Pre-writing assignment2

It all started my freshman year in high school. I was nervous because it was the big day, it was finally time for softball tryouts. I had been waiting for this day for a long time. I always had butterflies when it came for me to tryout. This was a big moment for me, I had been preparing for this since I was in grammar school. My love for the game didn't chance when I got to high school the only thing that did change were the people that coached me. My dad had always been my coach, he would tell me when I was doing something wrong and would congratulate me when I did something right. I told him it would be weird for him not to coach me, but I knew he couldn't be my coach forever. Fast forward, a year, I was one of the best players on the team. I was the starting first baseman and batted in the middle of the lineup.

Before tryouts every year I would tell myself, "you got this". It was like a prep talk to myself. Even after this prep talk I would still go out there and have major butterflies. It would be so bad that my hands would shake. After like the first few plays I would feel fine. Its like I just needed reassurance that I was capable of making a play. Every year after my freshman year, I took tryouts as if it were a practice. It was almost guaranteed that if you were on the team last year and you had great experience you were automatically on the team.

It's is my junior year in high school and I 'm now on the varsity softball team but, I was not the starting first baseman. I was behind this senior who was an awesome player. She was also a captain and had great leadership qualities on and of the field. She was the one I looked up to. The coach wold put me in the game to get practice and I would freak out because I was playing behind someone who was amazing and I didn't want to mess up. Everytime I thought about messing up I would and I would feel horrible. I kept on practice and eventually after the starting first baseman graduated I took her spot at being the starting first baseman. I felt great that I was out there on the field all the time. It was at that moment all of my fears and butterflies came back and went away when I made the first play of the game. After that I didn't drop a ball or mess up a play. Everything was a fluid motion and it felt right.

The things that were significant to me during this experience were, could see the excitement on my teammates face when I made a play, I could hear he crowd when I was up at bat, I could smell the sunflower seeds and the dirt on the field, and occasionally the fresh cut grass. The touch of the bat and hearing the sound of the bat hit the ball just made me feel excited inside. When I was at bat I didn't hear or see anything but the pitcher and the ball. Everything was right in the world when I was running bases.