Jamie Hebron's Softball Student-Athlete Blog #7

Hello again and welcome to the Greenville Softball player post. I am happy to report that I have made it through another week as have you if you are reading this, so congrats! I am pleased to report my life got a lot less stressful after Monday night, but I should start from where I left off on my last blog.

Last Wednesday was a game day and a very special friend of mine's birthday. I probably have the worst memory of anyone I know, so I will tell you that we split with the team we played on Wednesday, but I can't even remember what team it was. I believe it to be both a blessing and a cure that I don't have a very good memory.

Softball has been drastically changing for me in the past week or so. It is amazing how that happens, but it makes me ask myself why? Is it really the sport that is changing or is it myself? Saturday we picked up two wins which was much needed. For unknown reasons our team has played game one very well and more times than not we come out with a win. Actually, if my memory serves me correctly (which it usually doesn't) aside from the very first game we played, we have always won the first game in our double headers. The embarrassing part comes with the second game. At least half the double headers we have played in, the second game we get short gamed. It's hard to say why this is. Maybe we are tired or get lazy, maybe we have less confidence, I don't have the answers.

I was recently nominated to apply for the SLIAC scholarship and with the application I was required to write an essay on how being a student-athlete has prepared me for the future. It was actually a fun essay to write, because I went back to my first years as a student-athlete, in fifth grade. I played basketball on a co-ed team. Let me tell you, it wasn't fun trying to compete with boys for a starting position. It also brought me to my middle schools days when it seemed like you had to be the coaches' favorites to get the position you wanted. I just want to give a word of advice to you coaches - I don't know if there are any reading this, but if there are - I just ask that you don't ask anything of your players that you wouldn't do yourselves and that you don't treat your players any other way than you would want to be treated. If you expect your team to be positive, make sure you and your coaching staff are following the same guidelines. If you want your players to keep their heads up after a mistake, don't hound them until they want to cry. For the best results, learn each individual player and what makes their desire to be better increase. Every year there are different girls on my team and I know how they work. Some get better when you push them and put pressure on them, others need encouraging words. Most importantly, the words of you and your coaching staff and their attitudes affects everyone. It's like a parent and child, if the child is mouthy, the apple probably doesn't fall far from the tree. If your coaching staff is talking to each other negatively about the team where the team can hear them, it will bring the whole teams morale down drastically. Sports can become increasingly difficult when players feel that it is the team against the coaches.

On a side note, I finally chose a vet school and the winner is...The University of Illinois. I know my decision surprised a lot of people, but after a lot of praying and crying I feel that I have chosen the right place for me. MIZZOU was very nice and personal, and I would recommend it to anyone who asked, but the University of Illinois is close to home and it's where I have always dreamed I would attend. I'm overwhelmed with thoughts about having a house or apartment with a dog and attending classes to achieve my dreams. Which brings me crashing back to reality: I have to finish undergrad first. I guess I'm developing senioritis. Right now I have a 15 page paper on Rabies due Friday that I should be working on, yet writing this blog seems much more important. Actually everything I can think of seems more important, washing my clothes, checking my facebook, brushing my hair, etc. I'm ready for graduation!

We have a game tomorrow against Eureka (surprised I remembered? me too) and we are hoping to get two wins. Lindsey received pitcher of the week again, for the third time. Congrats Lindsey! She will also be performing in the school play Alice and Wonderland which I will be attending on Thursday. That girl is a trooper, if you want to know what it is like to have a crazy life, just ask her. She is a double major, biology and theater, works an on-campus job, has play practice every night, and plays softball. I don't know when she finds time to sleep. All the girls on my team are great in their own way and I love each and every one of them. I guess that wraps up this week. Hope you all have a safe and productive week. Thanks for listening!

My quote this week is one I used in my essay for the scholarship, it's a good one.

"Sports remain a great metaphor for life's more difficult lessons. It was through athletics that many of us first came to understand that fear can be tamed; that on a team the whole is more than the sum of its parts; and that the ability to be heroic lies, to a surprising degree, within."
-Susan Casey

-J
(about Jamie)