Softball: The game that never ends by Mya

Softball: The game that never ends by Mya - February 2017 Scholarship Essay

How can failure define an athlete? Well for athletes like me I know that I have to always work hard for what I want -- in practice, in games, in off season, and every other day of the year. I am not perfect and I will never be, but I strive to be great.
I have a full count, three balls and two strikes, with two outs, and I have runners at third and second. If I hit a line drive up the middle or to the right gap my team wins. I get in the batter's box timidly, and I question myself. Can I do this? The pitch is coming, and I get jittery. I swing like my life depends on it. It’s a rise ball that pops up and goes to the pitcher. I am out, and the game is over. The other team has won. It’s time to go home now. “I have failed myself, and I have failed my team,” I think to myself.
Every time I practice I imagine myself with a full count. I work on not being so jumpy while I’m in the batter’s box. In games I imagine myself at the beach, it soothes me and helps get all of my jitters out. My many years on the field has made me understand that I have to visualize myself making plays and swinging at my pitch. It is just me and the pitcher going head-to-head, and I have to win.
I have improved my game in so many ways, and everyday I keep getting better. I might fail, but I never look at it as a failure; it is always a lesson. Just like Michael Jordan said, “I've failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed.”