One hot summer day my softball team and I went to State. I was super nervous, but excited. Training all year practice after practice wasn't easy. I did all that to get to one place, Tri-Cities. The weather there was super hot and beautiful. The sun rising slowly over the water as the birds were flying away from the grass was amazing.

Before that there was much more. At the beginning my team couldn't hit, throw, or catch. My anger and frustration was going to come out soon if we didn't get better. Many words were going through my head wondering, “Why can’t we do anything?”  My coaches had enough of it! They made us practice so much we all hated it!

I always wanted to be a faster runner, so did everyone else. My coaches decided on speed and agility. Our trainer Kristen would always say, “If you want to be faster you better work harder!”

She was tough love and took time to get used too. Her tough look almost made me faint when I saw her.
When games got closer my coaches started getting stricter, which led to more practices and more exhaustion.
One practice coach said, “I have some exciting news… we're going to State!”

Everyone was jumping up and down, babbling and screaming about how excited they were. My brain was telling me don’t be too excited because I was unsure if we we’re going to win. On the outside I showed excitement jumping with joy.

The day before State my family packed up the car with so much stuff it looked like a hoarders episode. I went with my mom to the store buying everything we needed, $150 later were still getting food! After the store was my favorite part, getting our batgirl, Faith.

Our batgirl wasn’t only a batgirl she was like my sister. Faith lived one house away from me and I’ve known her since she was born. Everyone calls her my mini me. She looks like me, acts like me, and looks up to me. I’m proud to be her role model. We fight about stupid stuff even though she is four. At the end of the day we’re both happy and loving each other.

We headed out on Friday at 2:00pm the earliest dad could get out of work. I wasn't happy about the time we left because my whole team was already there. I kept texting, and texting until we were two minutes away. My four and a half hour car ride consisted of sleeping, texting, and getting annoyed. Faith kept screaming and babbling about nonsense like a noisy parrot crying for attention.
“Mom, can you please tell her to be quiet?” I said angered.

“Yes,” is all mom replied.
Faith was quiet for five minutes then the process repeated.
My excitement was kicking in as I got closer to the hotel. Dinner time was a bummer because I had to wait even longer to get to the hotel.
“Can we hurry up and go to the hotel now?” I said impatiently.
“Yes honey, just wait until we pay,” mom said.
7:45 and I’m still not at the hotel! 30 minutes later it’s hotel time! My emotions are super happy and excited.
“One hour, what should we do?” I asked mom.
“I don’t know, but you have to be back by 9:00pm sharp,” she replied.
“Ok, I’m heading to the pool, bye!” I said walking out the door barely listening.
Pool time!
As I was walking down the hallway a girl on my team came up to me and said, “She’s so annoying, she shouldn't be on the team!”
I replied with a sassy, ”Ok, whatever!”

She would always gossip and take time out of her day to cause problems, I was sick of it! Swimming was over so it was time for bed. “The next morning is going to be a blast!”  I thought to myself.

Nine hours later I was like a zombie so tired I didn't want to walk. For breakfast I had a bagel and my “Lucky tea”. My “Lucky tea” was a 20 ounce Arizona Sweet Tea with 28 grams of sugar, it got me pumped up!

“What time do we have to leave?” I asked.

“10 minutes, hurry up and eat honey,” mom replied.
“Ok, lets do this!” I said.

I leaped into the car frozen like an icicle. Sleeping with a four year old isn't easy, especially in the car! The grass drenched my feet with freezing cold dew, seeping through my socks. Over at the coaches car was, gear. I went over to grab some or else my team would have to run.

It’s this simple, coaches are lazy. We have to get every piece of gear or else we do sprints. Before every practice or game we run to the car before the coaches do.

“3...2...1...GO!” I yelled racing to the car.

“Whoever gets there last is the loser,” Sadie screamed.

Warm ups weren't the best, but we had to do them. Stretching, running, hitting, and fielding was the same every time! The one thing I liked was getting my catchers gear on. I got to warm up my pitcher, then move to the new field. We both got to take the first step on the field. The bright green grass with newly cared dirt was gorgeous. It felt so good on my feet as I was walking to my spot.

The coin flip was a privilege, and i got to do it!
“Visitors to Snohomish Shock, clock starts now!” the ump said, screaming in my ear feeling like it was going to burst.
The victory was ours with a score of 12-8. “What a day,” I thought to myself.
“What’s for dinner?” “I’m starving!” I said impatiently to mom.

“Famous Daves,” she replied.
“Yippee!” I said very sarcastically.

Barbeque is the worst food in the world! I manipulated my mom so much I got a nice steak and mashed potatoes from Applebees takeout. After dinner I was exhausted and it was time for bed.

“You don’t have to play until 11:30 tomorrow because you got a by,” mom said sounding super relieved.
“Ok, good night,” I replied half way asleep.
“Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep!” went the alarm screaming at me to wake up.
I got dressed, ate, then rushed out the door.
“10:00 ladies, lets take a jog,” Coach Scott said restlessly. “Campbell, Durbin, Neuman, coin flip lets go!” coach yelled impatiently.
“Visitors to Snohomish Shock, play ball!” the ump screamed.
“You're not hitting in this game, Patton will for you,” coach told me.
“Ok, I get it,” I replied half excited half bummed out.
My hitting wasn’t the best, so the team was better off with someone else. The ending score was 12-1 a big victory getting closer to the championship.
“Applebees, my favorite!” I screamed with excitement heading there.
“Who wants to go swimming after this?” I said at the dinner table cracking up.
“Me, me, me, me!” Everyone replied.
“Lets swim in the lake!” Shannon said.
“I’m good, but I’ll push you guys in and walk around,” I replied.

After one hour of walking around it was bedtime for the big day.
My morning has passed, and it’s semi-finals with our enemy, Fury! The time for revenge was now. Every time we played them they would always win, so it was time to stop that.
“I can’t believe we’re losing 6-5, come on ladies!” I thought in my head.
Were up to bat, runners on second and third, a bunter is up.

“Come on Elliot, you got this!” coach screamed nervously.
One bunt down the first base line two runners coming in, and we won! A huge victory was ours, finally!
“Girls, you have to be focused, this is the big game!” coach said super seriously.
Run after run after run were demolishing the Bulldogs. We’re only in the third inning and the score was 9-0. The rule is that if you have 10 or more runs in the third inning, the game is done and you can’t play any more. Our power hitter was up with determination in her eyes. Crash. The ball was soaring 50 feet over the 300 foot fence. Home run!

“We won!” I yelled trying not to cry.
10 running a team in the championship was a huge deal and we did it! Crying, smiling, and laughing for the win was the happiest moment ever.
“Teams, get on the baselines please,” the announcers announced.
“Look here!” all the parents, grandparents, and siblings said as they were taking pictures.
My mouth was going to fall off from smiling so much! That was one of the best moments in my life.

Realization

The best things in life are when you work your hardest even if you don’t like or enjoy them.