Ella Strickland - Murray State Softball

I've been playing sports for as long as I can remember. It's where I was the most comfortable. I was an all-state softball player and was the first girl to ever play varsity baseball at my high school. I wasn't the strongest or the fastest but I knew I could compete. When I got to college, my story was the same, not the strongest, not the fastest, etc., but throughout the fall I competed and earned my teammates' respect.  The week of our first fall games, my coaches notified me that I was going to have to be an academic redshirt. This news was earth-shattering. I wasn't going to get to play the game I loved. As the season went by, I struggled to accept the fact that I could not contribute to wins or losses. My team made it to regionals without my help and I felt useless. I felt completly alone, even though I wasn't. But I perservered...

As I get ready for my first college games, I can't help but think, "What if I could play last year?". "Would my life be any different?"

There's so much more to life that softball, baseball, soccer, whatever sport you play. Yes. It's been such a huge part of your life for so long, but we can't do this forever. We can't hang on little things that we've done wrong in our sport or our lives. We can't change the past and we have to accept that and move on and get the help that we need to succeed.

Amor y Paz <3