My Softball Journey by Rhyan

Throughout my years of playing baseball, I've learned the importance of humility and teamwork. I've experienced both winning and losing seasons, each of which has shaped me into a more versatile and well-rounded player, both on and off the field.

I come from a long line of softball and baseball players. My mom, grandma, grandpa, aunts, uncles, and cousins have all played. In fact, my great-grandfather owned a minor league baseball team named The Little Rock Cubs. His team not only integrated Traveler’s Field, a white’s only baseball park, but some of his players also went on to play in the Negro League.

It's clear that baseball is a major part of my family's legacy, so naturally I love it. I’ve been playing since I was three years old, and over the years, I’ve learned a lot about the game and gained a great deal of experience. Although I love baseball now, I didn’t always take it seriously. It wasn’t until I got to high school that I started to genuinely care for it. At first, I only played because my mom wanted me to. As a result, I lacked proper understanding of the game. I just wanted to have fun.

When I was younger, I played for various teams. Many of which would have players that were experienced and loved the sport. During this time, I played for the winning teams. It wasn’t until I joined a team with players who didn’t love the game that I realized winning was no longer going to be easy. We lost almost every game. I was extremely frustrated with the performance of the team. Especially, since I’m a very competitive player. After a while, I became fed up and made the abrupt decision to quit. Consequently, this would affect me later.

Three years later, it was my freshman year at Southwest High School, and I wanted to participate in extracurricular activities. When we walked into the front office, we were introduced to the baseball coach. I told her all about my past experience. She was happy to hear that because the school was only a few years old and they were still trying to build the athletic departments.

Fast forward to the day of tryouts, I was both excited and nervous. It had been almost three years since I last played. Could I still throw or hit the same? Do I still remember how to play? All these questions were racing through my head. Until my grandpa reassured me that baseball runs through my veins and that it’s similar to riding a bike, you will never forget. I was still a little nervous, I couldn't help but think how the team would be and what the future would hold. However, I wasn’t going to let that stop me from doing my best. As I walked through the gate and onto the field, I was kindly greeted by one of my teammates. Instantly, I felt a bit of relief. The coach introduced me to everyone. Afterwards, she told me to go put on my cleats.

When tryouts started, I was expecting to see more experienced players. Instead, I was surprised to find out that most of the girls had never played baseball before. When we played our first game, I realized that the team wasn’t as dedicated to the sport as I was. It reminded me of why I quit in the first place. I refused to be a quitter, so I stuck it out. After losing so many games, the team developed a losing mentality. As time progressed, I lost faith in the team and I just wanted the season to be over.

Sophomore year was much like my freshman year. Majority of the team were inexperienced. Our work ethic had improved, but we still lacked confidence. As a result, we continued to lose games even the ones that seemed to be an easy win. In the middle of the season, a new player joined the team. This girl proved to be an asset to the team and would later become my best friend. With the addition of the new experienced player, I felt we had a chance to win more games. However, that wasn’t the case and we had another losing season.

My junior year, I decided to play basketball. Although we had a losing season, I wasn’t too discouraged, I had high hopes that baseball would be a lot better. Especially, when I heard that we were getting a new player on the team, someone who would also become my best friend. I was already familiar with her from previous encounters, and we had played against her the year before, so I knew her skill level.

I felt pretty confident in our team this year. We had three experienced, varsity-level players, and the season was looking promising. Additionally, we had a new line up that was made up predominantly of inexperienced freshmen. However, I didn't give it that much thought because I was certain that three of us would carry the team to victory. I quickly learned that without a team effort, it was almost impossible to win any games.

When the season began, we played a team that we were expected to beat. Our performance was much better than in my first couple of years at Southwest, but small mistakes were constantly made, and they ended up costing us the game. Although we lost, I still saw improvement in the team and I still had hope.

As we continued through the season, we lost game after game, I became more frustrated. We practiced three hours a day and we had three experienced varsity players. Yet, we still lost every game.

As the season went on, I realized that three people alone couldn’t win a game. Without a strong team, winning was nearly impossible. When the season came to a close, we finished with zero wins. However, it wasn’t a complete failure, because the team had made remarkable improvements compared to previous years. I’m proud to say that we’ve helped change the culture of softball at Southwest.