Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Learning the game of softball
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Learning the game of softball
3. When I was in high school, I tried out for softball even though I had never played before and I had no idea on how to throw, catch, or hit a ball. I played on a league with other beginners and people that played for years. We practiced three times a week during the practice I was helped by the coaches and other players that had been playing for a long time. I began to practice outside of practice, I would go to batting cages and go to an empty field and play. I had also observed other players and watched videos. With all the attempts of trying to get better at softball I had improved my skills. Throughout my first games I was a bench warmer, but as the coaches noticed my improvement I became a regular outfielder. I no longer struggled with
Though the practices performed within softball literacy do not immediately seem as if they should be considered a literacy practice, according to two of the six propositions about the nature of literacy, it is. Not only does it involve the physical performance from a play, but also includes formal writings, new rules and regulations, and offer different rules in different countries. I think softball should be counted as a literacy practice because it appeals to Barton and Hamilton’s propositions and includes artifacts that make it a community and artifacts that provide the players with essential people skills.
It was the beginning of a new softball season, and I couldn't wait to get out there with my team. At our first practice I remember feeling back at home on the field. Just when I thought this was going to be our teams best season, my parents moved me to a private school. Leaving what I was familiar with was not an easy task, and deciding if I would continue my passion of softball with a different team was even more difficult.
As i practiced I began to get better and better. Show of hands how many of you have completely embarrassed themselves in sports. I for sure can say that I do that on a regular bases. Now if you're anything like me you know that when you start a sport for the first time. You have questions like my first question “ what in the world is softball”. Well now that I am a”softball”player I can tell you all it is to know about soft.
Softball is harder than baseball. The three main reasons are, softball players have less time to react to the ball, hitting a softball is harder than hitting a baseball. The last reason is slap hitters or left-handed hitters in softball.
I have played softball ever since the tee ball days. It has been a sport that I have grown to love and couldn’t imagine not playing. The way I have grown up playing softball has changed tremendously from the time it was 1st created in 1887 on Thanksgiving Day. The first time this game was even thought of was when a group of excited men threw a boxing glove to another man who swung a broom trying to hit the boxing glove, like a bat hitting a ball. This group of men, who were all apart of the Farragut boat club, decided they would turn this into a game of their own and softball was born. Although the name softball was not finally decided on until 1926. It was first called indoor baseball. Kitten baseball, or pumpkin ball. Softball didn't grow rapidly until 1933 a softball tournament was set up at the world fair. There were 55 teams in the invent and over 350,000 watching. The game of softball went crazy. Not just in the U.S., but all around the world.
My small, sweaty palms griped the cold fence as I looked on nervously at my brother’s baseball game. I was waiting for the final out of the game so that I could run onto the field and around the bases as I did after every game. As a young child, my parents were always searching for something to keep me entertained. I was a bubbly child with an endless amount of energy. Being that I was the only girl amongst four boys, I was always electrified in their presence. I wanted to be involved in all their wrestling, running and playing. Being the type of child who loved to play, I would stay outside until I was forced to come in. I would run along the dimly lit street, making up my own games and making new friends. Even when I got older, my energy did not fade. At
I spend six days per week for twelve months straight practicing catching, throwing, and hitting a softball. My friends call me crazy when I have to leave their house at ten o’clock on a Friday night to go play in a midnight madness softball tournament. They think I am insane for travelling to away, out-of-state tournaments each weekend. However, ten years of competitive, travel softball and nearly nine hundred games have molded me into the person I am today. Many people do not understand why I spend the majority of my time playing competitive softball, and they fail to recognize that my entire identity is a result of this sport. However, I am aware that I would not be who I am without it.
I have played softball for four years, Softball has always come to me naturally. It was my third year playing when I moved to Friendswood, I was new to everything. During this year I met a girl named Shaye Brockwell. She was really nice to me and we hung out many times. Then her dad started coaching and I got on their team the next year and everything changed.
As the clock struck 3:15 we began warming and limbering our muscles. I stretched my legs as far as they would go to the side and reached for the grass. I ran my fingers through the grass and counted along with the team. I felt my legs slowly begin to loosen with each stretch and sprint that we did. Following our series of warm-ups we began playing catch Pop! The sound of a ball hitting leather filled the outfield. As our coaches approached the throwing stopped and the field returned to silence, the buzz of anticipation in the air. Coach McGownd and our assistant Lori gave us a run-down of the practice plan, which included infield-outfield (IO), hitting drills, fielding drills and various base running drills. As he spoke, a few of the upperclassmen whispered back and forth amongst themselves. I caught bits and pieces of phrases like “come on it’s just the first day” and “how about no”. I stood drinking in every word and ignoring their muttered curses. I had never played softball and was determined to learn as much as I possibly could about the game. Coach McGownd asked us to go to a position we thought we might want to play. I ventured across the field and stood by first base. My parents and a few of my friends had told me that I would make a good first baseman so that seemed like the best choice to me. I had no clue how to actually play the position. My emotions ran amuck, ultimately stopping at optimistic.
One of the first skills a future softball player learns is how to properly hold a bat. Though they are young and cannot follow much direction, this is the time when their skills first begin. The type of hit that results is dependent on the angle and amount of force the player uses. The softball will pop up high, and sometimes far, when the bat swings in an upward motion. Swinging the bat very straight, along with using a great deal of force, creates what is known as a “line drive” hit. Learning how to swing the bat is only a portion of the skills a player learns at a young age. Having the proper stance is a necessary tool in having an appropriate amount of power for the softball player to hit the ball. Even though it is the player’s arms that hold the bat, it is the player’s legs that allow her to push the ball far. Another important factor is the batter’s grip. The batter must understand how hard to hold onto her bat as she swings, especially when considering the different possibilities of the pitches that can come. If her grip is too strong and her wrist too locked, it will be very difficult for the batter to swing the bat at a hard, swift angle. The bat will be uncomfortable in her hands, and will cause the batter to almost chop at the ball, as if she were holding an ax. Because of this, the player will not have any strength in her swing and, in turn, she will not have any strength in her hit. The
All throughout high school I played on the softball team. Proceeding the season before where we went undefeated with a district championship, my senior year we were supposed to be unstoppable. We received a few new players to add on to our army and the entire school was counting on our run to state. I was so excited to have an amazing end to my high school softball career, but unfortunately my dream was cut short when we lost in the first round of districts. I did not know that loss would change me the way it did.
Growing up, I have always had a passion for baseball. To me, it is much more than just a sport. There have been times when it has acted as an escape from many problems in my life, as I feel that when I am on the diamond, nothing can hurt me. I am aware that many people feel this way about the sport they love, but sadly their careers often come to an abrupt end due to injury. I have a personal connection to this experience. The summer before my fourth grade year I was attending a basketball camp at Davidson College, when in the final seconds of a scrimmage game, my ankle was kicked out from under me. I immediately fell to the ground in pain as my ankle rolled over on itself. Coaches aided me in limping off of the court and to the training room
Imagine you’re standing on the pitcher's mound ready to throw the next pitch in the bottom of the seventh inning. Your team is up by one run and the bases are loaded. You have two strikes on this next batter with two outs already. All you need is to pitch one more strike and you’re on to state. Finally, you pitch the ball, you see it go perfectly into the catcher’s glove and you hear the umpire yell, “STRIKE THREE, BATTER’S OUT!” The crowd erupts in excitement and your team comes to surround you and celebrate. Pitching can have its perks, however, it can be one of the most complex things to do in the game of softball. Today, I will be teaching you about the grip of the ball, the arm motion, and your leg motion.
Some people believe that softball is just the femal version of baseball. This is not true. Although baseball and softball have many similarities, such as the feild and overall concept, they have many differences too. For example the pitching form. These next few paragraphs will outline some of the similarities and differences between the two sports.
My sporting career started off as a sure second baseman with a left handed batting stance that stifled little league pitchers. I also tried my hand at tackle football where I was a three yards and a cloud of dust running back and I am proud to say I never fumbled the ball once. I even tried out for my 8th grade basketball team having never played an organized game in my life. I luckily drained a couple threes in try-outs and happily accepted my role as an end of the bench hype man. All four years of high school I was a member of the crew team; this is where I learned the