Jake W., Chaminade Julienne High School
Dottie Yeck Good Life Award Writing Contest
An injury can change your attitude, thoughts, and mental well-being, but a strong mindset and determination can push you forward.
In 2019, I was playing catcher for my baseball team. The game was going good until the fourth inning had begun. Before then I was having a good game doing what I loved. Baseball was my passion and my favorite thing to do, especially catching. I returned in the fourth inning and resumed my role behind the plate. Receiving the pitcher’s warm up pitches I was feeling confident and joyful. The sun was hitting me, the smell of Gatorade and sunflower seeds ran through my body. The first batter stepped up and swung and missed at the first pitch. The second pitch, he swung and made contact with my left forearm and hand. Upon impact I felt nothing but numbness as I fell forward. I could then feel the fiery sensation of pain rattle through my arm a moment later. I had to be pulled from the game and driven directly to an urgent care.
In the car, the initial pain had worn off but I could no longer move anything below my elbow as I felt extreme discomfort doing so. I was given an x-ray, and the doctors determined my ulna had been completely split in two, and my thumb had a long crack running through it. I was put in a cast and told not to move it for two months.
Within that time I sat in the dugout at games, no longer basking in the glory of championships on field, but cheering from the sidelines. I saw the whole season go by without me. Once I was finally cleared, I wasn’t the same on the field. I was scared and nervous. I could no longer sit confidently behind the plate with a batter next to me.
The beginning of the next season, I no longer sat on the bench because of a shattered bone, but because of my own inaction and inability. We finished one tournament with me not seeing the field once. I knew my career on the field would falter if I couldn’t stay strong and return to my old self.
The next two weeks I changed my mindset. Every practice I worked harder than the person next to me. I knew the confidence wouldn’t come back for a while, but I pushed through. I knew I could work as hard as I wanted to, but it wouldn’t matter come gametime when I returned to playing scared. Confronted with the fear of re-injury, I played the next tournament in spite of the fear and powered through.
I didn’t let the fear and worry keep me from playing. I used my own personal strength and determination to keep me doing what I love and not letting anything bring me down.
