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Lawen Raker

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1101-070

19 September2014

The Story of How I Transformed into a Softball Player

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Eleven years ago, I didn't know what being a softball player would mean to me. I had no

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idea how to throw, catplt" or hit a

ball. I didn't know what hand-eye coordination was. I didn't

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know what an outfield or an infield was. I thought a softball was actually a ball that was soft. I
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didn't know that I would end up eating, breathing, sleeping and living the game of softball for a
decade of my

life. The first time I stepped onto a softball fiel4 I had no idea that I would fall

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completely in love with this sport. Over the past eleven years, I have become very literate in
game of softball with the help of my dad, Lewis Raker, and my pitching coach,

Amanda

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McArrhur.

My dad is my number one fan, coach, and teacher. He has been there to support me since
the first day of my softball career, and has helped me advance my softball flmdanreotals and

my

thinking process of the game. He has thougtrt me almost everything I know about softball.
For starters, on the first day of tyouts, he was there watching my every move. I had
absolutely no idea how to satch and throw a ball or how to swing a bat. During my very first at
bat, I stood on home plate instead of in ttre batter's box and I missed every single ball that was
pitched to me. He stood on the sidelines cheering me on the whole time. He would say,

"You'll

hit it next time!" or'olt'll just take some more practice." He saw the discouragement on my face
over my first few seasons of ptaying softball. Until the one day that it all just sort of clieked.

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the long hours at miserable practices and hard work of trying to learn the basic firndamentals

finally started paying off. This was the turning point of my softball career.
A couple of years after I started playing softball, my dad decided to become the head
coach for one of the recreational softball teams at the
as

MHAA. And of course this

meant that

Mint Hill Athletic Association also known

I was on his team. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.

Out of all the games I have played over the years, the one game that stays with me is the

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championship game of my last season of rec ball. We had been undefeated all season long until
that championship game against Steele Creek. At this point in my softball career, Irealize

softball was not just about fun anymore. It was about winning. And on that ball field with the
sun beating down on me in the middle of July, I realized what it meant to be a loser and my dad
made sure of

it. After my team had been defeated,

he had all of us line up on the foul line so he

could lecture us. He called each one of us out for all the errors we had made. He yelled at us

until our faces were filled with tears. He had

"All of you suck" speech, we had to play

way of making all of us feel worthless. After his

Steele Creek again. The opposing team saw all of the

tears rolling from me and my teammates' eyes, and the Steele Creek team thought that they had

the next game "in the bag". Me and my teammates all dried it up and stepped onto the field with
determination and hatred in

otr eyes.

Needless to say, we kicked Steele Creek's butt.

And from that moment forward, my dad taught me to leave everything I've got on the

field and make

a name

for myself that I can be proud of. He taught me to believe in myself and

telq&Lmy head high. Without ttrat, you don't have anything when it comes to

softball. S rw"*'61',.__

After the championship game against Steele Creek, my dad wanted me to take my skills
to the next level, so he introduced me to travel ball. Travel ball is when teams from all over
come together to play each other. Travel ball is more competitive and consists of the best of the

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Raker 3

best. My dad taught me to push myself in everything I do. He would be the hardest on me out of
any one on the team because I am his daughter and he wanted me to be the best I could be.
When it was my turn to field the ball, my dad would hit the ball harder at me than he would
anyone else. Sometimes

I would be afraid of the ball and pull my head, he would get so

frustrated and angry with me, and he would make me stay hours after practice was over to hit me
hundreds of really hard grounders. My dad would hit me grounders until I stopped pulling my
head or until I wasn't afraid to field the ball anymore. Once
dad taught me how to place the ball when I

hit.

I learned how to hit properly, my

Then, he taught me different ways to hit the ball

like bunting and slapping the ball. He taught me discipline through softball. Whenever I didn't
do something right, he would make me run laps or do pushups for punishment. He taught me to
have discipline in the batter's box, which pitches to swing at and which pitches to not swing at.
Once

I became more advanced, he taught me how to think ahead of the game. t{el13ugt t *.!ry

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. My dad is

the best coach I have ever had. He knows the game of softball inside and out, and backwards
and forwards.

My dad taught me almost everything I know about softball, and he has made me

the literate softball player I am today.

About three years after I started playing softball, I became literate in pitching with the
help of my pitching coach, Amanda McArthur. Each pitching lesson I had with her was an hour
long, and I always walked away from each pitching lesson knowing something had not known

before. At first, she taught me the basic fundamentals I needed to know to be a softball pitcher.
She taught me how to hold the softball, how to do the foot work, how to stand on the pitching

mound, how to push offthe rubber, how to present the ball, and how to put it all together for the
complete pitching motion. We worked on accuracy, like how to hit the catcher's mitt and spots.

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Spots meaning the four corners of the plate, such as inside-high, inside-low, outside-high, and

outside-low. Amanda taught me how to build up my stamina with certain exercises. She taught
me how to throw different pitches, such as a fastball, change up, drop ball, screwball, rise ball,
and a two-seam fastball. She taught me the different ways to hold the ball for different pitches.
She taught me the different arm motions and foot work

for each pitch. She would have sayings

to help me memorizes what to do for each pitch. Amanda taught me how to increase my speed
by moving my arm faster and using my hips and legs for power. At this point in my career, I
have reached my maximum speed of about sixty miles per hour.

Amanda would always say, "Pitching is a lot of work, and you have to practice more than
anybody else on the team." Not only did I have to go to my two hour team softball practices, but

I also have to
because it

go to my hour pitching lessons. Sometimes I would get burnt out on softball

just was not fun at all to practice for all those hours. But the only way I got to where I

am today is because for perseverance and hard

work. I can throw every single pitch there is on

spot, and I have to admit I throw pretty dang fast.

Pitching Lessons, with Amanda, stretching, warming my arm up, and drills. I need to
make sure I stretch everything out good, so I do not pull anything. When pitching, I use every
muscle in my body to throw the ball. If I do not wafln my amr up slowly and properly, I could
damage my rotator cuff or any part of my arm and/or shoulder. There are so many drills that

Amanda had me do. Some drills were used to help me gain strength, so I could throw the ball as
hard as I possibly could. Other drills were used to help me learn how to throw different pitches.
She had so many

drills to help me throw better, faster, and stronger. Amanda has greatly

impacted my softball career by showing me how to be a pitcher and teaching me everything

ever need to know about pitching.

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My dad and Anaanda have instilled withh me everything I need to know to be successful

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throughout my softball career. From the first time I sepped onto the softball field at tryouts, my
dad has been dedicated to learning everything he can about the game of softball so that he can
pass on what he knows to

me. Because of my dad, the basic firndamentals I started out with have

advanced into something that

I could only

drearn about urhen

I first

started out eleven years ago.

My dad is the best coach aud mentor I have ever had wherr it comes to softhall. From the first
pitching lesson, Amanda has been there for me and teaching me everything I need to know to be
the best softball pitcher I can be. Because of Amandq I have transformed from not knowing

how to pitch at all to becouring a pitching coach myself, I have tlem to thank for making me the
literate softball player, prtcher, coaclq mentoro and role model I am today.
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