Dear Softball - Sydney Holland

Dear Softball,
 
From the very first time I stepped on the field until the day that I played my last game, you have taught me something new. You have taught me patience with myself, you have showed me what it feels like to succeed, but you have also taught me what it is like to fail. Most importantly, you have taught me to never give up on myself. Whether it was because someone said I wasn't good enough, or because I didn't believe in myself, you taught me that confidence only comes from within. You showed me how to get back up and keep fighting for what I wanted and to not give up when things get hard.
           
You have given me my very best friends. Friends that will be around long after my last game. You have brought people into my life that will forever hold a spot inside my heart. You have opened the door to new opportunities past college ball and have given me experiences that will I will cherish forever.
           
Many people are not given the opportunity to go to college and continue their athletic career, but you have given me that and so much more. From two years at a Division II, to reaching my dreams of competing at the Division I level, you have showed me that it doesn't matter what field you are playing on, or what level you are playing at. When you take the field, you take it with people who you would go to war with. Stepping into the circle and feeling the confidence of your teammates behind you is a feeling like no other. No matter what level you are playing at, be grateful that you are playing.
           
I have always been told to play every game like it is your last and even though this was my senior season, that never really sank in until it was cut short. All the emotions that were felt the day our conference was canceled are still being felt as I write this letter. Luckily, you have given us the opportunity to come back and finish what we started. This year, there is a new meaning to "play every game like it's your last".
           
You have given me the ability to cope with failure, disappointment and setbacks. More importantly, you have given me the confidence to overcome each and every one of those things with certainty that I will come back stronger than ever. If I could go back and take away every time I complained about 6am's, or long practice days, or even the conditioning tests, I would in a heartbeat. I didn't know it at the time, but that's when the team became the closest, and that's where bonds formed that could never be broken.
           
Softball, you have given me my second family. You allowed me to travel the world and see places that I probably otherwise would have never experienced. Better yet, you allowed me to do that with my best friends.
           
Seventeen years ago, a little girl with a dedicated heart stepped onto a field not knowing what to expect. Looking back today, I have made that little girl proud. Thank you for an amazing 17 years, plus one. You have given me everything and more that an athlete could ask for.
 
Forever,
Sydney Holland #13