By Jessica Mizia
Softball is more than just a game. It’s a challenge that pushes me to grow, both on and off the field.
I’ve been playing softball for the majority of my life, and when I say there is nothing else that has shaped me and challenged me more, I am telling 100 percent the truth.
Being a pitcher, I have been thrust into many challenging situations, and I have learned so much about mental toughness.
Most of the time, your skill is there. Your ability to win on the softball field is always possible if your mind is sharp and you ooze the confidence that you can do it.
That confidence is driven from your ability to win on the six inch playing field—the one in between your ears—your brain.
Obviously, you must always know what to do, and how to perform a play correctly in any situation; however, having the confidence that you can is the key part to doing it.
I have had many situations where I have been confident in my abilities and have been able to be an efficient pitcher and a successful hitter.
It all stems from staying composed mentally.
My freshman year in high school especially taught me this. Being the only pitcher for my team meant that all game, every game, I would be in the circle.
Most games, I would be pitching to very talented lineups of upperclassmen and facing strong pitchers when batting, so I quickly learned that peaks and valleys were just a part of the sport.
I would have games where my confidence would be through the roof about my playing and others where it was very low.
Through it all, I assessed my highs and lows of the season and learned that no matter what the outcome was, having a strong mentality and confidence helped me forget the bad and celebrate the good.
Throughout the season I did doubt myself at times.
Taking a breath really helped me compose myself and remember all the hours I had put in. This helped me focus on one pitch at a time. Walking off the field on games we didn’t win, still made me feel proud that I had given it my best effort and stayed focused.
This helped me a lot in the leadership aspect of the game as well. I thought it was important that I was a role model to my team because if their pitcher was calm and confident, then they could be too.
As a freshman, I still intended to make the biggest leadership impact on my team as I could, and I have learned so much from that experience.
Since I was young, I was always told that I embodied leadership abilities. I have started stepping up into that role, and I am grateful that school ball has helped me with that.
I am going to carry that into the future no matter where life takes me. Beyond the field, this same mental strength has helped me during tests, presentations, and other sports, among many things. I’ve learned how to balance hard work with patience, how to support others through mistakes, and how to lead by example.
These lessons have shaped the kind of student, friend, and person I want to be.
All in all, softball has been way more than just a sport to me. It has been a teacher, motivator, and it reminds me of what I’m capable of. It has demonstrated to me that success doesn’t come from talent alone, but from the personal effort and mindset you display on the field. The lessons I’ve learned reflect values of perseverance, confidence, and leadership. Those that I will carry with me for the rest of my life, far beyond the game.
No matter what happens in my life, I know I’ll always have the same passion for the game, the drive to keep improving, the determination to face challenges head on, and the desire to inspire others to do the same.
(Jessica Mizia is a sophomore pitcher at Avon High School and plays for the CT Lady Dukes).
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