Why We Play

Its not about getting a scholarship, getting drafted, making Sportscenter or even the Olympic Softball team.  It's a deep need in us that comes from the heart.  We need to practice, to play, to lift, to hustle, to sweat.

We do it all for our teammates and for the one in the stands watching we don't even know.  We don't practice with a future Braves first baseman; we practice with a future sports agent.  We don't hit with  a future Olympic softball player; we hit with a future doctor.  We don't run with a future Wimbledon champion; we run with a future CEO.  It's a bigger part of us than our friends and family can understand.  Sometimes we play for 2,000 fans, sometimes for 25.  But we still play hard.

You cheer for us because you know us.  You know more than just our names.  Like all of you, we are still students first.  We don't sign autographs.  But we do sign graduate school applications, ACT exams and student body petitions.  When we miss a play, or strike out, we don't let down an entire state.  We only let down our teammates, coaches, and fans.  But the hurt in our hearts is the same.

We train hard.  Lift, throw, run, field, hit, pitch, and lift some more, and in the morning we go to class.  Still the next day in class we are nothing more than students.

It's about pride.  In ourselves, in our school, in our park.  It's about our love and passion for the game.  And when it's all over.  When we walk that court or field for the last time, our hearts crumble.

Those tears are real.  But deep down inside, we are very proud of ourselves.

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Author Unknown  (please email me if you know where we can give credit)