For those of you who don't know, I recently started coaching a 16 and under travel softball team that I will be continuing to coach throughout the summer. Along with that, I also give lessons to all ages of softball players. As I have been tapping back into the coaching part of softball rather than playing, I have continuously learned possibly even more from the girls than they have learned from me. My younger lessons remind me how to look at the game as just that: a game. My older girls remind me of myself at their age with their drive to be perfect, even though perfection is never reached. Being as I have been in their exact same shoes, I am teaching them to strive for progress, a skill that I am still learning myself. My team is something else. Those girls have spent one tournament with me and already created a bond that is insanely strong. They have created nicknames for my friends, made fun of me for phrases that I use (all in love) and showed me a grit and desire to be the best that I have been so thankful to be a part of.
I could go on and on about the little things that my girls have reminded me of. How to have fun, remembering that I am not perfect, taking a breath when things get hard, these girls are quite literally living the life and learning the lessons that I had to find out the hard way in most cases. Lessons that I am still working on being consistent at. They may be younger, but lessons come in all shapes, sizes and ages. I pray that one day they will be able to share the lessons they are continuing to learn, as I have attempted to do through this column and coaching. Testimonies are a powerful thing, so when you are learning a lesson, keep in mind that whatever you are going through in the present could change someone's life in the future.Â