Softball is something that everyone has heard of. Whether it was through a joke that it was "just made so girl's couldn't play baseball" or you actually know someone who played it, the sport is not exactly a mystery. What is a mystery, however, is how much work and dedication goes into training and participating in such a sport. It is more than just catching and occasionally hitting a ball with a pat. There is so much dedication, hard times, quick thinking, and learning that comes from such a sport. I played softball for over ten years and it has taught me some of the most amazing lessons in the world, even more than sitting at a desk has.

The first thing this sport taught me is discipline and hard work. In order to play such a sport, there is more than one skill that must be learned. Batting, running, throwing, catching, etc. To make sure all of these are up to par, are as good as they possibly could, it takes a lot of work and time and dedication. It takes forcing yourself to get up at five in the morning for catcher's training. It takes saying no to that mall trip with your friends to go and hone your batting skills. For us who played as younger kids and teenagers, it took time to realize that this was our passion and our new love. That we had to give up some things to focus on what was important. It helps us in the real world to know that we can't have that cake until after dinner (okay, we can all have some leeway on that) and that work comes before play. Discipline was the hardest thing to learn but the most important.

Teamwork is something extremely important that must be learned since one person can't play all the positions at one time. There are exactly nine positions in softball, ten if you include a designated hitter, and one person cannot do them all. It helps to teach us that even when we don't like someone we need to suck it up and deal with the people, we need to suck it up and work with the person despite your distaste. It also helps to teach that sometimes the best idea is to work with other people, to come together as a team instead of trying to be the lone wolf.

Patience is another thing. You aren't automatically gonna hit the first pitch that comes your way. You aren't gonna get that trick play down on the first try. Learning to play the sport took time and patience. Yes, we would get frustrated and throw our bat or glove but we also knew that we had to try and try and try again. We would take a deep breath and go try it again. We were patient with ourselves and it certainly paid off.

The best thing I think I learned was that sometimes criticism and yelling can be good for you. Sometimes you need that angry push from the coach to realize your mistake. They prepare us for the future for when our boss is yelling at us to not automatically consider him a jerk but that maybe, just maybe, he's trying to help us improve. Maybe he's trying to make us see the better way. Now I know to taken the criticism I recieve in stride and apply it as best I can.

It was a sport that took over our lives for quite some time. Whether you're still playing or have retired from the sport, you still carry it with you. You still recognize the ding of the ball hitting the bat and the lesson that came with that. It was a sport that shaped our lives and shaped us into the women we are today.