To the Little Girl with the Softball Glove and Ponytail:

You might not understand why so many older people envy you as you just begin your journey as a softball player. You get to meet so many new amazing girls, you get to cheer the clever chants that make almost every parent giggle, you get to hear the satisfying sound of a ball smacking into your glove or the bat nailing the ball hard towards the outfield, you get acknowledged when you’re covered in dirt.

Of course, in the moment, the extremely hot tournaments or freezing cold practices never seem to be worth it. But somehow, hearing your name get called to come receive your trophy for winning the championships makes you regret ever missing a practice. As you continue through the years of hard work and dedication that comes with this wonderful sport, here’s a few things you should keep in mind:

Cherish every scab and bruise you get from the game.

The day after a nice game, you’ll probably realize how sore you are and look down to see bruises and cuts covering your legs. You probably won’t even recognize when it happens because you were so focused on the adrenaline from sliding. And if you had recognized it, you and the rest of your team were probably laughing at the big dirt burn on your butt. You might be in pain or even embarrassed to wear shorts that day. Every bruise, every burn, every cut on your body shows how much more effort you put into your team and that is damn well worthy of being shown off. So wear those shorts and strut around your bruises and cuts. And when you look down at scars, you’ll remember the amazing team you played with and miss every second of playing time.

Thank your family for never missing a game.

While you were complaining about being cold, you were able to do a few laps or jump around a bit to keep your body temperature up. Your parents, and maybe even siblings, sat through every game in the freezing temperature or blazing heat just to watch YOU. It may take a little to realize how nice it is to look into the crowd and see your own little fan group. You may even sympathize for the players who don’t have parents who come to every game.

You win some, you lose some.

Don’t be the mean team who tries to fight the other team for winning. Don’t be a sore loser betting on the fact the other team paid the ump to win. Don’t leave a game crying or refuse to shake hands at the end and never ever take it out on your teammates or coaches. Softball can be fun no matter what the scoreboard says. As long as you and your team keep laughing and bonding, the loss won’t seem too bad. Not every game you lose should be considered a loss, even if that just means you guys got a little batting practice in or created a few more inside jokes.

Understand your coaches have lives, too.

Sometimes you may get annoyed with your coaches or even blame them for a game you lose. You may even hate them when you’re forced to do suicide sprints or hill runs after a disappointing loss. However, you need to remember they have their own family, own jobs, own responsibilities to attend to. They aren’t getting paid for this; they do it because they want to. So if they seem a little out of it or a tad angry understand it’s not directed towards you or your team.

Try a little harder to be cooperative since your coaches are unnecessarily volunteering their time for you to enjoy this incredible sport. If you’re as lucky as I am, your coaches may even became apart of the family bond you’re team will create.

Be thankful to be able to play softball and all the skills you’ll learn.

Not everyone is able to play this sport, so be glad you have to chance to. It’s a chance to learn patience when you’re waiting in to bat. It’s a chance to learn communication skills when you have to tell another player the other team is stealing. It’s a chance to learn how to be understanding and sympathetic when a teammate makes a bad play.

You’ll learn to stay calm and learn to make friends with strangers, even if it is with a girl on the opposing team. As you grow older, you’re able to watch the balls you hit and throw go farther and farther. Although now you may just see this is any other sport, it won’t take long to realize how much this sport actually means to you. You’ll learn more skills than you would ever believe from this remarkable sport and I’m so jealous you get to learn them for the first time now.

As you continue to play the next few years, I hope you fall in love with this sport as much as I have. You’ll fall in love with everything from your first home run all the way down to your horrible tan lines you’ll get. Every win, every loss, every tear, every sweat will contribute to the amazing memories you’ll create from playing softball. I wish you the best in every game, every tournament, and every practice. Give the game your all and I promise you won’t regret it.