Fall 2013

This fall was possibly one of the busiest I have ever had, but that also makes it one of the best. Along with playing a ton of ball, I traveled a ton, and finally got to spend some good family time.

Most of my weekends January through September revolve around softball. Normally in the past that has ment tournaments and games. This time it was not only games but also college. Scary I know, it has gone by so fast. We played all over Minnesota and Wisconsin.  The best thing about fall is the games do not matter (to some they do, but they are completely missing the point of fall ball). Fall ball is purely focused on getting better. Working on your swing, trying new things, just getting reps. But so many teams and coaches miss that, which is sad, but is the truth.

This fall I feel that personally I took a big step forward improving not only my softball skills but also my leadership skills. Things really started coming together and it was a very successful fall.

This fall, my family and I also traveled all over the place. A huge part of the college process for me is getting on campus, meeting the players and the coaches, getting a feel for the school. That way I know if I could see myself going there or not. I met a ton of great people who all care about this game as much as I do, and some ever more than I.

Besides for just "business" travel my family also got to go on family vacation over MEA. We went on a cruise in Hawaii. It was AMAZING!!! We had such a blast going on all of our excursions, and my favorite, going to the beach. I am so blessed to be able to do these types of things with my family as well as play softball like I do. It always takes a big event for us to realize how fortunate we are. So I wanted to say thank you to them, as well as everyone who has been a part of my life. Ive had so many great opportunities and they wouldn't happen if I didn't have all of these great people surrounding me.

Fall is also the time where I finally take some time off. My Dad puts my stuff in the basement so I wont be tempted to sneak off to the batting cage :) I love the game, but everyone does need a break. Not only does it wear you down physically but mentally, and your body needs time to recoup.  The past two weeks I have had completely off and next week we move into basketball season!! Even though I am excited for it I have really enjoyed just being able to get together with my family, watch some football, eat really good food, play two hand touch during half time, and catch up with all the new things they have going on.

2013 was a great year, it is amazing to look back at all the things that I accomplished in one season. It only encourages me to work harder to see just how good I can get.

Badger Camp

This past weekend I had the opportunity to attend the Wisconsin Badger Camp. I had already attended one of their camps before in the beginning of summer. Both times I have learned a lot and had a lot of fun doing it. Saturday was full of drills and breakdown work on hitting and fielding skills. Sunday was supposed to be scrimmaging but, as anyone around here would know, it was a Sunday when we had softball so of course it rained! We moved everything to the indoor facilities and still got some great work in.

Friday night I went to our high school football game and then made the drive over to Madison. Saturday morning felt kind of early but I always wake up a bit more when I hear that it is time to hit. We broke up into groups and headed to our stations. We went through different tee work, front toss and base running drills. A main focus during the drills was they called slot hitting. To perform the drill you load with your negative movement and then start your swing. You stop at connection or when your hands reach your sternum. After pausing for a moment you finish your swing hitting the ball wither off the tee or off front toss. This drill really works on getting connected and getting linear. I have a tendency to rotate too early and this causes me to pull of a lot of balls. In this drill I also learned to get my linear movement with my knee still facing the right way, because when I rotate my knee before my hands get to sternum I pull off the ball. I also worked on staying through the ball and getting more extension on my swing. Another drill that they do is throwing frisbees. During our classroom drill Coach Schneider explained how throwing a frisbee is just like hitting, and by throwing them, you can be a better hitter! He made several connections with other sports of things that will help you to be a better player. Coach Schneider also stressed how much hitting hasn't changed, it has always been the same. Tons of coaches just have had new ideas of "better" ways to do it. Their main goal was to be as efficient as possible. Another new thing for me was they connected hitting and throwing. They say that the kids that throw the best and the hardest will be good hitters. Things you do while throwing you often do while hitting. It amazed me how connected all parts of your game are to each other and how much the little things matter.

After a break for lunch we moved on to defense. First we started out with playing catch. While playing catch they stressed how important the receiver is. You always need to step to the ball, catch it chest height, and on your throwing shoulder. Yes, this means you actually need to work hard to move your feet and get in the right place to make the catch. Also it is your job to always stop the ball even on a bad throw. After a loosening up and going through part of their throwing progression we moved to a different kind of throwing. Both coaches believe that you should be able to throw from anywhere, especially the ground. In softball we play low and spend a decent amount of time on the ground especially on diving plays. To work on this we started with throws from your knees falling forward. We also did throws on your knees falling to the right, falling to the left, sitting criss cross applesauce and falling backwards, standing up falling to the right, the left and backwards, jumping into the air and then throwing. We also placed the ball behind us, dove on the ground to recover it, rolled over as fast as possible and then threw it from there. The last drill was for finishing plays. There may be times where you stop a ball but it ricochets off and you need to finish. They always finish the play because you never know when the runner may try to take another base when they think you will just give up. Through all of these drills especially when you are throwing from crazy positions they talked about keeping your head with your hands. If you do this you can throw from any slot and any position because you have the proper form. Along with keeping your hands with your head, they emphasized kinesthetic awareness. Kinesthetic awareness is knowing your body in space and knowing how to handle it. Next we moved into break down drills in diving, ground balls, short hops, and fly balls. We worked on their everyday drills that focused on coming through the ball and lots of short hops. We got tons of break down drills on the small parts of the overall skill that were very beneficial.

Sunday morning we had tons of rain and were forced to go indoors. Instead of scrimmaging we did more breakdown drills for fielding and hitting while also getting a lot of full reps. We warmed up playing catch then took grounders and fielded bunts throwing them to different bases. Today while playing catch instead of working on diving throws we did throws on the run. We threw running forward, 45 degrees to the right and left, running straight to the right and left side, then running backwards to the left and to the right. This was another drill that pushed me out of my comfort zone as I tried a new skill. All of these throws from yesterday and today have a time and place in our game where we need to be able to make them. It is much better to practice them and know what they feel like then to be in a pressure situation and all the sudden have to make a play and throw a way you never have before. Next we moved to hitting where we hit of the tees, off the small ball machine, threw frisbees, and hit live in the cages off of a machine and two different pitchers. Many of the same things on offense and defense were stressed again today as I continued to try new things and improve.

A huge piece that is different at this camp than others is that they really push you to get out of your comfort zone. To Coach Healy and Coach Schneider, you will never get better if you stay the same, you need to get out of your comfort zone to learn new things and improve as an athlete and as a player. This weekend I learned lots of new things to help me improve my game and had a great time doing it. A big thank you to all of the coaches at Wisconsin as well as their players to take the time to help me become a better player.

Fall Ball Week 3

Fall ball is a very short season, but a huge part of getting better each year. In fall you get to compete in live games while not worrying about winning or losing. All you focus on is getting better. On our Sundays during the fall we play quadruple headers. Playing four games you get tons of time to work on things to focus on during the week when we do not play.

This much time also provides so many learning opportunities.  This weekend the biggest thing I learned, was that I can be me.

Talking with my dad about the differences between playing with my Royals team and now transitioning to the Danes I noticed several things. 1.) I am not as much of a leader 2.) I am do not talk as much and 3.) I do not have as much contact with other players.

All of those fit into what I used to do as a Royal. First I am always the super positive person that gets people going and makes them smile. I like making people smile because I believe smiling is one of the most powerful forces in the world. One smile can change a persons whole mood and how they are thinking.  In the dugout I am always giving positive encouragement to the batter. As my dad says, there is a difference between being helpful and being a cheerleader.  Next, before every at bat of mine or the person ahead of me, I made some sort of contact.  Many of us had little handshakes, but really it just means, hey were in this together we can do it. You show you are there for them and share your positive energy with them. When teammates made a mistake or a pitcher was struggling I was always the one to go over and pick them up, or walk to the mound and settle them down.

Now for the Danes, I do not do many of these things. Because they teach how focused you need to be on the game I think people, and myself, have interpreted it as you cant have any fun or encourage your teammates.  That isnt the case at all. Today my dad started to get on us to celebrate successes more, give high fives to people when they score or get a hit, and encourage the batter. At first I was hesitant, I wasnt sure if this kind of behavior was allowed as it had been on the Royals. In our next team meeting after the game Tim (our head coach) brought up in the circle that my dad was right, we need to be doing that. He never had said we couldn't cheer, it was just a thing that we never did.

Now that I know I can, I can finally be myself. If you have ever watched me play for the Royals, you would notice that I always as smiling and look like I am having fun. All of the things that I used to do, I now am going to bring to the Danes.  As I player, I play better when I am talking and having fun while being focused on softball. Going the serious route is not as good of a choice as my play has shown over the short time in the quieter environment. 

Another huge thing we learned was the power of good touch and bad touch. You may laugh because that is something they teach you in fourth grade about strangers and other people haha, this is a different kind of touch. I am talking about the power of positive touch. We did a demonstration on how just thinking positively will help you perform better. It was amazing how much your thinking affects not only you but the people around you. As long as you are prepared, positive thinking and energy will allow you to play at your best.

Labor Day Tournament

For us Labor Day is the last weekend before school starts. Summer has come to an end and now it is back to school for everyone.  What would I want to be doing on my last day of summer? Of course play softball!!

This weekend was meant to be more of a showcase that attracted lots of coaches to come and see players at the 16u and 18u level. I definitely want to thank all of the coaches that took the time to come and watch the Danes and I play.

This weekend we played 6 great games of softball. On Saturday my mom barely let me ride in my seat when we got in the car because I was so dirty even after I took off my uniform.  For those who have seen me play, I am generally the kid with the dirtiest jersey because I love sliding and diving. 

Every weekend I feel like I learn so much about the game from our coaches. We have some of the best coaches around in Tim Husted, Randy Witthus, and Mike Carpenter. We are also training in several other coaches who are high school coaches of daughters on the team. All of them combined provide tons of one on one time and people to run drills. They take their own time to help us get better as players and as people. A huge thank you to all the coaches that have helped out with our team. Another big thank you is to all of the parents. Without you guys I would for sure starve playing three games seeing as I tend to eat every two hours! Also all the parents support us, love us no matter how we play, and cart our butts all over the place to do what we love!

On actual Labor Day I got to spend the day with my family and was remind how much I love them. As teenagers most of us are so worried about being with friends ect, that is all great but always make sure to have time to spend with your family. They are the people who love and care about you the most.

So a big thank you to everyone for a great Labor Day weekend and an awesome end to my summer!!

First Weekend of Fall

Last year at this time so many things were different.  This first weekend of fall ball was the first time that I would play with the Danes. I can remember being so nervous and worried about how things would go. Driving up to Hudson this year was completely different.  I was still nervous but it was excited nervous, the way you get before you step into the box for your first at-bat of the day. I felt completely comfortable and was excited to continue learning and improving. 

Another huge difference was in the way I played. Looking back over the year I see how much the Danes have shaped me already anf how much I have improved.  Coming into the fall season when I hit, I didnt even stride. I was a squash the bug kid! After my first day in hudson I can remeber thinking man these guys are crazy! They want me to change the way I hit and do all these weird things! But I decided that for the fall I would try it. Try to do something new and if it didnt work out we can always go back to where we were. Back in those days I was actually the crazy one. Once I was exposed to the different ways the danes hit, field, and communicate I never went back. Its incredible that in one year I have learned so much and come so far. But I know I can keep improving so much more.

We kicked off the first weekend of fall ball with 8 games in two days! The first day was in Hudson Wisconsin.  It was a great day to meet all of the new players and start to step up as one of the leaders on the team. It is a lot of teaching which is very good for us because as you teach something you also relearn it. We saw a ton of progress on the first day and had me excited for the next day. Our second day was in Shoreview Minnesota.  We haf another four games which left me wiped after the weekend. But it was definitely worth it. You learn a lot ehen your body is fatigued and especially that you really can keep going even when you think your tank is empty. It always suprises me how I learn in just one weekend of playing even though ive been playing for what feels like my whole life. It was a great weekend and definitely a step in thr right direction for not only my teammates but for myself.

Playing with the Danes a huge part of the message is not only to learn about softball but to also apply it to your life as well. One thing I learned was that when you do things the right way, you will get the results you want. I learned this from one at-bat. During the day I have been struggling with pulling my shoulder off the ball and needed to stay more linear. So in one at-bat Tim says do reverse top hand.  I try it once and foul a ball straight back. Then I go back to hitting normal. I pull it foul once again, so back to reverse top hand. On the next pitch I connect and hit the ball over the fence. Doing my mechanics the right way gave me the result that I wanted.

The biggest lesson I learned was to appreciate all the things people do for us. Our coaches take their own time to help us learn and get better, our teachers give us extra help outside of class when we don't understand, and our parents.  Our parents take care of us, bring us everywhere. Not everyone has the benefit of having two parents like I do. I won't ever take my parents for granted again. Make sure you tell your parents that you love them, im sure it means the world to them that you care almost as much as they care about you.

The Fall Begins

This past week I recieved a very inspiring email talking about starting to write your own story.  It got me thinking about all the things that have happened to me over the last few years and how the next chapter of my life will turn out. Ever since I was little I have been chasing my dream to become a very good softball player, that has dominated my storyline so far.  Each day with all the hard work that I put in, I feel like I get closer to my overall goal. This fall I have 3 main goals. 1. Continue to clean up the mechanics of my swing and become more consistent with proper mechanics.  2. Polish up my glove work. 3. Figure out what I want in a college and what to major in.

Many people have told me yes you are talented and have potential but you are still raw. By focusing and working hard I want to reach that potential and become a polished athlete.

1. To clean up my mechanics I am hoing back to the basics. I am focusing a ton on tee drills as well as front toss to put everything together.  I have also increased the amount of days a week I go to the field to work on hitting.

2. To polish up my glove work and increase my range we have set up full workouts based just on fielding.  Last fall that was not a common thing. People say the difference between me and a girl from California is 10,000 ground balls. Well hete is my chance to make up the difference.  I may be at a weather advantage but I will just work harder to get my reps in. I hope to be faster and smoother on defense along with working on my release time.

3. College. I am nearing that age where college is only two years ahead and approching very quickly.  By doing visits and touring campuses I will get a feel for what I really like. The other part of college besides for athletics is school. I am going to look deeper into what I really want to do for a career. I love science and the human body so currently I am leaning towards the health sciences field. (Kinesiology, physical therapy)

There are so many other things along with these goals that I want to accomplish this fall, but most of all I want to comtinue to try and get better every day.

Three Weeks of Craziness

The past three weeks of my life have been absolutely crazy! I managed to spend only 4 nights at my own house! In the past weeks I have played in three consecutive national tournaments the first in Kansas City, Kansas, second in Rochester, MN, and the third in Sterling, Virginia.

The first two weeks I was playing 16u with my Rochester Royals team. The last week was 18u with the Danes. As I have talked about before, there is a big difference between the two levels. I was forced to adjust very quickly in order to succeed at a higher level.

 During these three weeks my family has put close to 4,000 miles on our car. The drive to Kansas City was about 6 hours while the drive to Virginia was just over 18. It gave us lots of family bonding time, even when that wasn't such a good thing. Since the drive from Sterling was so long we decided to break it up by making a stop in Louisville and also spending a day at Noah's Ark in the Wisconsin Dells.

Since the past month of my life has been focused on all softball all the time I feel that I have learned a ton not only as a hitter but also on defense. On offense I learned how aggressive you need to be early especially when facing good pitchers. Once they give you a pitch to hit, you aren't going to see another one. On defense I learned that I need to play lower and always be moving through the ball. Using these mechanics I saw improvement on my range and my reaction time.

Reflecting on those three weeks, they were my favorite of the summer. I got to do what I love every day, I got to stay at a hotel with my teammates, and I had so many chances for improvement. I can't thank my parents enough for carting my butt all over the country this summer. They have given me the opportunity to play this game all the time and give me full support, what else can you ask for? Even though I tell them every day, thank you guys, I love you so much :)

Perspective

After our loss today we had an amazing opportunity, to help someone learn. The people we got to teach were players from the Bahamas who also were in the tournament and did not win a single game.  As a person who hasn't ever experienced anything like this before it was a great life experience.

Last year the Danes ran a full day clinic to help teach the Bahamians, which I did not attend. This year we did not have a full day, only a matter of 30 minutes to help them with pitching.  All of the girls were so eager to learn to pitch.  My partner was Diva, and man could she throw heat once she had the slightest amount of instruction. We went threw simple drills like the power drive, progressive pitching, pitching with your eyes closed, and pitching from one knee. The girls did great and blossomed under the attention and help of our pitchers. I cant wait to see how much they have improved next year when they see them at this tournament.  

While we were teaching the Bahamians to pitch they were also teaching me. The difference between us and the Bahamians is how eager they are to work hard and learn, how extremely grateful they are, and how much fun they have.

Most kids from the states playing sports work hard for a couple reasons, but the big ones being money and the payoff at the end. The kids from the Bahamas want to work hard simply because they want to get better and don't know any different.  There isn't a big payoff at the end for them, most won't even go to college. 

Second, they are extremely grateful for everything that they have and are given.  That may come from them not having a lot but still. At the end of our clinic they couldn't express how grateful they were. But the huge smiles on their faces were all the thanks that I needed. 

If you watch the Bahamas play you will notice how much fun they have while playing this game because that is exactly what this is to them, a game. The have the perspective that so many of us lack.  They see that not everyone gets the chance to play this game, but they do. They enjoy every opportunity. 

Working them made me gain a better perspective of our whole week.  I realized that yes you can be upset about losing because it is not the result that you wanted. But it is inspiration to keep working hard and getting better. It also reminds me of how grateful I should be. I have a very blessed life that others do not, for that I am extremely thankful. 

I learn tons about softball from the Danes.  But the biggest thing I have learned are life lessons. Lessons that teach me to be a better person, and how I can impact the world in a positive way. 

2013 Pony Nationals in Virginia

As soon as we finished packing Saturday morning (after the Royals had lost out Friday) we began the road trip to Virginia for the 18u PONY Nationals with the Danes. It took us two full days of driving just to get there! But the car ride was just the beginning to this weeks adventure. 

The first day of play we started out with four of our five pool games. The first game was super close in which we lost to the bombers 1-0. Our second game was vs. SE Mass Extreme. It was a tight 2-0 win. Our third game was vs. Ashburn Stars. Before the game we had internet scouted (watched their recruiting video) some of the players on the team and were prepared for a very tight game. The game ended 6-3 in our favor. Our last game of the day was vs. Team Canada. As Tim said, "We are not playing for ourselves, our teammates, or our families, but for our country!! Now kick those maple syrup loving peoples butt!" And that we did! We won for merica in a hard fought 7-3 game!

The next day we only had one game in which we faced the PA Intensity. For my returning teammates it was redemption because the Intensity had knocked them out of the tournament last year. We won the game 10-0  in 5 innings, it was a very good win for our veterans. After we went back to the hotel and took a team nap. I can't tell you how much I have grown to love naps! As soon as everyone was ready to go we headed down to the train station to go to a Nationals game! I finally got to see Bryce Harper in action and he hit a homerun and made a diving catch to top it off! The Braves also hit Harper and almost started a bench clearing brawl. You know it was serious because even the bullpens were cleared haha ;)

In the morning bracket play finally started and we faced Team Mizuno first and won 5-1. We then played the green devils and lost 7-2 and were done for the day. We had a team steak dinner and then headed back to the fields for a light practice. We went through our throwing progression, then worked all defense to stay sharp for tomorrows game, and get lots of reps in doing things the right way. Most teams arrive for warm-ups about an hour before the game. Our warm-up is two hours long. A lot of the time we will have completed dynamic warm-up and have already been hitting for over a half an hour. We get so many more reps than other teams during warm-ups, and that really benefits us when it comes to game time. 

Our first game on Thursday was vs. the Bahamians. We won 10-0 in 5 innings and were on to the next game, a rematch vs. Team Mizuno.  It was 0-0 through the 5th inning when they scored a run. They also scored one in the sixth, but we never had an answer for them. The ending score was 2-0 and we were out of the tournament. Losing to Team Mizuno was very disappointing but especially because of how they acted. They did not play hard, and didn't even seem to want to be there. Their attitudes were all very negative. They could have been a very good team but because of their attitudes, they became average. 

During a whole week tournament you have so much time to learn with as many games as you play and all of the practice time available. Playing next to Megan Champion, a sub for the week, I learned a lot about the little things and how much they count. I also learned to communicate even more when playing next to someone new. Through my failures and successes this week I learned how well I can do but also have to incentive to keep working hard to fix my failures. A huge emphasis this week was how to recover from failure. You have to be able to think about what you should have done, learn from it, and then move on. Because, in our game you are going to get many more opportunities to do it right and if you have not reset yourself mentally, you will probably make another mistake. Even though I was having mechanical issues throughout the tournament, I was still able to put the ball in play to help my team. I had a blast this week doing what I love and cannot wait for our fall season to start in two weeks!

Diving catch on a bunt turned into a double play

Practice/Workouts

From reading my blogs most people would assume that all I do is play games. But that is not the case. I practice softball in some way each and every day to continue to improve and get better.

I use various equipment when I practice that includes balls, bats, gloves, all of the basics, and technology.  I am going to share what an individual hitting practice is like for me.

Last Monday I met one of my teammates Cait Hughes and Coach Tim Husted at the Byron fields for a workout.  We started out hitting off a tee. I did several reps and then Tim asked, why isnt it going over the fence? Hit it over the fence please.  He videotaped a couple of swings and had me watch them. We discussed what needed to happen to achieve the goal. I needed to stay linear longer to get my weight going forward. I also needed more connection because my bottom was releasing too early causing me to swing with only my arms resulting in a loss of power. Next we moved to one armed drills.  We worked my bottom hand to make sure I was releasing in the correct order, hands elbow then shoulder. He challenged me to hit it out of the infield.  After a few attempts I accomplished the goal and was getting it correct every time.  The next drill was my top hand.  This drill was much harder to do and without knowing what you are doing, it is very easy to do incorrectly. Next we flipped my top hand so instead of having one pull and one push hand I had two push. When done correctly you feel an explosion of power off of the bat because you are able to create more bat speed.  It was super awkward at first but once I got the feel of it, I started to excel in the drill.  Next I hit front toss working on staying connected, being late with my hips, and getting as much linear as possible.  We again used video to break down the swing and see what to improve upon. 

After I earned a break and helped warm Cait up for her pitching lesson. I learned a lot about catching and how to frame. I also learned about the river on either side of the plate.  I will say im not envious of catchers having to squat all of that time, but am glad to do it to help my teammate improve.  Catching also gave me an opportunity to work on short hops that I would normally get in a game.  Once she completed her workout, she pitched about 20 live balls to me as Tim watched and videod to see how everything came together live. 

Being able to use video is a huge advantage forbour generation.  We can break swings down into slow mo and see exactly what we need to fix.  10 years ago we did not have the technology as readily available as we do now. As a player I love to take advantage of it to help me improve. 

On a normal day my dad and I will go to the field either in the morning or at night to have a hitting practice and do some defensive work.  At home mid day I convince my brother to take a break from soccer to play catch with me and work throwing mechanics.  Along with drill work 3-4 times a week I have strength and conditioning classes to help me get faster and stronger.  On opposite days of workouts I try to fit in a yoga class or swim laps. 

My ability to practice and improve every day is due to the people around me who give me the opportunity and the help to do so. I thank them each time for their help because it means the world to me as I work to achieve my goals.

16u Nationals in Kansas City

This past week my Royals team traveled to Kansas City for the 16u National Tournament there. We had played in this same tournament twice before when we were in 14u. Our top finish was 4th place so the team was hungry to win it all. We surprised everyone by making a run no one thought we accomplish.

On the first day we won our morning game setting us up to play another in the afternoon. In our second game we faced the Lincoln Storm. It was a very tight game all the way until they pulled away in the 6th inning scoring 3 runs. We ended up losing. The tournament was double elimination, so we were down to our last leg and weren't even close to achieving our goals yet. The next day to survive we had to win five games. Our morning game was a blowout win 9-1, but every other win was a comeback. Our second game we played the Thunder. We had already lost by one in international to them in pool play so we knew it was going to be a very close and high scoring game because of how well they hit the ball. In the bottom of the seventh we scored 3 runs to put us up 10-8. We shut them down in the bottom half and won the game! Our next game was vs The Heat Wave. The score was like a slow pitch game in which our team hit five homeruns and won 19-15! The next game we played the Minnesota Irish. We had played them several times and really wanted to beat them. We scored three runs in the 6th to win the game. Our last game of the day of course had to be the Clutch Hitters. In the second inning we were down 6-1. But we just chipped away and didn't let them score the rest of the game. In the bottom of the seventh we were down once again and we were at the meat of our lineup, Cori Kennedy, me, and then Lexi Ripka. Cori and I both got on and Lexi drove a double up the middle to score Cori. Our next batter hit a sac fly to left on which I scored. We scored three runs that inning to put us up by 1. We held them in the bottom and won!! It was our best comeback yet!! That day we were the first ones at the park and the last ones to leave, it was a long day and we wanted to do it all over again tomorrow.
 Our morning game we won on two home runs, one by Frankie Mickleson and the other by Kali Aldrich in international play. Their hits put us up by two going into the bottom of the ninth inning. We closed out the game and advanced to the next round! Up next was team Nebraska. We had faced them the previous year at nationals in the 15u A tournament in Iowa. We had won that game with three total hits 3-2 in international play. To lead off the game Kali Aldrich homered to put us up 1-0, and it stayed that way until the 5th inning. Cori led off with a double and I homered to score us both. The score was 3-2 and it looked like history was going to repeat itself. But that was not the case, in the bottom of the seventh we lost by one run. It was devastating to finally admit defeat, but we made such a huge run. I am so proud of my teammates and of myself for doing what we did. All of our wins were because everyone did their part. Luckily we are not done yet, we play in the Northern National Tournament being held in Rochester this year. I am looking towards another great week of softball.

Many of you may have seen a trend as I tell you about our games, we are always the away team. Our team has been home team maybe twice this year and chooses to hit every time. We love batting first and having the opportunity to jump on the other team and score first. Plus hitting is the best part, so why wouldn't  we want to hit all the time!

This whole tournament taught me how to play in high pressure games and make comebacks. I also learned how to talk to my teammates in these situations and lead them toward victory. In the beginning innings you need to remain calm and just play ball. As the innings pass you increase the intensity and the energy level. You need to stay up and into the game but not too high. Also when you are down, as a leader, you have to keep them positive and make them believe that we will come back, and we will win. I learned a lot about myself and my teammates this past week and know that we can do great things.

South Dakota Ringneck

It was finally time for the Ringneck tournament in South Dakota. I have played in this tournament for four years now and it is one of my favorites. There is always good competition and we get a chance to see how we stack up against teams around the midwest before heading into ASA State and then Nationals.

For our Friday night game we drew the Clutch Hitters. So we play them AGAIN! This time, not only is it just a pool game, but it counts as the championship of the Eagan Down n' Dirty that got rained out. They threw a pitcher from Kenyon-Wanamingo who several of my teammates and I face every year during high school. We beat them 5-1. It used to be such a deal when we played them in the past, but I think we are starting to get over it and have continued to beat them each time we play. Saturday morning we played the Omaha Echoes. We scored 4 runs in the first inning and that set the tone for the day. We went on to win 14-4 in 4 innings. Our afternoon game was against the Pipestone Pointers. They had got beat up on by the other teams in our bracket, so we coasted through the game and won 9-1. I was upset with our intensity and lack of focus even when we were playing a team that we would easily beat. After a quick pitstop at the track (more info to come) we began our games on Sunday. Our first game of the day was against the Grand Island Scorpions. We won 16-0 in 2 1/2 innings. Our next game was the best of the tournament. We faced the Sioux Falls Diamonds who beat the Extreme (team we beat in international tie breaker during the Eagan Down n' Dirty) by one in their previous game. We scored two runs in the top of the first and things were looking good. Then their first batter hit a leadoff homerun. The scoring came to halt from their until the last two innings. We ended up winning 7-6 in a very close game. Next we played the MN Stealth. We had already faced them 4 times this year and had won each game easily. Today was very different, we had several errors in the first inning, and our bats went quiet (very unusual for our team). We took the game for granted and were handed a 7-4 loss. The Diamonds and the upset by the Stealth team taught me my biggest lessons for the weekend.

First they taught me the truth of the statement, "Respect all, Fear none." In the game vs. the Diamonds, they had just beaten a team that game us a very tough game. But we were not scared and faced them head on. Because of that we played the game the way the Royals play and won. Also we learned you need to respect every one of your opponents. We had lost to them last year at Nationals, but we remained focused and played our best and showed the type of team we can be.

The second thing they taught me was about sportsmanship. During the game vs. the Diamonds one of their players decided to take out two of our girls. First was a play at the plate. I would have done the same thing when it comes to sliding into the catcher. But this girl slid into Cori, kicked up her leg and tried to take out her inside knee. Cori was lucky and just has a swollen knee from the cleat marks. Next was the last play of the game, a tag at second base. Dana our 2nd basemen was received the ball from right field well ahead of the runner getting to the base. The same girl slid through the base to the back where Dana was and took her out. Not only did she cleat her ankle, but as she was getting up she swung her arms and kicked her several more times. Things got out of hand on her side from there. She started laughing as my teammate was on the ground crying. I could do nothing but help to get Dana off of the field and to the trainer. It took so much composure not to lash out at her for doing that to my teammate. To top it off when we were going through the line, she slapped all of our hands. The sad part is that she is a very good ball player and is cheating herself and her abilities by playing dirty. During the Stealth game our parents received a lesson on how not to act. Many of their parents were cheering very arrogantly and saying some not so nice things to us. Even though we lost to them, we showed that we were bigger people when walking through the line. While they sneered and celebrated their win, we just smiled and shook their hands. The difference is that even though we were upset about the loss, we are still truly good people and good sports who know how to handle ourselves. I thank my coaches and especially my parents for never letting me act like that as a young kid, because I see how mean those people seem. I would never want someone to think of me how I think of some of those parents and players.

18u Wisconsin State Tournament in Wausau

When you play at both age levels, you realize there is a huge difference between playing 16s and 18s. This weekend I played the 18u Wisconsin State Tournament in Wausau. It was my first whole weekend playing with the Danes this year.

We started out rough in pool play losing 6-0 to the Badger Blitz and a heart breaker to the Firebirds 3-2. We started bracket play by losing again 2-1 to the Cyclones. Things were not looking bright and we got a well deserved butt chewing. We now were one game away from getting eliminated without winning one game. For me, and especially for the Danes name, that was a very embarrassing idea. The next game was very eye opening as we played the honey badgers (more on why later). We finally pulled out some key hits, earned a win and were still alive in the tournament. The next morning we had a chance for revenge, a rematch against the Firebirds. They threw their ace, Alice Fitgerald, who pitches for the University of Michigan. We played clean on defense, our pitchers did great, Carley Henning hit a two-run homer and I hit a solo one.  We won 3-0!! Next we faced the Wisconsin Elite, and lost 2-0. It was a disappointing loss, but we had proved to ourselves that we do have the stuff to win games.

This weekend presented so many huge learning opportunities. First was how to deal with the weather. In every tournament we have played in there has been rain delays. This weekend we really focused on how to mentally prepare for a game, be able to bring it down during the delay, and when its game time be back up to the focus that you started with. Also we need to remember to control the controllables. We can't control whether it rains or not. We can't do anything but deal with the situation we are in. Remember that the other team is dealing with the same thing you are, the thing that will matter is who is the most adaptable. So do your part and control the controllables.

As I said before the Honey Badgers game was a huge eye opener for me. The game started out with us all watching their pitcher from UW River Falls warm up. She notices this so she glares at us hoping we will stop. We don't she stomps into the dugout and decides to stare right back at us. When she went to warm up on the mound, she had her teammates make a "wall" so we could not see her. When she was up to bat she decided to stare at our coach giving the signs. Things just got out of hand from there. For those of you who know my Coach, Tim Husted, you can imagine how he was reacting to all of this. Not only was this pitcher making herself look very arrogant, but she failed to realize that Tim knows the coach she is going to play for in college very well. We ended up knocking her out of the game and beating them. There are three things to learn from this. 1) You never act that way out on the field, it is an embarrassment to yourself, your parents, and your team. 2) Never overreact to the things the other team is doing, concentrate on your job and don't let them cause you to lose focus 3) You never know who has connections to who, and who is watching you. Always represent yourself in the way you want to be seen by everyone.

This weekend I learned the major differences between hitting at the 16u level and the 18u. It is not the pitches that I am swinging at that cause me to fail, but the pitches that I do not swing at. In 16s I can get away with letting a good pitch go by because I will see another one. In 18s you better be swinging at that good pitch because you may only get one that game. I also learned how important it is to have a plan and to execute. As the game progresses you need to have maximum communication with the other hitters and change your plan to be the most successful. Most pitchers want to throw strike one so that they have the advantage. As a hitter you need to know that and be ready for the good pitch to be strike one.

The last thing I learned is how to react when I fail in pressure situations. We were down by one and I was up with a runner on second and third and two outs. I flew out to the left fielder. I was upset that I didn't come through for my team. Coach reminded me that softball is a game of failure. Great hitters get out 60% of the time. By being in those pressure situations and yes by failing a lot, you learn to be comfortable with the pressure. You learn to concentrate on the successes, accept the failures and gain confidence that next time, I will be successful because I have been here so many times before.

Colorado Jamboree

After our tournament in Wausau ended I hopped in the car and we drove 14 hours to Denver Colorado. I was attending the On-Deck showcase event there. I had tried out this spring in Minnesota and was granted this great opportunity to come and showcase my skills.
We left Wisconsin at about 1 pm and arrived in Denver at 4:30 am. I crashed in the hotel room for just under two hours until wake-up call. I was super tired. We arrived at the park and were immediately split into four groups. My group was to go warm up for the hitting station first, suddenly I wasn't so tired. This woke me up because I love to hit, and the fact that there were over 50 college coaches there gets your blood pumping. At the first station I was super nervous, but after hitting a few out of the park I settled down and got into my rhythm for the day. Throughout the morning you were warmed up for every station and then completed that station. The stations were front toss hitting, testing for running, arm strength, and bat speed, and finally defense. In front toss hitting there were two pitchers one throwing inside and the other outside. You were thrown eight pitches at each station. During the testing for running you were timed in a 40 yard dash as well as a shuttle run. The other testing was done with a gun for your arm and a machine that registered all of the distances and speeds ect after you hit the ball off the tee. After lunch we had a full defensive workout and fielded for the batters hitting live. Once they were done we switched and had the chance to hit. You were thrown 6 pitches and then went to the other field for a one on one matchup with a pitcher from the showcase.
I had a great day because I had the opportunity to do what I love. I also enjoyed meeting all of those new players from other states. My family and I have spent the remainder of the week in and around Denver. We have gone hiking in the Rockies, white water rafting in Idaho Springs, went to a Rockies game, and even saw a rodeo! Today we start our drive up to Sioux Falls, South Dakota to to play in the Ringneck. It has been a very crazy but amazing week!

2013 Minnesota USSSA State Tournament

For the past four years I have played in the Minnesota USSSA State Tournament. Our first two years playing 14u we got beat up pretty bad and struggled to make it through to Saturday night. Even last year, in our first year playing 16u, we were knocked out Sunday morning. But, this year things were finally different. This year we became the 16u state champions. 

This weekend we were undefeated. None of the games that we played were very close besides for our Saturday night game against the Clutch Hitters. The Clutch Hitters are our unspoken rivals. They are a very good team and always give us a very good game but the true rivalry stems from our players. One of our first baseman, Lexi Ripka, used to play for Clutch. She is our only player from the cities and it also happens that she is our head coach Steve Lewison's niece. She stopped playing for them for several reasons but you always want to beat your old team right? The best part about the win against them was how we won. In the 5th inning with about 10 min to go left in the game we were down by two runs. Our leadoff and number two hitter were standing on first and second. I come up to the plate and they decided to intentionally walk me to load the bases. Now,in steps our number four hitter Lexi. On the first pitch she drives the ball to the gap scoring all three runs and putting us up by two. From there we went on to win 4-2. We were ecstatic because of how we battled back and were able to win for our teammate.

Getting the win was great but, looking to the future, what matters even more is what we can learn from the game and the situation. In that game we learned how to stay composed and how to come together as a team when we were behind and come out with a victory. In this intense atmosphere you have to remember to stay calm and not put more pressure on yourself, especially when you are losing. You have to stay composed and learn not to panic but to feed off of the pressure. For us things were even more intense because not only are we fighting to stay in the game but were losing to Clutch. As the innings pass the pressure is mounting, and the girls start to press more and more. This is where I learned how to be an even better leader. I realized how my team was behaving, so as we came into our infield meeting I called everyone together. I told them, to just relax. We had seen this pitcher before and know that we can hit off of her. Lets focus on just hitting the ball hard and good things will happen, we CAN do this. I learned how to take the focus away from the pressure and replace it with high energy, and being positive to motivate them that we can do this, we will win. As a team we learned that we can come from behind and win in a big game. Now we have that experience we will be even better off next time knowing how to deal with the pressure, and believing because we have been here before and won! 

Softball has a great way of giving you feedback about your actions, and it isn’t whether or not you win the game. What determines success or failure is the look in your teammates eyes when they believe in you, when they relax and rally around each other and perform better. It could have turned out differently. They could have caught Lexi’s hit into the gap and we may have lost. But we still would have learned so much about ourselves and life. If you open your eyes and embrace the moment you can learn something very beneficial from these games. 

College Camp Experiences

Normally when you think of summer you picture laying by the pool relaxing now that school is out. But not for me, my life has gotten about 5x busier since I officially became a junior! Besides for watching the state tournament, in the last two weeks I have had the opportunity to attend the Illinois State Camp, Danes Camp, and Wisconsin Camp along with playing with the Rochester Royals and the Danes every weekend. I learned a lot from each camp that I attended and hope to take little things from each of them to improve my game. 

The Illinois State Camp was in Bloomington, Illinois. (For those who don't know where that is, its in the middle of a corn field next too all of these ginormous State Farm buildings! ;) ) In the morning we started out with their usual warm-up along with intros from the coaches and players. From there up until lunch we worked on fielding. We completed their normal every day drills working on different throws, footwork, drop steps, and full infield drills. After lunch we moved to hitting. First Coach Fischer explained the way that they teach hitting and the proper mechanics. Her goal was to get us to try something new that we hadn't done before or take something that they taught and add it to your swing to make it better. After we moved to different stations doing tee, soft toss, and front toss drills. For the finish we split up into 4 groups to scrimmage another team while the other two groups were touring the indoor facilities. Illinois was my first outdoor college team camp. I was nervous because of the unknown but knew that I would have a blast because I was getting the chance to play softball. I love hitting so the biggest thing that stood out to me was how their hitters all started. Their stance started open with their negative movement and then finished closed with their positive movement. The reasoning behind it is so that they could have two eyes on the ball instead of one. Which makes a lot of sense because I definitely see better with two eyes instead of one. 

Danes Camp was unlike anything I had ever experienced. It was three straight days of learning and hard work. On the first morning it was raining, so we held practice in the dome. There we learned all of the plays we will run this year, our throwing warm-up, and completed our first challenge drill. It had finally cleared up so we drove back the the fields in Hudson to work on bunting and slapping. I had never slapped before so that was very interesting. I learned so many new types of bunts besides for the normal sacrifice that I had been taught before. It opened my eyes to how many more tools I can learn and add to my game to make me that much better of a player. To finish the night we did the Big 300. The Big 300 is a very simple drill, field 300 ground balls as a team without everyone getting out on an error. We only got to 298 when our last girl and team captain had an error. The Big 300 isn't just a drill, but a tool to teach life lessons, use strategy, and where your true leaders stand out. Over the next two days we continued to learn all of the information in our style sheet...(by the way, it is 130 pages, thank you Tim!!) Although it is a lot to process, it is the greatest learning tool someone has ever given me. This way if I have questions some of them I can answer them and learn the why even if I am not around my coaches. On Thursday night we had a double header which was very encouraging in showing us how well we were coming together. Friday was mostly batting practice and then starting the journey over to Mankato for our first tournament! Even though I was exhausted from it, I learned so much and feel I improved a lot over the course of the three days. 

The Badger camp started out with the usual introductions and check ins for camp. But then we went right into my favorite part, hitting. To begin Coach Schneider had us spread out and close our eyes. During this he talked about mechanics and had us feel with our bodies what the correct form was (after watching him with our eyes open). Then we broke up into our hitting groups of about 6 girls to do different tee stations, baserunning, live front toss, and bunting. After hitting we had a chalk talk. During the season, Coach said they try to have at least one chalk talk a week. A talk would contain anything from proper mechanics, strategies, plays, or even inspirational speakers. One of the biggest things that stood out to me during the talk was how they talked about plussing your plusses. Focus on the things that you do well and be positive while working on the things that you can't do as well. They also talked about how much they love their kids and that by being positive they give so much more back to them. After the talk it was finally lunchtime. I love lunch! The second half of the day was throwing, their everyday drills, and diving practice. They worked a ton on picking shorthops and making sure you had good diving form to make great plays. Coach said that if a girl doesn't dive for a foul ball, that the Softball Gods will come back to get her by letting the hitter get a hit or her making an error. So the lesson is, dive for that ball!! Lastly we did several drills to try and recreate how you have to be able to think and react at the same time. To do this we started out very simple by doing a simple pattern through a ladder. Next we added that you had to juggle two softballs as you went through the ladder. Each round we built up how much you had to do at once until we were sitting on the ground facing backwards, then get up, juggle the balls, go through the ladder, all while counting down from 50. I was amazed at how much slower my brain worked after adding all of these things and simply how hard it was to count backwards! The next day was all scrimmaging. You were assigned to a team, went through warm-ups, an evaluation, and then got to show your skills at the scrimmage. 

During these camps I learned a lot about myself. The combination of driving to Illinois, getting home at 1 AM, leaving for Danes at 7:30 AM, then having camp all week, and based on weather cancellations, two tournaments in one weekend taught me how far I can push myself. You hit the wall of how much you think you can do, and if you can break that, you find you can do so much more. I learned to fight through fatigue and how mentally strong I need to be to stay focused and be on top of my game.  

Besides for cramming all of these camps into the past two weeks I have played in three tournaments one the first weekend and because of weather cancellations two after the week of Danes camp. Most kids would complain that they don't have enough free time and want to be with their friends, but my friends are my teammates and wouldn't trade the opportunities I have been given to learn more about softball and show my skills for anything. 

The most important thing I learned was to recognize and be thankful for how blessed I am to be able to play this sport. Many other players have the talent but their families don't have the money to give them the opportunity. Also others may have the money and the talent but, like one of my former teammates, not be able to play anymore because of injuries. I am incredibly blessed to be able to physically and mentally play the game that I love. 

Camps

Today I attended the Illinois State University camp. It was very interesting to hear their views on hitting and the different ways that they perform skills. I had a lot of fun while being exposed to new drills and techniques. I have attended other camps for colleges before that have been similar but I really enjoyed how there weren't as many kids and only a certain amount of players at each position to provide ample reps and opportunities for the staff to coach each position. It was a very rewarding experience that I enjoyed. 
Tomorrow is another camp and the first day of the Danes summer season. Before we have any tournaments we have camp. Camp is held over the course of three days to work on skills and gel as a team. This is my first time attending camp and I am so stoked! I have heard from my teammates that have already been to it that you will learn more in those three days than you would in a year of normal softball and even though it is tiring it is so much fun. It is going to be awesome to practice and get to know the team better than I already do. Each day is a great opportunity to learn and get better in the competitive learning environment that has been presented. By the end of camp I know that I will have learned a great amount, improved my skills, we all as a team will know a lot more about each other and also be confident in our teammates that they know their jobs and will execute them.

What Softball Has Given Me

I started playing 10u softball when I was 7 years old. Like most kids in that situation, I was very scared. Before my first practice my dad reminded me, "It doesn't matter how old they are V, you can hit better than most of them." Suddenly age didn't matter to me anymore, only skills did. Softball has given me three major things: 1) Confidence, 2) Desire, and 3) Opportunity.

As a younger kid starting from when I was about five until my eight grade year I was very shy and insecure. I  went through the awkward chubby phase for longer than most, which doesn't do a whole lot for ones self esteem. But, each year as I continued to excel more and more, I slowly came out of my shell. My skills and being able to make such a huge impact on a game with how I play has changed me so much. Before, I would  not be confident enough to go up and talk to someone that I didn't know or interact a lot in a group setting. Now I am the exact opposite. I am very outgoing and sure of myself when interacting with others. My brother likes to relate my confidence to "swag." Well my swag isn't loud and cocky like some accomplished players. I prefer to let my actions speak for me and carry myself in a way that exhibits quiet confidence.  What gave me the most confidence is that because of my abilities and my personalities I have become a leader. Having people look to me in situations for advice and being able to lead my team to victory has only increased how much I believe in myself.

Another thing softball gave me was desire, desire to be as good as I could be. That means putting in lots of hard work and getting myself into better shape. I started to work out daily and eat healthier. Growing a couple inches has helped but I have really slimmed down since seventh grade. Along with getting in shape I wanted to be the best player I could be. So in the mornings I would, and still do, go to the batting cages at school. There my dad and I would spend countless hours hitting off the tee, front toss, and off the machine. As I put in more and more work I have continued to get better and excel in the things that I want to do.

Finally the last thing softball has given me is opportunity. It gives me the opportunity to meet new people, show how good of an athlete I am, what I am able to accomplish, and a chance to play the sport that I love. Through the years of playing on so many different teams I have had the chance to meet so many people. At the state tournament this year it hit me just how many people I recognized that I had played with or against over the years. It also seems that no matter where I go, whether it is a tourney, a camp, or just to the practice fields, I always run into someone that I know. Making all of these new relationships are great because of the variety of people and the personalities you meet are all over the board and help you become a well rounded individual in conversation. Every time I play I have the chance to demonstrate how well I can truly play the game of softball. In the future I hope that all of my hard work pays off and softball gives me the opportunity to achieve my dreams.

Summer Goals

Each day presents an opportunity to get better. During the summer that opportunity is even greater because of how many more games you play and how much more time you have on your hands. This summer I have made three goals for myself. 1) I want to get better at hitting the ball to all fields with power, 2) I want to utilize the extra training time to get stronger, faster and more agile, and 3) I want to challenge my development of the mental understanding of the game and absorb as much as possible from each situation and each game.

Hitting - Any good hitter can pull the ball with power. The difference between good and great is being able to hit the ball anywhere it is pitched with authority. I want to make myself a threat and be able to hit to all fields with power. Right now I am becoming better at going with the pitch and driving it to right field. But my goal is to be able to hit the ball just as hard and far to right as I can to left. That way when you step into the box the pitcher doesn't know where to pitch you. No matter where it is, if they throw a strike, you have the ability to make them pay.

Training - I have always been active in sports and weightlifting. But this summer I want to take my fitness to a whole different level. I want to be stronger, faster, and more agile. To do this I will be participating in speed and agility training at the athletic club in Rochester along with my lifting workouts. Also, I have been able to overcome athletic situations which require core strength and balance with aggressiveness and force. But at the next level just the talent that you were born with and determination isn't enough. To increase my balance and agility I am starting to do yoga! It is much much harder than I ever expected it to be, “ isn't it just stretching?” No, it is much more and I can tell that it is going to benefit me in the long run.

Mental Understanding - My last goal is to develop my mental understanding and absorb as much as possible from each situation in each game. Even though most teenagers like to think they know everything, I know that is definitely not the case. I have so much to learn about life and especially about softball. This is the first full year that I will be playing with the Danes. Just playing in the fall and domeball seasons I learned so much from them. I want to take the advantage of all of the knowledge of the game around me, ask questions, listen and learn, learn, learn.

Loving the Game

I have always liked playing softball. But what really made me love the game in the beginning was the people I played with. I can remember the day that my dad first signed me up to play softball. A couple days later I got an e-mail back saying that I was going to be playing for the Century team. I cried and cried because at time I wanted to be on the JM team (who I played basketball with). Now I wouldn’t be with any of my friends and to top it off Century was JM’s biggest rival. It had to be a ten year olds worst nightmare. Reluctantly I went to practice. I forced myself to go in with an open mind and remember that they are probably nice people too. It turns out that I have been playing for that same coach for five years now and think of him to be my second dad. I became great friends with all of the girls on the team and several of them are still my teammates.

That was the first official Royals team. Now we are much older, skills have increased, the faces of players have changed but one thing hasn’t, how much fun we have playing together. Even from the beginning the team has been made up of a bunch of goofballs, but now we are goofballs that really know how to play softball. Being able to play the game you love with your best friends has to be one of the best feelings in the world. Every time that we have a practice, a game, or anything to do with softball I cannot wait because of how much I have grown to love the game.

Summer Softball

The first phase of softball is always the high school season. I play for a small town named Byron (next to Rochester). We open enroll there instead of going to Rochester because of how much better the academics are. The high school season is difficult because playing for a small town limits the amount of girls that you have go out. Normally we have 9 or if we’re lucky we will have one sub. School softball is great because you have a place to have practice every day and polish your skills for the rest of the year. High school is always lots of fun and I love my teammates, but the true season I look forward to is travel ball.

This summer I am playing for two teams the Rochester Royals 16u and The Danes 18u. We have our first Royals tournament this weekend and I can’t begin to explain how excited I am for it to finally start!! I have played for the Royals for 5 years now and every summer it is the time of my life. My dad and Steve Lewison began the team when I was in 5th grade. It is crazy to think that most of these girls I have been playing with for over half of my softball career. Now wonder why my team is so close!

This will be my first year playing for the Danes. I played fall and dome ball with the team and was amazed at how much I learned over that short period of time. I was very excited when they asked me to come and play with them this summer. There is going to be lots of good competition and I feel that I am going to improve a lot learning from the older players and new coaches. I can’t wait for Danes camp and for the season to finally begin!

My teams are just like my family because I spend so much time with them. At least four days of the week I am playing softball whether it is a league game or in a tournament. Last summer the Royals played over 100 games together. That is A LOT of bonding time. Although we are playing with each other almost every day we still make plans to hang out one night a week. We always have movie nights, or sleepovers, or our favorite, to go tubing down the river all day. Even though I don’t spend much time with people other than my teammates I wouldn’t trade it for the world. Especially because those are the people that I love and want to be around the most.

The Beginning

Spring in Minnesota is always unpredictable, and provides plenty of heat waves and even blizzards as summer rapidly approaches. As unpleasant as the weather may be for this time of year it gives me an excuse to be inside watching college softball. Every year since I can remember I have watched the NCAA WCWS on TV. But for some reason this year is different. Sitting here on my couch watching Maddie Shipman turn a double play for Tennessee or Meagan May bomb another homerun for Texas A&M, I realize that is what I want to do. I want to be one of those amazing players on TV that first inspired me.

I was inspired by Katie Burkhart of the Arizona Sun Devils in 2008 when she led them to victory in the world series. You may think Arizona, why Arizona? I am from Mesa Arizona and have always been a big ASU fan because of it. Like Katie, I used to want to be a pitcher. But at the age of about 12 I changed my mind. Now I play 3B and sometimes SS. After watching the games I thought to myself, how much hard work she has had to put in to become that good. So, I now set out on my journey to make that dream a reality.  One day a little girl will say, I want to grow up and play like her. My name is Vanessa Anderson. I am 16 years old and live in Rochester, MN. This is my journey and I hope to show how my hard work pays off and in the end how I will fulfill my dreams.