A Transition from the Sport of Softball to Cross-Country Running

Since I could remember baseball along with softball were the sports my family really enjoyed. After I learned how to walk, my dad made sure grasping a glove as well as catching a ball would become second nature. Growing up with two older brothers that were just naturally skilled and great at baseball motivated me to be just as good as them. Numerous assume that since you begin a sport when you turn five you automatically are going to be excellent when you get older. With eight years of competence my hard work to get to the point I was at changed with a simple line drive to and base. To attain a spot in the softball team in middle school was a big accomplishment, we were not the best team but we were not the worst, decent many would say.

One day during practice, the coach divided us into two separate teams. While one team was batting the other would be catching the balls. It was our turn to catch the balls after we had batted and I went where I normally did, and base. The best player on the team was up to bat. The first pitch is thrown and it was hit to the outfield, I turned around to get the ball from the girl who caught it, and as I did this the second pitch was thrown. All I remember was a big smack and a lot of pain on the right side of my face. I blacked out and the next thing I knew I was at the hospital for having a broken nose surgery and a lot of medicine was the aftereffect of this.

There goes my last year in middle school playing softball. During freshman year in high school, softball tryouts were before 2nd semester; I tried for the team and made it. There was a huge difference though, the way I viewed the sport was not confident but more afraid. The only reason I continued that season was that in my mind if I did not I failed to do what my dad has always wanted me to do which was play softball I was not looking forward to the rest of my high school years knowing I would be playing a sport that I did not feel comfortable with. It was finally one day that I could not take it anymore; I had to tell my dad I was quitting softball.

The day I told him how I really viewed softball was possibly one of the worst days that year, the look on his face made me wish I had just sucked it up and continued playingjust for him Feeling like I failed my dad by saying the truth was not as easy as I had envisioned. The following year came along and it was time for cross-country season, I had always wanted to be in a different sport, therefore, I gave cross—country a try. I ended up liking it and it turned out to be one of my favorite sports. At first I did not want to tell my dad that cross-country was going to be the sport I was going to continue with however when I did, it was a relief! The best thing I recall hearing from my dad had been “it doesn’t matter what sport you choose, I will always support you.” Yes it had been a lot of work, eight years, though I did fail at one sport that did not define me as a person along with what I was still capable of doing