Welcome back! The final senior we'll talk about is...EMILY BURRIS!!!!! She's an amazing catcher and i love watching her play. She's always ready to help her teammates and encourage them. Like the other seniors, she helps the other girls and always share a word of encouragement with them.

           Emily isn't a very loud person.  She's a soft-spoken person that likes to joke around with her teammates. But despite this, her skills on the field literally scream for attention. She's third in the Cap-8 this season for most home runs with 6, 4th in slugging percentage with .734, tied for 4th in runs batted in with 24. She can hit!

          When she's behind the plate as catcher, she's probably the most intimidating person on the field. Even more intimidating than Katie. When the Varsity team played Enloe towards the beginning of the season, Emily proved just how scary she could be. There was a girl on first base who took a lead off when Nicole Mooney pitched the ball. When Emily caught it, she stared the girl down and i have never in my life saw someone run back to a base as fast as she did. The girl was terrified and I don't blame her, I would be too. Trying to steal on Emily's watch is suicidal.

         She's always been my role model because she plays one of the positions I love and I strive to be just as good as she is and hopefully i will, it will just take a long time to get there.

         I want to thank you guys for reading my blog! I've enjoyed sharing some of the best moments of the season with you all and maybe I'll continue this next season, we'll see when the time comes!

                                                                                                                    With much love,
                                                                                                                                       Nia
                                         

           Hey readers! Today is AJ Valero's day! She's the team's feisty, outgoing player that's pretty much proof that it's never too late to become great at something you're passionate about. Most of the best softball players stated playing as soon as they learned how to walk, but AJ started when she was in 7th grade when Mariah talked her into it. Ever since then, she has continued to grow in the sport and has found her niche on the team as an outfielder and has received a scholarship to play centerfield on a college level.

          For the girls on both teams, AJ is known for being a natural-born leader with a kind spirit and a great sense of humor. Like Mariah she always know what to say to encourage younger girls and just like the other seniors, she's always there to help girls learn the right way to do things and to give advice on how to improve.

          She's 3 in the league for most stolen bases with 11 and number 7 in most runs score with 23. She's also one of the team's slappers and she's really good at it. I've always admire her for her skills and knowing that she has only started playing in the 7th grade makes me feel like I can also become really good at softball despite starting at a later age than most girls. She will definitely be one to miss when she leaves.

                                                                                                                                            -Nia

         Hey guys! This post is about another amazing player who is very inspiring! She's an awesome player and she's one of the best teammates to have. She's a good role model for future players because of her selfless acts in every game and positive attitude. This girl is Mariah Mook!

         Mariah Mook is the most sweetest person you'll ever meet. She's always smiling and always encouraging younger girls to continue to work hard and to be the best they can be. She never complains about anything, if a coach tells her to do something she'll do it with no questions asked. She's a team player, she looks out for everyone and cheers for them on and off the field.

        She's about as unselfish as one can get. She always wants to do whatever she can to help improve the team and make them better, even if that means moving to a position she's never played before. She's in 12th place for most runs scored in the Cap-8 with 16 which is pretty impressive. To me, she's the sweetheart of the team and she will be one to miss as she goes off to college.

                                                                                                                                    -Nia
                                   

                 Hey guys! So since the season is over for both teams, I thought maybe I could talk about the senior Varsity players just to show you how much of an inspiration they are to not only me but for the rest of the JV team.  These 4 are some remarkable girls and I can't wait to see where life takes them in the future.

                 Katie Thomas, third baseman and probably the most scariest girl I've ever met. When I first met her last year during softball workouts I was immediately intimidated by her but I also admire her sense of humor and leadership. She's an amazing third baseman. Last year one of the coaches was talking about how crazy she was and said, "She's fearless. She'll get right up in the batter's face, maybe 3 feet away from them, and start yelling in their face." That was my favorite impression of her: crazy chick who got all up in your face to psych you out when batting.

                  I remember one time early in the season, I got a first-hand experience of how intimidating this girl is. The JV team had to practice with the Varsity team and the younger girls had to run the bases while the older girls took the field and the coaches hit the balls. I was on third base when Katie got the ball. I knew she was not one to steal on so I didn't step off the base. She looked at me to make sure I wouldn't run and it felt as if she was staring into my soul because I felt a chill go through my body. I felt like a deer in headlights, I was so scared.

                She was also an all-state player. I don't know what that means exactly but it sounds cool. She's tied for the conference's top batting average at .533 and has hit over .385 for her career. She hit over 31 runs. She's also 9th for most runs scored with 18. Those numbers are amazing. She inspires me to be just as fearless as she was and maybe be just a little bit crazy.
 
                                                                                                                                 -Nia

               Hey friends! Well Friday was the Varsity's 2nd game of the playoffs and the excitement was in the air.  The team appeared on the Morning Growl to promote their game. The teammates themselves were spreading their own words of encouragement to each other. Emily Burris, the catcher, wrote an encouraging letter that was passed around to each player throughout the day. Katie Thomas, the third baseman, wrote a poem for the girls and went to each player's class to give them a copy. Even their moms were sending inspirational quotes to the girls in their team group chat. The football and baseball teams were going to the game to show their support for the girls and to cheer them on. Everyone was ready for this game.

              At 5:00, our ladies faced the Wolverines. Both teams wanted a place in the next round of playoffs and both teams were going to do what it takes to get it. It was now or never. Everyone knew what was on the line: a place for the next round of playoffs and a chance of becoming state champions. The girls worked hard and played hard but in the end fell to Wakefield 11-4.

              It was very disheartening for the Wildcats. For the seniors it was their last time in the playoffs and their last chance of becoming state champions with this team. This was officially their last game as Wildcats, which is huge. I don't think anyone could represent the Millbrook Varsity team better than Emily Burris, Katie Thomas, Mariah Mook, and AJ Valero. There will never be another group of talented leaders and players like them.

                                                                                                                                       -Nia

                      Hey friends! Since the JV season is over, I though I'd just continue this blog for the Varsity team. I'll Just give you updates about how they're doing in the playoffs so enjoy! ;)

                     On this past Tuesday, the lady wildcats  played Heritage in the first round of the playoffs. They've already played Heritage twice this season and both times they've lost so they knew they had to play hard if they wanted to move on to the next round. They played at Heritage and the game goes the visiting team bats first in the beginning of game and the home team bats last in the end of the game. The game ended with Nicole Mooney, the pitcher, throwing the winning strike, making that the last out of the 6-5 game, moving Millbrook on to the 2nd round of the playoffs.

                     This was a close game, both teams were fighting for a place in next round of playoffs and it was an exciting moment for the Varsity team when the last strike was thrown. They were one step closer to winning the playoffs. Their next opponents are the Wolverines at Wakefield. Hopefully the ladies can take another win home and get even closer to winning the playoffs.

                                                                                                                                      -Nia

                   

                   

                 Hey guys! I forgot to mention that we played our last game yesterday against Middle Creek. Now that game was one of the best games we've had all season. It was a really close game and both teams were putting in the work to take the win. We lost but we put up a really good fight. We held the team for a couple innings, we didn't make many mistakes, and we kept a positive attitude throughout the game.

               We have a banquet in a few weeks with the Varsity team. The banquets are just about recognizing the players on both teams, saying a special goodbye to our seniors, and awarding our best athletes. Saying goodbye to the seniors is always emotional for us because it's finally hitting us that they won't be here to play next season. I wish I could've played with this senior class especially because they all inspire me in some way whether it's to throw faster or hit harder. There's also food, which is the best part. After that, the coaches say a few words, we take pictures and then it's over.

              I'm really proud of this team and I'm honored to have the opportunity to play with these ladies and get to know them, they are truly amazing. I think this team was a lot closer than the JV team last year, though I do miss the former JV players dearly. I had a lot of fun with these crazy girls and I hope I get to see them play again in the near future. As for the ones trying out for Varsity next year, I hope we get a chance to play together on a higher level. Until next time!

                                                                                                                                             -Nia

               It's Thursday, guys, hang in there! One more day. Well yesterday was a good game in my opinion. No, unfortunately, we didn't win, but we did give them a bit of a scare in the first couple of innings. We were up by 6, I think, in the first 2-3 innings only because their pitcher was either walking us or hitting us. Some of us were able to make good hits on some of the good pitches but majority of us were able to get on base by just watching the ball.

               We were really excited when we were winning because we thought we going to lose again. No one thought that we would be leading Panther Creek 10-4 as soon as the game starts. But we got our hopes up a little bit too high because we started losing. Reason why was because they put in a new pitcher: the same pitcher from the last time we played them. The team got scared and shut down again because she was pitching fast. At that moment I knew it was over. Plus the coach was starting to get to the girls and just their whole attitude shifted. We threw in the towel, again.

              I say this was a good game for us because for a split second, we were actually excited. We were in the game, we encouraged each other, had everyone's back, it was the best moment for us. We made good plays, we put the ball in play when we could in the batter's box, i really enjoyed the first part of the game. I just wish we could've held on a bit longer and pulled through in the end.

                                                                                                                                    -Nia

                 Happy Wednesday guys! Almost to the weekend. So today we have at game against Panther Creek and it's an away game. I'm pretty nervous since the last time we played them we didn't do so well. Panther Creek is one tough team and the scariest part about their team's record is that they beat Apex High's softball team. We played Apex last season twice and both games were REALLY bad for us. The first time we played them the score was 11-0 and the second game was 14-1. Apex was just that good. So knowing that Panther Creek beat Apex 8-7 I think, the returning JV softball players who play Apex last season were pretty shaken.

                 I'm hoping that we put up a fight this time and don't give up too easily. It honestly makes me upset when we throw in the towel too soon because the other team gets a big lead on us, the pitcher on the other team pitches fast, or the coach says something that makes the team feel bad because I know my team, and I know what we're capable of, we just need to stop shutting down when times are tough. If we're losing, it doesn't matter if by 1 run or 10, that should motivate us to play harder to make a good comeback. If coach is saying something we don't like, we should block him out and continue to encourage each other to keep the team going. It bothers me so much that the girls let things get to them and they get discourage when i know they have what it takes to be a good team that doesn't go down without a fight.

                One thing I know to be true about any softball team is that they don't play their hardest until the last couple of games in the season. I don't know what it is, but for some reason, when the last few games roll in, the girls have some sort of goal to either destroy the team or give them a run for their money. I only wished that my team would play like this all the time.

                                                                                                                                   -Nia

                Hey there. Well, we lost. It was probably the most depressing game for me because I really thought we had a chance and we did. We could've won but we gave up too soon. The coach wasn't helping either. If anything, he was just rubbing salt into the wound. He discouraged us when he was supposed to encourage us. We have up too soon and we could've won if we hadn't.

                So we're not Cap-3 champs this season. It's a bit disappointing but all we can do is improve over the next couple of months and be prepared to play them again next season. For those of us trying to make Varsity next season, we definitely have to whip ourselves into shape so we can make the team. No one wants to be a Junior on a JV team, it sucks.

                We have 2 games left: one on Wednesday against Panther Creek and one on Thursday against Green Road. I'm not looking forward to the one against Panther Creek since we pretty much got our butts handed to us the last time we played them. I've never heard of Green Road so I don't know what to expect from them, they're probably good, but you never know.

                                                                                                                                       -Nia
   

           Hey viewers! So Friday's practice was fun. We divided our team up and played a scrimmage. My team was in the lead but we ended up falling to the other team. We weren't really trying to achieve anything by playing a scrimmage, it was just for fun.

           I'm a bit nervous about this Wake Forest game. We beat them last year, but it wasn't as easily done as it was with Enloe; we had to worked for that win. I think last season the only reason why we won is because they made simple mistakes that allowed us to get a lead over them. I'm pretty sure they won't make the same mistakes again this year and they're probably better than they were last year, we never know.

           Hopefully today will be a good game. I want us to be Cap-3 champs again this year but we have to beat Wake Forest first. If not then we'll be runner-up since we beat Enloe. I really hope that we have what it takes to beat Wake Forest and become Cap-3 champs.

                                                                                                                                    -Nia

           Hey there. Yesterday's practice was just awful. The stuff we did wasn't what made the practice bad, it was the coach's attitude. If I could describe him in one word, it would be pessimistic. Nothing, literally NOTHING, we did made him happy. We were always doing something wrong. Now don't get me wrong, he did say that he thought we did well on somethings, but it seems like every practice or game, he found at least one thing wrong no matter how well we did and he has a way of making us feel bad for messing up.

           The coach does help us sometimes when he knows we could do better. Constructive criticism is welcomed, but constantly bashing us isn't. It gets tiresome. Ask any other athlete that quit their sport because their coach kept nagging at them. One of my teammates told me that at least 5 wrestlers didn't return to the team because of the coach's nagging. No one wants to put up with negativity. It's sad that some people don't even want to play the sport they love anymore because one person ruined it with their negativity.

            According to him, he's getting us ready for Varsity. The only time I know that the Varsity coaches will nag at you is if you make a simple mistake like not catching the ball, or throwing the ball around or to the wrong base. Their criticism is actually helpful. Even the punishments they give their players help them improve. What our coach does to us has me on the verge of not playing anymore.

                                                                                                                                    -Nia

            What's up guys! Hope all of you are doing well. We have a game on Monday against Wake Forest. Last year when we played them, we saw that we were evenly matched. But we pulled through and I hope that this season will be the same but you never know.

            I forgot to tell you one more thing about the Enloe game. We didn't use anything we've talked about in the practice before the game in the actual game. So we pretty much sat around for nothing which isn't surprising to me cause this always happens. We talk about what we need to work on, practice it, but we don't use it. We just resort to our old ways , I know I do, and we don't realize it until the game ends but the thing about it is that our old ways are what makes us comfortable and that's what softball is about in a way.  I remember one of the varsity coaches telling me that, "Softball is a game about comfortability." We play in a way that comfortable to us and sometimes what's comfortable for us isn't what appears to be right for us.

           So I'm honestly not worried about my team's ability. We can get the job done, just in a different way. But Monday we really have to pull through if we want to be Cap 3 champions.
 
                                                                                                                            -Nia

              Hey friends! So the game against Enloe was pretty...interesting. For one we did win; it was another shutout. But I was right about one thing: they had another pitcher. At first she seemed to be a bit better than their starting pitcher, but then she started walking us. Their starting pitcher played different positions too, first baseman and catcher. She appeared to be an essential player to the team since she played both positions pretty well.

               If there's one thing I know about Enloe's team, it's that they're way too cocky. Especially for a team on their level. They're a decent team, defensively and offensively, but their attitude and the way they present themselves is terrible. I've never heard a team brag about their players as much as they do. But saying stuff like, "Yeah, you got them lookin'!" just bothers me. I'm not looking at you because I'm impressed, I'm looking to see 1. the way you hit and 2. how hard you hit. I'm preparing myself for when you come up to bat. I'm not impressed by grounders and pop-flies cause I know my team can easily put those into play. I'm impressed by line drives and home runs. Grounders and pop-flies are easy outs to me.

               The good news is that I don't have to listen to them brag until next season. The bad news is that I have to listen to them brag next season, but "you do what you got to do so you can do what you want to do." -Jimmy Johns.

               Yes, I quoted a sandwich shop.
                                                                                                                                -Nia

                    

                    Welcome back! Today is our last game against Enloe. I'm still trying not to let my confidence get the best of me because I don't want to lose to Enloe unexpectedly. Plus cocky doesn't look good on anyone. We know what to expect since we just played them but we have to be wary of any changes. 

                     Yesterday we had a team discussion (more like a lecture from the coach) about somethings we need to work on. Even though major of the practice was focused on that, we were able to actually practice some of what we talked about. One of those things was being more aggressive on the bases and taking bigger leads (longer steps off the base). The thing is you can't step of the base until the pitcher releases the ball so you have to time it just right. While base running, we went over the different signs we had for things like bunt, steal a base, and take the pitch. The indicator for the signs was the bill of the coach's hat, if he touched the bill, pay attention to what he did next.

                     If he touched the bill then pulls his ear, then the batter needs to bunt. If he touched his bill then ran his right hand down left arm, then the runner on base needs to steal (run to the next base when the pitcher pitches). "Take the pitch", or "don't swing at the next pitch", is the only sign that doesn't need an indicator. When he does a double fist tap, then the batter doesn't swing. 

                    Hopefully this will help us this afternoon when we take the field.

                                                                                                                                     -Nia

 





                         Hey friends. Well today at practice, not only did we get to have a little chit-chat with the coach about being at practice, but we also got a boat-load of criticism about the game yesterday. He pretty much pointed out all the mistakes we made and failed to acknowledge some of the good things we did. Then we went around the group and talked about things that happened during the game that we need to improve, and to be honest, no matter what you say during these little discussions we have, it just goes through everyone's ear and out the other. Another thing is that we spend waaay too much talking about than actually incorporating it into our practice. I would rather go and practice and work on things I need to improve instead of having someone sit me down and tell me over and over again that I need to do it.

                         We've missed a few players too, more specifically, 2 of our outfielders and one of our second basemen. Alecia, a right fielder, was on a trip with a club she's in. Yami, a left fielder, got a concussion from the game yesterday because our first baseman accidentaly pitched a ball into the dugout when she was warming up for pitching and it hit Yami on the head. Sara, a second baseman, was working on a calculus project, something having to do with a music video.

                         Hopefully whatever we discussed will be used in the game we have against Enloe on Friday. Everyone is pretty much confident that we'll win, but one thing my mom told me was to never get too confident and cocky. Even though I knew what to expect from Enloe, I made sure to not rule out the possibility that they could have a different, better pitcher this time around.

                                                                                                                              -Nia

                   

            Hey guys! Turns out that I was right; Panther Creek did give us a run for our money. We already knew from the time they arrived to the time that they finished warming up, that we were going to get our butts kicked. Their throws were amazing and accurate. Their pitcher was good and their catcher wasn't too far from amazing. We knew we were in for a good one.

                 In the first couple of innings, we weren't doing so well. Not only because the other team started the game off with a few singles and a home run, but because our pitcher wasn't feeling too great.  Her stomach was hurting to much to continue pitching, so our first baseman pitch. After that, we seemed to pull through a bit. We were able to get 6 runs by the end of the game, but the other team had 18.

                  I guess you could say that one of the reasons we lost was because we were already discouraged before the game even started. Maybe if we would've had a better attitude about the game, we could've done a bit better. Hopefully we'll do better the next time we play them.

                                                                                                                         -Nia
             

                                 Hello friends! Since we've last chatted, the JV team has had 2 practices dedicated to skills we needed to work on (base running, signs given from the coaches to runners and batters, hitting, etc.). Unfortunately, on Wednesday, the Varsity suffered a lose when they played Heritage, 9-0. Now, anyone who knows the Varsity coaches, especially Coach Bunting, knows that they HATE losing. Especially when the other team had such a huge lead on them and so many mistakes were made. According our pitcher on the JV team, the coaches were going to make the girls run until the threw up! I talked to one of their outfielders, Brittany, yesterday and she told me that since they made 13 errors in the game, they had to run 2 poles for every mistake. A pole is running from one foul pole line to the other and back (the black sticks in the picture). The worse part about poles is that they're done  in the outfield along the back fence, so the distance is further between the poles.

                                The players who didn't play Wednesday could've chose not to do any poles, there was 5 of them. Brittany was one of them. When I asked her if she decided to do it, she exclaimed, "Of course I ran with them! They're my teammates, I had to run with them!" I wasn't surprised because Brittany would do something like this, even I would've ran with them if I was on Varsity. Being on a team for us meant being a family unit, we acted as one and were treated as one. So if one of us did something wrong, we paid for it. She along with 2 others out of the 5 ran with the team.

                                After about 12 poles, they were given the option to either keep running, or play 21 outs. 21 outs is a game/exercise where the team takes the field and the coaches hit to a random player and the team has to make the out without any errors or they have to start over. But this time, if they made any errors they had to run more on top of starting over. Knowing this, they decided not to play 21 outs, which i think is a smart decision, but this upset the coaches. So they let them run 3 more before offering the same options again and this time they accepted the offer. They played 3 times and each time they were unable to make 21. The first time they made 11 outs, the second time they made 14, and the third time they made 17. Fortunately, they didn't have to run when they messed up. Instead they did 5 burpies, which is an exercise where you jump up then go down and do a push-up then jump back up again then repeat.

                                Being a student athlete in the Wildcat community is hard work. You have to be ready for all the challenges,consequences, wins, and loses that come with it. It might not seem worth it to go through all this trouble for a loss, but in the end it is. We either pay for it now by running and doing burpies or later when we play in an actual game. We would rather suffer now and get the errors under control then later when it's too late to fix them.
                                                                                                                                                     
   
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               -Nia

                               
      
                 

              Welcome back! Today is the our 2nd game of the season. We play at Enloe at 4 p.m. We all have some of mixed emotions playing this team because last season when we played them, we had a complete shutout against them (sports term for completely wiping the other team out), so we felt like we had nothing to worry about this season when we play them. But recently, our Varsity team played Enloe not too long ago and the game was close. I'm pretty sure we were only up by one when the game ended, but it was totally unexpected because it's Enloe, they're literally know for being terrible at every sport, so for the few JV players that went to the game to support the Varsity team, we were a little worried about what Enloe's JV team looked like. I'm sure if we continue to work hard we'll have nothing to worry about. But we'll what happens this afternoon...

              Well I guess somethings just don't change. The final score was 27-4 Millbrook. Another shutout. Just like last year, their pitcher walked everyone ( "walked" means that the pitcher threw 4   balls, or bad pitches, and the batter was allowed to take a base). The best part about their pitcher was the level of frustration she had towards her teammates when they were on the field. At one point,   got upset with them for not moving up on a bunt (when a batter holds their bat towards the pitcher to gently knock the ball down) but I don't blame them for just standing there because in order to
make a play, the ball has to be hit. In order for that to happen, the batter has to make contact with the ball, and for that to happen the pitcher has to make a GOOD or DECENT pitch and she failed to do so. In my opinion, she should've kept herself in check before getting upset with the team, because their defense is pretty good. The main reason why we were able to get such a huge lead on them was because of their pitcher.
                         
               Maybe next Friday things will be a bit better for Enloe. But for now, we have to worry about Panther's Creek. I'm betting that they will give us a run for our money. We play them at home on Monday so we have a few more practices until the game. Hopefully we can put up a decent fight in this game. Until next time!
         
                                                                                                                                                   -Nia



       
                                                       

Intro

                       Hey there readers! Welcome to the Life as a Millbrook Softball Player! Here you will get updates of what goes on at games, practices, in the lockers rooms, and more. Life as a softball player is full of ups and downs, victories and defeats, funny moments, team bonding experiences, arguments, and of course drama, what's a good blog without a little drama, right? Join me and the players on the JV /Varsity team  as we take this journey, through this exciting season and see what it takes to be a softball player at Millbrook.