“I have played on a travel team for 5 years and it is never the same because the speed of the game gets faster,” says Lilly Barra who plays on an X-plosion travel  team. Barra has pitched since she was little and even though not all of her pitches are on spot, she still puts in the work to succeed. “Umpires can have a wide strike zone and even though I sometimes do not like what they call, I just get ready for the next pitch,” says Barra.     

Lilly’s father, Coach Barra has been coaching the X-plosion for 2 years. “We are like a family and we have our good days and we even have our bad ones but we get over it and play the game,” says Emily Fisher who plays on a Central PA X-plosion team. Being a unit is important when playing softball because half of playing the game is  anticipating location of a hit. Those out in the field can’t be making terrible plays or throw the ball when someone isn’t looking because that is how players get hurt. If you work together you can succeed more, and make it farther as a team.

“Softball is the only sport I play and I get nervous when I have to start in a game but after I get on the field I remember how much softball means to me and all of my nervous thoughts go away,” says Lilly Barra. Softball isn’t only a sport it is a passion, people who wanna play will succeed. There will always be long innings and it seems like forever but eventually it might get easier or not but you have to put in work to succeed. Everyone has something they’re good at but for some girls it’s softball and we all do what we need to succeed as player and people.