A few Sundays ago I played in my very first college alumni game and I learned two things: one, I’m horribly out of shape and two, I miss my teammates more than the game itself. The games were fun but it’s the memories with my teammates that I’ll truly never forget. Without my teammates to help make those long practices bearable, the bus rides memorable, and the games fun, I don’t know that I would’ve been able to play the game for as long as I did. So to all of my teammates I’ve had over the years, here’s to you.

Thank you for pushing me.

Whether it was on the court or on the field, at some point each of you pushed me to be the best I could be. You never let me get by with slacking off and for that I thank you. Because of you pushing me to be the best I could be you have helped shaped me into the person I am today. Today I am not a quitter because of you. Today I am the best version of myself because you pushed me and made me get better day in and day out.

Thank you for believing in me even when I didn’t believe in myself.

From the beginning you all believed in me. You all believed that I had what it took to be the best. Whenever I was in a batting slump or couldn’t hit a shot to save my life, you believed in me. You would go with me to the batting cages or rebound for me whenever practice was already over. I never would have been the player I was for so many years with your help. You showed me that it was okay to fail as long as I got back up and took the next shot. Thanks for making me believe that I can do whatever I want if I set my mind to it.

Thank you for picking me up when I was down.

Luckily I stayed injury free for most of my career so this shout out is mainly for those of you I played college ball with but to those of you I didn’t, thanks for never letting me stay down too and for always making me get back up. To those of you who I did play college ball with you were all there when I was going through the hardest time of my life. I mean it when I say that I never would’ve been able to come back from my surgeries if it wasn’t for you guys. You helped me when I was struggling, and even though I wanted to quit many times, you never let me. You are the reason I continued to play even when it was the hardest thing for me to do. I will never be able to say thank you enough for being there for me throughout everything. Without you guys, I’m not here today.

Thank you for the memories.

Oh my gosh at the memories I have made over the years. There are so many stories that I constantly tell over and over again about things that happened at practices, games, tournaments, bus rides, dinners, etc. To me the memories are what really make it all worth it and it’s not the championship we won or the games (although those were great too) but singing Cheetah Girls at the top of lungs in the locker room before the game or on the bus that I remember the most. It’s the handshakes we all had, the pregame rituals we all went through, the games we played between games like Ninja, Spoons, or Heads Up, and all of the crazy things we did in between that gave us memories for a lifetime. It’s the little things that I’ll remember the most.

Thank you for making the game better.

Let’s face it, without great teammates the game is a bore and it’s just not fun. I can honestly say that I didn’t play on a single team that I hated. You guys made the practices better, the games more fun, and the sports enjoyable. Without the teammates I had, the game wouldn’t have meant as much to me as it does.

Thank you for being my family.

Family is what I consider you all. Whether we haven’t spoken in years or we still hang out today, you are all my family. You guys mean more to me than you’ll ever know. You all at some point have been there in my life and have watched me grow into the person I am today. You guys forever will be a part of my extended family because you were the ones I leaned on when things got tough. You were the ones I suffered through preseason with and the people I celebrated with when all of the hard work paid off and we won the championship. So thank you guys for everything. I hope you know that wherever you are in this world that you can always reach out to me for anything, even if it's just to catch up. You helped shaped me into the person I am today and I’ll never forget any of you. Love you guys!