I have grown up playing softball and basketball my whole life. When I was in 3rd grade, my best friend and I played up on the 4th grade basketball team. I thought that I would grow up to play basketball in college because I would put so many hours and so much dedication into it. That however, isn’t the case now. This past year I went through a tough basketball season. I had whooping cough and pneumonia at the same time and that lasted for 2-3 months. I also had a fractured wrist which put me out for 2 weeks. So all together I was out for over a month and when I could play I was still constantly coughing so hard that I couldn’t breathe. Through this tough season you would think that I would have a coach by my side comforting me through it and not yelling at me, but that was not the case. In fact it was quite the opposite. Lets just say that this upcoming year I am not playing basketball. It took me many weeks to make my decision but now it is final. This past season made me literally hate basketball and that has never been the case before. Actually, basketball used to be my favorite sport. Now softball is my favorite sport and I plan on playing college softball.  I’ve been playing travel softball since I was 8 and just club even before that. For the longest time basketball was my favorite sport and I would choose it over softball anyday. Now softball is by far my favorite sport and thing to do. I have played for many teams and have built many friendships. I have no clue who I would even be today without softball. It is my stress reliever and my get away from everything. I have left so many tears and so much blood on the field and I wouldn’t want it any other way. However, my 11u & 12u years i played for the Ohio Classics which is a really good team. We were 3rd in the state. The first year I played 2nd base and played very well. The second year, one of my best friends now, came on the team and took my position. Then, I played left field, which I have never played before. I felt like I was tossed around that whole season no matter what it was. I drifted away from my team during hotel hangs and my coach barely talked to me anymore. I started to not like softball more and more every tournament. Instead of being pumped up and ready for tournaments, I dreaded them and even practices. I HATED that season. At nationals that year we went to Tennessee and played two tournaments. The first tournament was to get us prepared for the actual nationals. We won the first tournament which got us pretty pumped for the nationals. It was a two to three hour trip from where we were for the world series to where we were going for nationals. The car ride there I rode with one of my best friends and we watched Safe Haven. I remember screaming and squeezing her hand so tight like it was just yesterday. She is one of the only people who has always been there for me and there is nothing I miss more from that team than her. We went to nationals and we lost every game in pool play, but we came back the next few days and dominated. We won every game. We made it to the last day which was a huge accomplishment. We ended up placing fourth. We went to get our awards and plaques and I don’t think I have ever cried so hard or so much in my life. Those teammates weren’t just teammates to me, they were sisters. I got along with some more than others but the one girl was my best friend. I have only seen her about three times since that tournament and that is the worst thing ever. Knowing that I will probably see a friend so good like that only once a month if even that is so heartbreaking. I remember all of our memories even though they are countless. It's sad that I can no longer play with them anymore but I am now so much better off with my new coach and I have rebuilt all of my confidence. So thank you to my coach Fred! It's sad how much a bad coach can affect your career but it is something that happens and you just have to make your way around it.