If you were like me, you spent a number of years dedicating hours upon hours to the one sport you love the most. Although this article can apply to almost any sport, I'm talking about the one sport that took my heart away as soon as I entered that dirt diamond, softball. Unfortunately, after high school, I no longer had the privilege of playing every day and I (like many other people) entered the four stages of softball grief.

1. Denial

The first stage begins as soon as the final game comes to an end. If your team was anything like my team, there was waterworks after the final playoff game. This is when you begin to realize that you will no longer be with these girls on a daily basis anymore. The denial is at an all-time peak when you're getting ready for school the next day and go to grab your softball bag for practice but remember you don't need it. This cycle continues to go until the end of the school year, in a constant denial that you won't be playing with these girls that became your sisters during your years in softball.

2. Reflection

This is a stage that doesn't just fall at number two but can reoccur in between a number of stages and even at the end. When I say reflection, I'm talking about the memories you keep from your time on the team with your softball sisters. These are times on and off the field that you guys can always come together and just laugh about. There a number of times that you will find yourself just talking with your old teammates and laughing about all of the inside jokes you guys had. Whenever you may see your old team, you constantly refer back to your times on the team and compare how the team may have changed or how you can still see the cohesion you once had with your teammates. Another way you may also reflect is just by watching any of the softball games on tv, wishing you were on that field with those girls and figuring what you would do if the ball were hit to you.

3. Acceptance

This is the hardest stage to get over. This is the moment you realize it's time to really put your gloves and cleats away. This is the point that you realize high school (or college, for those lucky ones) softball is the end of your tour, minus any time you may spontaneously play with someone. Acceptance involves learning to let yourself let go of any day dream of playing further but still seeing that you definitely enjoy it and will play whenever you can.

4. Hope

The final stage. This stage can be combined with some of the other stages. You can hope for the future members of your old team, and watch them attempt to make it as far as they can all of the following years. Hope can also come to those who grow up to have a child of their own and want them to find the same passion in the sport similar to theirs. That moment you buy your daughter her first little pink glove, you have hope. Hope that they find the same love that you found and can fall into the same cycle as you, including the grief because at the end of the day you know that you will always cherish every moment you had playing and want them to hold their future softball memories close to them, too.