Recently, I have been noticing that softball has not been getting the respect that I think it deserves. Part of the reason for this occurrence is that the sport does have some factors going against it. Softball was taken out of the Olympics, which before was the main source glorifying the sport. There are also very few professional teams -- only five who are still around today. Stores that used to be stocked with softball gloves and bats have been moved to small corners, and that space is now occupied by field hockey and lacrosse. But I think that the beautiful game of softball deserves only the utmost respect. Here is why.

Softball is one of the only sports out there in which knowledge of the game is as important as athletic ability. “Softball smarts” takes years to learn. Sometimes I think softball gets a bad rap because there is not as much running involved. But it still physically wears down each and every player. Muscles of softball players are being pushed because of constant throwing, pitching and hitting required on a daily basis.

Furthermore, softball players deserve more respect because of how dangerous the sport can be. If you have ever seen a hard line-drive hit at someone, you know what I am talking about. If you do not know what I am talking about, here is a video.

The hardest part about being a softball player is living with the constant failure. In softball, if you fail seven out of 10 times, you are successful. That fact alone would drive most people crazy. But it requires softball players to be positive, determined and so overly confident in themselves that they can fail seven times and still never give up.

Softball players must always be in the gym getting their muscles as strong as they can to power through pitches that rise and curve. It has been said that hitting a baseball is one of the hardest things to do in sports. But if you have ever tried hitting a ball that is speeding up and rising at the same time, you know that hitting a rise ball is by far the hardest thing to do in all of sports. If you do not believe me, here is proof.

Us softball players need to band together and bring back the level of respect that the sport deserves. This beautiful game has brought us all many memories and has taught us many lessons. The rest of the world needs to re-learn to appreciate the game, and now is the time to start.