hang on to them. You will need them in these moments of desperation.
Yes, it will get hard. And you won't want to keep playing. You will want to toss in the towel on more than one occasion, I promise you.
It gets tough, sometimes.
You're going to have some coaches that don't believe in you. And while I know how hard this will be, I need you to remember to believe in yourself. You are all you have sometimes, and if you don't believe in yourself, nobody else will.
Don't let these coaches ruin your self image. Don't allow them to chop away at your self esteem with each passing game that you sit.
Instead, prove them wrong.
Work more, hold onto your first moments of love for the game harder, and show them that they were wrong to ever doubt you.
Make them feel so wrong that they never have to second guess you again, even when you do sometimes.
When you've proved them wrong, do not settle. Keep working. Do not become complacent with where you are at.
This will only make you love the game less.
You will begin to see it as a chore instead of a passion.
You won't look forward to games anymore and you will dread practice.
Don't let this become a reality.
Remember the little girl who first fell in love with the game.
That girl is still inside of you. Please don't leave her behind.
Every time you get a hit, each time you catch a fly ball, make a diving play, laugh with your teammates, throw a ball home, you are making her proud.
Hold onto your love for the game and never let it go, even when you feel like you can't bring yourself to keep going.
Remember the little girl who picked out her first bat and when she got her first hit off of it. She had never felt so in control and powerful in her own body before. Softball gave that to her.
Do not take it away.
Keep playing and pushing for the little girl who first fell in love with the sport you have played for years.
Do it for her.