I got asked the other day by one of my softball players,

"Coach Coffey, do you miss it?"

I was taken aback. How did I feel? There were so many emotions and memories that came with that question. I sat there and thought for a second before I answered.

"Every day." I said.

This picture was taken at Birmingham-Southern College my freshman year of college, 2016.

Softball has been a part of my life since I was 12 years old. I started after most of my friends, so I had to work extra hard to catch up to my peers. There were many long nights in the cages and in the garage with my dad, hitting endless buckets of balls. I was able to make the middle school team the following year, go on to play in high school and at the varsity level, as well as play college softball. I ended my college softball career with a batting average of .358, a on base percentage of .382 and 22 RBIs as a slapper. I also was awarded SAA All-Conference twice and selected as part of the Mt. Berry All Region Team. I had to make one of the hardest decisions of my life my senior year of college: softball or my career? Giving up softball was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do.. It was all I had ever known, all I had ever been.. So when I say I miss it, I do.

This picture was taken at Birmingham-Southern College my junior year, 2018.

When I was asked this question, one that seems so easy to answer, there were many things that went through my head. What did I miss the most?

I did miss the game of softball, a whole lot. I miss that feeling of waking up knowing that it was game day. I would get into the shower and get ready while listening to my Pregame playlist, hyping myself up and getting focused. Yes, I would do a full face of makeup and straighten my hair, because "Look Good, Play Good" is very, very true. As the day went by, I would stare at the clock so many times because I was counting the minutes until it was time to go to the locker room and get ready. When the time came, I would get down to the locker room as fast as I could. The best part of getting ready was getting my hair braided and putting on my eye black. Once those things were completed, I was ready to go.

This picture was taken at the AHSAA Regional Tournament at the Huntsville Sportsplex my senior year, 2015.

I miss that feeling of stepping out onto a freshly cut and lined off field. I miss that feeling of seeing my name on the lineup sheet for the game and then hearing my name called out as I ran to my position on the field. I really miss seeing my name on the scoreboard, under the lights, and watching the defense adjust to me being a slapper. All of these little details seem so little, so unimportant. But that's just part of it. One feeling that you can't get anywhere else is that feeling of getting a hit, getting on base, scoring your teammate, or making that diving catch. Those feelings are special, and nothing can compare to them.

This picture was taken at Birmingham-Southern College my freshman year, 2016.

One thing, that I swore I would never miss, is the practices and workouts. Not being an athlete is hard to get adjusted too. It's hard to find motivation to stay in shape. I would go back in a heartbeat if I could get up every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday to go to a 6 A.M. workout, or stay until 7:00 P.M. for practice. At the time, I hated doing it. I hated practicing, I don't know why, but I did. I think it was because they weren't games, they didn't have the speed, the motivation, the crowd.. Sitting here now, I would 100% go back and do a full practice and get up the next day for a 6 A.M. workout.

I think what I miss the most about softball is all of the friendships and memories that came with it. You don't realize it while you are in those moments, but they're some of the best you'll have. I catch myself thinking back to those late nights in the hotels, when we would all gather in one hotel room and play What Do You Meme? and cry because we are laughing so hard. I think back to high school when we had to sprint back to the hotel because we had gone to get ice cream and had less than 5 minutes to be in our room with the lights off. I think about those long bus rides back to campus where I thought I would never get off of the bus, and those early mornings with the speaker, jamming to songs to get us excited about the game. I think back to how many times I woke up with my voice cracked or gone because of how hard I screamed for my teammates the night before. I think about all of those inside jokes or mottos made: 20 on 1, BABs. I've been to so many places, stayed in so many hotels and been on so many buses. Those memories I will cherish forever, as well as those teammates that I went to war with every single day.

This picture was taken during the AHSAA Area Tournament at Buckhorn High School my senior year, 2015.

I think back then I took it all for granted. Like I thought that the game of softball and all that came with it would last forever. Now, that I am working a full time job and coaching softball at the high school, I miss it more than ever. I catch myself just wanting to jump into our practices or asking one of my players to let me borrow their bat so I can hit. I would give anything to play one more season. One more game. One more practice. I hope that as a coach, I can instill all that I learned or didn't learn throughout my time as a softball player, and spill my passion for the game into their hearts.

This picture was taken at the AHSAA Regional Tournament at the Huntsville Sportsplex my senior year, 2015.

I have been through so much during my time as a player: bad coaches (more than one, sadly), selfish teammates, a divided team, drama, you name it. All of those lessons learned and situations that I went through helped shape me as a player, and not only that, but as a person. Who I am today developed from those situations that I was put in growing up. Softball, and all sports really, put you through tests. Like that quote that says, "Life gives you the test first and the lesson after." Mental toughness, perseverance, motivation, teamwork, being on time, all of those things you learn as an athlete. I still follow the same "15 minutes early is 15 minutes late" rule I learned in high school when I go anywhere or do anything.

Softball has been a part of the majority of my life. I don't know how I lived without it, and I don't think I will ever be able to live without it truly. I think about it every day, whether I am at softball practice with my team or sitting at home. I would not be who I am today without having had softball in my life. There's no telling who I would have become, where I would have went to college, the friends I would have made.. It's shaped me. And I hope a softball player that reads this will take what I have said and not take a single second of the game for granted. Because without really noticing it, it's gone before you know it and you have to walk away.

This picture was taken at Centre College my sophomore year, 2017.