The Life Worth Living As a Hoggard Softball Player

Our Viking softball team is composed of many people of different talents. With a practice schedule of 4-6pm, five days a week, our Vikings are pushing to be the best they can be. I interviewed some of our student athletes about balancing their lives, school work, and softball every week, and here is what they said. 

     Kasey Fussel, a Freshman on our JV team explained, “It is easier once you learn how to

balance, whether that is by catching up on work during lunch, or doing your homework after practice. You have to adjust to sacrificing some leisure time to get the jobs done.” When asked about being overwhelmed, or stressed about everyday practices and weekly games, she said, “It helps me to remember it is not about running out of time, but about managing your time well, communicating with teachers and coaches when you do need help.” Finally, when asked if softball was worth all the hassle, she told me that “Having a good teacher, coach, and student relationship is what helps me see what is important like making new friends, and having easy access to drop your emotions at the door and swing a bat. To keep me up in the hard times I like to remember what my Dad told me: ‘Sometimes success equals sacrifice.’” As you can tell, being a student athlete is a struggle, but one that is easily overcome with the right support system.

      I got the opportunity to sit in on a practice and see how things worked for the team. Practice is usually split onto two fields and each coach helps to make sure each player gets the reps and advice they need. While the two teams warm up individually, the warm ups are still taken seriously, led by the team as a group effort. Practices are built on fortitude and a non-stop thirst for knowledge, eventually building fundamental skills for a great player. What helps me see what is important like making new friends, and having easy access to drop your emotions at the door and swing a bat. To keep me up in the hard times I like to remember what my Dad told me: ‘Sometimes success equals sacrifice.’” As you can tell, being a student athlete is a struggle, but one that is easily overcome with the right support system.

      I got the opportunity to sit in on a practice and see how things worked for the team. Practice is usually split onto two fields and each coach helps to make sure each player gets the reps and advice they need. While the two teams warm up individually, the warm ups are still taken seriously, led by the team as a group effort. Practices are built on fortitude and a non-stop thirst for knowledge, eventually building fundamental skills for a great player.

      Coach Grace, our own entrepreneurship teacher, was asked about her time and experience as a coach and she said, “I was sparked by the idea of baseball since my Brother played, but women cannot play that, so I turned to softball and fell in love, playing through high school, and eventually college. After college I went into sales which is like softball, a game of failure, when you fail you learn from it and grow as a person. I got into coaching because of the valuable life skills that softball brings, like resilience, goal setting, strong work ethics, leadership, and the ultimate goal of friendship.” I asked about the stress of being a coach and her answer was “It is less about the actual game, but coordination with players, teachers, students, and other schools. There are a lot of moving parts behind the scenes. I think that is what makes me so happy about coaching, seeing the players I coached grow, not just as athletes, but as people; the people they are supposed to become.” Undoubtedly, Softball is a team sport on the field and behind the scenes.

     After interviewing each player, I found that many of them shared sentiments of joining softball because it looked fun, or to make friends. Many players said softball was worth it for the success that is felt to grasp a formerly unreachable goal. The team is made up of friends and people who love helping their teammates, boosting each other with encouragement, kind reminders, and jokes. 

     Softball is clearly a sport that all the players love, and hate to miss practice for. Many players look toward their future with the goal to go professional in college, and it looks like they will reach it. There is so much potential on the field, and everyone can feel it. The team pushes each other to greatness, and delivers a camaraderie that is unattainable without a shared sense of betterment-personally, and the ultimate goal to win, and win together.