Personal Essay: The Sport Of Softball

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Softball. According to the dictionary, softball is a modified form of baseball played on a smaller field with a larger ball, seven rather than nine innings, and underarm pitching. But to me it is more than just a modified version of baseball, to me it is more than just a game. It's not about the pitching style or the smaller field or the number of innings. I have grown up playing the game and it has made me tougher. It has shown me how to love sports and be a competitive athlete.

“Come in Ladies” roared the random stranger that would soon be known as Coach. I could hear the sound of bats cracking and the buzzing of the pitching machines in the distance. I was at the Diamonds softball facilities. There were players from all over West Michigan, around the age of sixteen. I was beyond nervous for these tryouts. This was my last chance to show off my skill to get more experience on the field and eventually play in college.
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The other day I got asked the question “What do you want to do with life after high school.” I immediately responded with, “Play college softball.” From spring to fall, season after season, softball takes over my life in a positive way. I love softball and playing in college would be a dream. I have worked hard through twelve years of playing. But collegiate softball players have limited opportunity to play after their four years.

Softball has a very small professional league that has been around since 1997 known as the National Pro Fastpitch (NPF). In 2016, the NPF had forty draft picks, a low number compared to those picked in the Major League Baseball (MLB). The MLB draft picks over two-hundred college players each year to enter one of the thirty teams that compete across the United States. Although the draft picks of the NPF have recently increased, the quantity of professional females remains low for the large amount of talented

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