“This girl put up with a lot of my crap, getting yelled at and not getting what she deserved, but throughout the season that all changed. She never once gave me attitude; she just sat there and listened. Finally one game she came up to me asking what she needed to do to improve, because she knew she was better than half of the girls out there, and when I gave her the advise she needed, she went out to the field and proved me wrong. Alexis, please come up and accept the Most Improved Award!”

Those were the nice words of my coach, and I kind of had a feeling that was coming, I sat there listening to coach and I couldn’t stop nodding. It had been a tough year and I did deserve this award, he was right I did put up with a lot of crap but I never gave up, I kept pushing myself harder every day.

Throughout the beginning of the season, I did want to give up and cry but I tried not showing it. Every once in a while tears ran down my face but I whipped them away. I could not let my coach see how I was feeling. I had to suck it up and deal with it and finally it all paid off.

I remember the season like it was yesterday, practicing so hard, but every time I made one little mistake, coach threw his mitt on the hard dirt of the pitching mound and rushed over to talk to me in left field. They weren’t always nice talks; most were bad. At first I didn’t mind because I thought maybe he was pushing me harder than anyone because he knew I could do better, but as the days passed nothing changed, I was beginning to think I was not good enough.

Almost every day after practice I went home crying. I tried talking to my parents and my old JV coach, they told me to keep working harder and don’t stress, but it never worked. I did work my butt off trying to prove my coach wrong. I sprinted for every ball, dove without thinking, and swung the bat like I was trying to hit a homerun.

After one of our practices, he told me that he was noticed how hard I’d been working and he was really proud. He said he was going to try and play me more, but I shouldn’t get my hopes up. Finally we had a tournament, and after our first game, I went up and talked to him asking for more play time. Then he finally gave me the chance to show, that I deserved to be out there. In the next game, I hustled more than anyone. I played left field, short stop, and second base. I had many great plats. I was so proud of myself when I was done playing; my coach was also happy for me he gave me a lot of high fives and pats on the back and even told my teammates how well I was doing.

If it wasn’t for sticking up for myself and never giving up, none of this would have happened; getting my Most Improved Award and getting the play time I deserved. That’s why when you want something badly enough, you need to go out there and fight for it, give it all you’ve got.