Each year of softball teaches you many things, not only about the sport itself, but about you and the way in which you deal with life.  Softball, though it is filled with many struggles and so many failures, is also filled with many uplifting experiences.  The game is a way for us to discover and learn life lessons, to learn about the strength we have within us that maybe for a while was lost.  When you are a kid, all you know is that playing the game is what makes you happy.  It is what you do for fun.  It is what you do for entertainment.  It is what you do for joy.  As you get older, however, it becomes much more evident what is at stake.  You start to realize how much you fail.  You start to recognize your weaknesses.  You start to understand that you have the ability to be great.  And above all you start to dream of how amazing a championship can be.  And though these recognitions are what makes the game that much more valuable to us, it is also what makes us more afraid.  We start to play for the trophy.  Everyday brings you one day closer to the chance to win that national title.  It becomes the finish line, and all you can think of is how all you want to do is be the first one across.  You want victory.  That is all you know. 

But I learned something this year that was never really apparent to me before.  I had heard motivation about the subject and had even used a bit for myself, but never had it hit me as hard as it did until our season was over this year.  When all you do is dwell on the future of a championship, you lose sight of what each day can be.  You lose focus on what each practice can do for you and your team.  You lose your footing, because you forget to focus on your next step.  It is impossible to win a race if you cannot conquer the step ahead of you.  And once you fail to conquer that step, it is too late to turn back to fix it.  By that time, someone has already stolen your victory.  That is the lesson I learned from this year's season.  It is great to have a goal in mind.  In fact, it is necessary to be working toward something.  Otherwise, you will find it hard to be motivated each day.  But you cannot allow the goal to get in the way of the path leading to it.  You must focus day by day, play by play, pitch by pitch.  If you cannot do this, you cannot find success in the end.  You cannot live your life waiting for the day you can achieve the victory you have always dreamed of.  You have to live each day in a way that you can conquer it so that you know the victory is that much closer to you.  You must make sure that each step you take is better than the last.  When struggles come your way and you have to deal with failure, all you need to do is focus on the next step, conquer the next step.  Don't wait for the victory to come to you.  Go out and grab, but don't lose sight of how you are going to take hold.  Victory can only be yours if you keep your eyes on the path in front.  No need to look behind you for you have already conquered what is behind.  No need to look too far ahead, because the prize is far enough in front of you that you can only really imagine what it's like.  No need to look on the sides of you.  It will only distract you from the road.  All you are responsible for is the position that your feet are in today.  Your job is to take care of that next step.