Softball: Passion and Poetry

First Season of Softball

BY ANASTASIA DIMITRIADIS

Softball. It may seem like an ordinary word to you but to me this one word means the world. It’s a game that tests you both physically and mentally and most of all, can determine whether or not you’re driven and determined or just slacking off and not taking it seriously. I’ve been playing softball for about 3 or 4 years now at school, but only this year I completed a full season of playing for an actual softball club. The team that I joined last September is the West Coburg Red Backs and I honestly couldn’t have asked for a better club to join. However, club softball is a completely different type of structure of game compared to school softball; so it took me a bit of time to make the transition from one to the other.

In primary school, I played softball from grades 4 to 6. I knew that as soon as I hit my first home run in tryouts, that softball is the sport I needed to play. In grade 5 and 6 my primary school’s softball team became so successful that we won both softball and tee-ball state finals. So naturally, when I joined my club, I thought it’d be just like a school game. Oh how I was wrong. In my first game I was faced with some wild pitches and I was still trying to get used to this new world that I had entered. Sadly, my first couple of games, I didn’t manage to do anything spectacular. But with the new regime of training every Monday and Thursday, many things started to change and I got asked to be part of something I never would have thought that I would be part of.

Almost anyone could see it and frankly so could I. They could all see a rapid improvement in my softball skills. From learning how to play a new position to the best of its standards to learning how to slide. I could also feel myself becoming tremendously more confident and that also affected how I played and it worked for the better. Apparently my new skills had also caught the eye of the coach for the Victorian NDSA and he asked me to play for the under 15’s NDSA representative team in a tournament in Geelong. Now that’s where the hard training kicked in. For about 6 or 7 weeks, I had to train every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday, and boy was it intense! When the day actually came for the tournament, I felt ready to prepare for anything thrown at me. Going to Geelong, it set in that this is actually serious. This is where the highest standard of Victorian softball players get to prove why there are here. Even though NDSA may have not won (we came 4th), Geelong has forever changed the way I look at softball and how I play. However, I couldn’t have improved just by myself.

It also sunk in how much my coaches have helped me develop from a girl who could just get an average hit and an average fielder, to a driven determined girl who would stop at nothing short of giving 120% all the time. Without their help and their teaching I wouldn’t be the player I am today.  Playing against teams with an immaculate performance really opened my eyes and changed my entire view about softball. It’s not just a game; it’s now a part of me. It really goes to show that if you’re really passionate about something that you love, nothing is impossible. I think that my first season playing is definitely something I will never forget and I hope to always play and improve to the best of my abilities.

P.S: The ball is MOST DEFINITELY not soft!!!

Softball Poem

Softball, it’s more than a sport

More like a passion

Red dirt and bruises are in fashion

The wind up, the pitch, scrambling defense

This is what softball is all about

Intense parents in the stands

Anxious coaches waving their hands

The swing of the bat, the ball, the bases and the glove

This is softball

The game I love.

 

 

 

 

Comments

  1. Good luck to you Anastasia.

    Did you enjoy the fresh air of Geelong?

  2. Lord Bogan says

    Dips, Geelong would be a perfect place to live if it wasn’t for the footy team. Seriously, I think our daughter’s make us look pretty good mate. We should be proud.

  3. Gee you write well Anastasia. Really enjoyed the read.

  4. Melina Triulcio says

    What a lovely piece of work Anastasia. As the President of West Coburg Red Backs Softball Club …it pleases me to see you love the club as much as we love u and all our kids there. Very proud of you little gal ;) cheers Mel

  5. Anastasia Dimitriadis says

    Thanks everyone for the comments. means a lot xx

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