How has softball prepared me for the future? If I had answered this question last year, my answer would have been very different than today. I have always approached the game of softball as a military campaign, two teams in a struggle to see who would be victorious. My older brothers and sister played baseball and softball respectively and I grew up at the fields. I play, watch, prep fields, keep the book, work the scoreboard and volunteer in the snack bar. I do homework at practice, and study during long car trips. I’ve learned to multitask and prioritize, and I always felt I was a well rounded person and athlete with skills, determination, and back bone to move to the next level. I believed that softball was not only my life but that it was life.

This year two incidents rocked our softball community and shook my foundation, changing how I look at softball and life. Sixteen year old, Kassidy Merritt, a promising catcher and athlete on a local travel ball team was battling flu like symptoms. Some days she felt okay to play. Other days she was debilitated by severe headaches, vertigo, and vomiting. On May 19, 2011, Kassidy and her family received the horrible diagnosis that would change their lives forever. She has an inoperable tumor with “fingers” wrapped into her brain. Kassidy is fighting a new battle, one that will not be won nor lost in seven innings. I always used to say that softball is my life, how silly I feel now. Softball is a game that has equipped me with skills to live my life. I’ve learned to play through the pain and through disappointment. I’ve learned loyalty and the true meaning of family. I’ve learned that I am capable of more then I ever thought possible. At the end of the day, softball is just a game.

The second incident that reshaped my thinking was the death of Shelby Perez. Shelby was only fifteen, a freshman at Palo Verde High School when she took her own life. It was heartbreaking to her family and friends and to the softball community to lose such a bright star, it showed us all that life is fragile. She was an extraordinary pitcher that commanded respect on the mound. Shelby lost sight of one of softball’s greatest lessons, there is always another game, always another inning.

Two girls playing the same game; Kassidy Merritt using everything she learned from the game to fight for her life, Shelby Perez losing herself. It was no longer a game, softball was life and she didn’t want to play anymore. How has softball prepared me for the future? It’s given me the skills to fight like Kassidy, to never give up, to always stay strong. Through Shelby I’ve learned that softball does not define me, I’m not defined by the grand slam that gets cranked over the wall, or by throwing a no hitter. I’m Amanda Roark. Softball does not define me, I define it. I still see softball as a military campaign, two teams meeting on the battle field, trying to out strategize, and being the first to strike. But softball is a game, I will not be a causality. I will leave it all out on the field.