Alexis Mack is an 2015 grad who’s at the Boulder Independence Day Tournament with her club team, the Beverly Bandits. The South Carolina-signee set the Ohio high school state single season record with 79 steals as well as the career mark with 234.

The infielder hit .682 this season with a fantastic .717 on-base percentage and reached base in 94 of her 120 plate appearances.

A soon-to-be announced FloSoftball All-American, Alexis has offered to share her thoughts and experiences this week in Colorado and today talks about her time leading up to this point, her final summer of club play on the biggest stage in the country…

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The summer after my eighth grade year I took slapping lessons with then Akron Racer, and former assistant coach at LSU, Sheronda McDonald.

Three times a week my dad would drive me to Firestone Stadium, home of the Racers, where Sheronda would give me one-hour lessons. She would give me lessons on the field, which we shared with one other Akron Racer, Taylor Schlopy, and her hitting client.

Every single time I went this girl was working with Schlopy and I remember distinctly how great of a player she looked to be and how hard she worked.

One day my dad and I introduced ourselves and we found out the other girl was Jenna Lilley, the former Beverly Bandit and current Oregon star third baseman.

We asked her what summer team she played for and where she would be playing this summer and Jenna said she played for the Beverly Bandits, and that she was flying to Colorado the next morning for 10 days to play in a tournament there.

At the time, I just played in pretty local tournaments, so flying to Colorado and playing against the best teams in the nation sounded so cool!

I got in the car after meeting her and immediately started asking my dad how I could get on the Bandits, if he thought I could compete against that level of competition and how I wanted to go cool places like Colorado to play.

Two years later, and after a lot of hard work, I found myself exactly where Jenna was on that hot June afternoon: getting reps in right before I left the next morning for the IDT tournament in Boulder, Col. to play for my team, the Beverly Bandits.

And because of this, I have never taken one day here for granted. I get to live my dream here playing against the best competition in the country, playing with teammates who push me to be a better player and make me a better person, for some of the best coaches in the country, with beautiful weather and beautiful facilities, and making memories that I will remember forever.

That June afternoon – when Jenna told my dad and me about the Bandits and this tournament –I formulated a dream and a goal in my head and this week, and for the past two summers, I have been lucky enough to live it.

Yesterday afternoon, I got off the plane in Denver immediately feeling the 90 degree heat that is certainly much nicer than the 60 degree, rainy summer we have been getting in Cleveland.

Once we get in our car, one of the first things I always notice is the mountains. I get to see these kinds of mountains once a year, so I always just take it all in, both with my eyes, and with my camera for snap chat as well.

Seeing these mountains for the first time in a year got me thinking how every year I come back here and, although it feels like just yesterday, how much changes in a year.

You mature and improve so much as a player and as a person as well.

Along with that, your perspective and goals for the tournament change too. My first year being here was really my first experience of a playing a high level summer tournament.

I was so nervous and didn’t know what to expect out of the event. I had heard it was very competitive and there were so many teams in it; I just didn’t know how I was going to perform.

On top of that, I knew my college coaches would be there to watch me and that added a lot of pressure because they didn’t get to watch me play that often every year. I obviously wanted to play well in front of them.

My first Colorado tournament will probably always be one of my favorite weeks of my life. Although some people playing against great competition may feel like they feel like a worse player, I found that playing against this kind of competition and under this pressure really raised my game as a player.

Not only that, but my teammates and I made some of my favorite memories that week with my favorite being winning the whole tournament,and run ruling the team we played in the championship.

My second year at the tournament, it was my first time playing here at the 18U gold level. I was nervous and felt a lot of pressure to prove myself to my coaches and I wanted to perform well for my college coaches as well.

Last year, playing at the Boulder IDT typified one of the biggest reasons I am the player I am today. Repetitively playing against this competition over the course of the week and wanting to maintain my spot as leadoff in the lineup, I really had no room to adjust to the level of play or room for mistakes.

It really raised my game both mentally and physically as a player because you realize you have to think so much quickly and play higher than the level of the already great players you are facing. After that week I learned a lot, and it changed me for the better as a player. Not only this, but I made some of my favorite memories as well.

Yesterday, as soon as we got our car and I was done taking some pretty awesome snap chats of the mountains, my dad and I went and got some food. We sat in the exact same seats at the exact same restaurant we did when we got off the plane last year, and again, I couldn’t believe how quickly time went by, and how much had changed in a year.

As we sat and ate, my dad asked me, “So, what is your overall objective and goals for this week?”

I thought for a second, and decided that my goals and objective were very much different than the previous two years I had been here. The past two years I put pressure on myself to perform well for my team and to impress my coaches.

Although that is still a priority for me, my goal this year is to enjoy every second of this tournament and take in every moment. I really want to make the most of the games and the things we do outside of playing.

Since I will be leaving for college straight from this tournament, this is my final test as a player. Each game will provide information I can gather from both my successes and failures as a player: What adjustments can I make? Why was I successful my first at bat versus my last at bat? How can I be a better teammate? What do I need to work on in pre-game and in practice more?

I plan to ask myself these kinds of questions so I can make the most of playing against this kind of competition.

Off the field, I really want to make the most of the moments I have with my team. I am lucky enough to play the teammates I have played with for three years now, and they are like sisters to me. Since this is my second-to last-tournament playing with them, every moment on and off the field I want to enjoy being with them.

Since making the most of this week was my goal, it only seemed fitting that the moment my dad and I got to the hotel, we quickly changed, and drove to Estes Park.

My mom took me here last year at this tournament, and although it is an hour drive from Boulder, it is beyond worth it. Estes Park is one of the coolest and most beautiful places I have ever been to, and seemed like the perfect place to start off this awesome week in Colorado.

My dad and I took in all the beautiful views, got some of the best ice cream we have ever tasted, and looked around all the original shops that were there. Since I spend the week here living with my teammates and being with them, I don’t get to talk to or spend a lot of time with my dad, so I was happy to get to start the week off on a good note, and spend time with him as well.

This morning, I got up and did my summer college workout that I do Monday-Friday. Although doing it on the road and on days you play can be tough, you don’t want to miss a day and get behind.

Luckily the hotel we are staying at has a really nice weight lifting room and had all the weights and machines I needed to get my workout in. Since we don’t play until Wednesday, I tried to go up in weight for everything and push myself because I have tomorrow off.

After doing a good 30-40 minutes of my workout, I had my favorite breakfast, a banana smoothie, and two eggs.

I had to wait for two hours after that for my team to get to the hotel from the airport, and as soon as they arrived we all went and changed into practice clothes.

Since our rooms weren’t ready yet, our coach, Bill Conroy, somehow got us a room on the top floor, and what seemed to be the Penthouse Suite!

We went and changed up there, and the view and the room were absolutely amazing. They haven’t deactivated our keys yet, and we are definitely hoping they never remember to!

After changing, we went and did a two-hour practice, where we did all defense. Although it was hot, and I had to do a good amount of running, it is always important to practice in Colorado before you play because the air is so much different here, and the ball travels differently and you breath a lot differently as well.

After practicing, we went back to the hotel and changed and our team went to a movie and dinner. We do this every year the first night of Colorado, and at most tournaments as well. I normally would go, but one of my former Bandit teammates from the last two years came to Colorado and I got to catch up with her and hear all about how college was for her, things she’s learned and what she liked and didn’t like.

I like to listen and ask a lot of questions to current and past college players because you can learn from their mistakes and from their successes instead of having to learn some of them the hard way.

Although I made the most of and enjoyed today, tomorrow my team and I are going whitewater rafting and I am SUPER excited!

I have never been whitewater rafting and I have always wanted to go, and I get to go with some of my favorite people, so it is going to be an awesome day.

Day 1 and Day 2 of Colorado have been pretty great, but I have a feeling that it’s only going to get better from here!