You are more than you think by Carlee

You are more than you think by Carlee - March 2024 Scholarship Essay

Growing up and being homeschooled, the rule in our house was we had to play a sport each season. It did not matter which sport, we just had to be involved in something. I played soccer, tried gymnastics, was in dance classes, and tried any and every available sport. I signed up for a fall recreation softball league when I was ten years old. I started at a much later age than most of the girls. This meant that I had a lot of catching up to do skill wise. I worked every day with my dad on throwing, catching, pitching and tee work. My parents found me a batting coach as well as a pitching coach so I could learn the basic skills needed to play softball. By the end of my first season, my abilities had improved enough that I was able to try out for the local travel ball teams. I tried out for several teams as a pitcher. I was told by just as many that I would never be a pitcher because I was too small, too slow, and did not have what it took to be a pitcher. I was discouraged, and I believed what the coaches had told me. But that just gave me more of a reason to keep working. I worked hard and put in the time, but no one would give me the opportunity to prove myself. During one tryout Coach Pepsi had me pitch over and over and he watched and critiqued my pitching mechanics. He told me I had a lot to learn but there was also so much potential in me. That was the first time I had a coach tell me I had potential. This gave me a little spark of hope. The phone call finally came. I officially made a local travel team! We practiced three times a week, plus my pitching and batting lessons. Practices were becoming harder, and the coach was constantly correcting me. I left each practice crying. I did not understand what I was doing wrong. I was trying to do what the coach was asking of me. I spoke to the coach. His response to me “You are so much better than what you are giving to me at practice, I correct you because I see the potential in you.’
Fast forward a few months, it is tournament season. I kept thinking about what the previous coaches had said to me. They would all be at this tournament with their own teams. I knew I was better than that, but I let it get in my head. The first game, I was the starting pitcher. It could not have gone worse. I could not throw a strike, I was rolling balls in the dirt and throwing them over the catcher's head. I was in my own head. I looked at my Coach and said, "I cannot do this!" He told me to figure it out kid, I am not pulling you out of the game. I believe in you. I looked at him, took a deep breath, and threw my first strike of the game. This is the day that I became a pitcher!
Coach Pepsi believed in me when no other coach did. He pushed me to strive for excellence. He would never accept anything less from me. He saw something in me that others, including myself, couldn’t see. That was the day that changed everything for me. I decided I wanted to study sports psychology and social services. As a female softball athlete, I know first-hand how difficult and demanding the mental side of the sport is. Going through it all alone makes it much more difficult. I went through a time where if I did not throw strikes, I felt I alone let my team down. It was around this time softball had become my whole personality instead of the sport I played. I want to make a difference and give back to the community that gave me so much. I want to be someone who could help athletes realize that they are more than just some (insert your sport) player. They are a brother, sister, friend, daughter. I want to be a sports psychologist and work in the high schools/ colleges to let these student athletes know there is someone who understands what they are going through. I want to make them see themselves as a whole person. I want to be that change. I want to make a difference in young athletes’ lives. I want to be the person for someone else that Coach Pepsi was for me.