You Won't Always Start the Game

   One lesson that I've had to learn the hard way is that I won't always get what I want. When I was younger I was the starting pitcher for my softball team and i loved it. I was the main pitcher and I had never known the feeling of not getting to start a game. This all changed this year when I hurt my knee and I was out for four months. It was torture to have to watch my team play and sit the bench the whole game. I just wanted to jump out on the field and help my team win the game. I hated not being able to pitch or bat.

   After I was allowed to play softball I began to pitch again. I worked very hard for about two months and then pitched in front of my team. Before I was injured I was as good as the other pitcher on my team and we took turns starting the game. After my injury, however, when I pitched in front of my team I realized how far behind I now was. Instead of pitching the same speed as the other pitcher, I was much slower and had lost my accuracy. I was crushed because I knew that I wasnt going to be starting the game that weekend. I thought that surely I would stil pitch, but I was proven wrong.

   That weekend we had a three day tournament, and guess what? I didn't pitch; not a single game. I went home and cried because I thought it wasn't fair. I had worked so hard and my coach hadn't let me pitch. Then I realized that it's not always about what I want. It's about what's best for the team and what's best for me. I was being selfish and thinking only of myself and what I wanted. Softball has taught me that I won't always get what I want. I need to trust my coach and know that he always has my best interests in mind.

He just wants me to do my best and hit a home run.