Yes, we have a softball team in Mountain Lakes. Softball is such an under-appreciated sport in my small town because of girl’s lacrosse and track. Softball is a great sport, but people don’t give it a chance. I'll have you know that I’m a multi-sport athlete, but high school softball might be my favorite high school sport. Let me tell you what softball has taught me about perseverance.

Softball is an amazing sport, and it has taught me to have patience and to work hard. Unlike soccer or basketball, softball makes you think ahead – it takes longer to master the skills than learning how to play any other sport. It’s such a unique sport. Each position individually is so crucial and hard to learn which is why team unity is so important. Things don’t come right away, and they won’t come if you don’t work for them. My softball team has yet to win a game this season; we’re still young and started varsity young. Last year we should’ve been a JV team (and, trust me, we would’ve been a pretty solid JV team), but we didn’t have enough upperclassmen to sustain a varsity teamand make a junior varsity team. We had one junior at the time.

The most important thing softball has taught me is to never quit. Because of softball, I work hard even when I know when I’m going to fail. We go up against teams like Parsippany, who is practically third in the state. I know, looking at our statistics, that we're most likely not going to win, but why not make our opponents work hard for the win? Hard work pays off too. Don’t believe me? Well, I’ve never met a team who has as much perseverance as Mountain Lakes. Last year our record was 2-18; we played some bona fide teams. Over the weekend, we played a team that had crushed us 15-0 last year, but we lost 13-6. We were even BEATING them 6-3 until the 5th inning. Now, do you believe that we work hard until the very end?

But just because my high school team isn’t successful statistically, doesn't make the sport itself any less complicated. Learning everything about softball takes years, but mastering it takes longer. Learning how to play goalie for soccer was tough, but learning how to bat was nearly impossible. Last year, out of the 20 games, I only had 12 hits. Hitting isn't even the worst part. Learning when to cover second and first, when to be the cutoff, when to throw home, when to run the ball in rather than throw it -- all of that was probably the hardest. It still is hard. The sport seems impossible, but it’s not. Just learn how to work hard, have patience -- because it won’t come easy, and never give up. Eventually, everything's going to click, and success will follow.