Most of us have that one sport that we have always played since we were little, or that sport that we connected with so much it soon defined our life. Well, softball is my sport. There are many lessons that I learned growing up playing softball, many life lessons that I took from the sport, many more that I am still learning. Here are the five most important things that softball has taught me:
1. Teammates
They are more then just teammates, they become your family. I have been on several different softball teams, from in-house, to travel, to school teams, each on of the players I had the chance to take the field with will always be part of my softball family. You connect to each of them, they understand you better then a lot of people can, because they understand what you are feeling. The field is your home, and when you step foot on any field, with any player, they become part of your family, and they will forever have your back no matter where the game may take you.
2. Leadership
Most people are natural leaders, most have a way of take the lead and showing people the right way to go, or lending a helping hand to those on the opposite team, but softball has a different way of showing leadership. Once you are on that field, leadership and sportsmanship is more important then how well you player, or how well of a player you are. Those who take the time to help those not only on their team, but those on the opposing team, have a way of making the game even more special.
3. It doesn't matter how many times you fail
You could strike out every other time up to bat, you could let 50 percent of the ground balls hit to you go under your glove, but every mistake makes you a better player. No matter what you are learning. It is repetition. And you'll get there, like anything in life, if you stick with it.
4. You are stronger than you realize
Physically and mentally. Softball has given you a tough skin and the mental toughness to get out of your own head, your batting slump, and refocus on the next pitch, the next obstacle to overcome.
5. You are a better love because of the game
Softball has taught me passion. You love the game even though super-hard practices, crappy morning workouts when your eyes are barley open, and post-game tears. You love the good, the bad, the success, and the losses. You keep playing ad working hard for what you love. (So in a softball players option, we make the best type of girlfriends.)
Softball has a way of bringing out the best in us. It shows us how hard we work for something, it shows us commitment, and strength. The game is everything to us. We take it as more than a game, it is apart of our life, and we will carry everything we learned from the game with us.
