Baseball Made Me A Confident, Strong, And Dedicated Young Adult

I step up to the plate heart racing but staying calm and focused. My teammates pumping me up as I get signs from the coach while the pitcher gets them from the catcher. As I get into the box the pitcher gets set and my mind starts thinking of a million different things. I start to slow my breathing focusing on just the baseball and making contact with it. The pitch is thrown in just a few seconds but what feels like an eternity as all that buildup and nerves are gone and the sound of the ball hits the bat.

I am calm and stress free when I step foot on a baseball field. Baseball is where I realized that my potential as a human being is endless. Since baseball is outdoors and can be played almost all year long the temperatures can vary massively. From scorching hot and humid weather to bitter cold wind and rain I still somehow was able to push through it. The humid hot air in the spring and summer or the cold air in the fall and that feeling of tiredness and sweat was accomplishing and satisfying knowing I never gave up and gave every last bit of energy I had. No matter how awful the weather was or how hard my coaches pushed me to try my hardest I still was able to overcome these obstacles.

This new understanding that I had what it takes to accomplish and overcome anything life had for me molded a mental toughness and aspiration inside of me that has been helping me through any hard times in life. The continued drills and exercises we would run in baseball over and over weren’t only to get me to be a better player but completely got everything else in my life off of my mind. Whether I had a lot of homework or a big test the next day I would forget about all of that when I played baseball. I started baseball when I was around seven years old and had very little knowledge on baseball and had no clue how I would do or if I would even enjoy it.

Within the first year or two I could clearly see that I had fell in love with the sport and was actually pretty good at it. Trusting my skill level I tried out for the travel baseball team when I was nine and was able to make it. I was now fully aware and proud of what my body and mind was able to accomplish and my confidence level was going through the roof. This was the first sign that what I was doing became important and fulfilling in my childhood.

The nine years spent on a baseball field for most of my time was key in building the person I wanted to be and so far become. My ability to grind through tough practices showed strengths that I had never knew that I had which were dedication and determination. The confidence built up from many years of baseball helped me make many friendships and ways to get passed bad moments in my life. The baseball field wasn’t just a diamond with grass and dirt but a stepping stone into me becoming a confident, strong, and dedicated young adult.