Delaney Elling, the outstanding first baseman/catcher from Washington, Pa., was greatly impacted by the retirement letter of softball great Caitlin Lowe in February and also comments by legendary UCLA coach Sue Enquist.

Delaney says “Softball doesn’t discriminate. It doesn’t matter how big you are or how small you are. How much money you have, or how strong you are. It won’t judge you even when the rest of the world will. We are all equals from the game’s point of view.”  

The 6-foot junior was honored as a member of the 2016 Hot 100 and is talented enough on the field to play in the Big Ten at Penn State. She’s also smart enough to have been offered by academically strong schools like Stanford with her 4.0 GPA and 30 on the ACT.

Delaney plans on majoring in Bio-Medical Engineering once she hits the Nittany Lion campus and as a sophomore in 2014 she was named a Pennsylvania AAA All-State 1^st Team catcher after hitting .684 with 32 RBI.

Be sure to check out Delaney’s previous blogs and those of our other standout bloggers!

***

Finally, the spring season is almost upon us. While the spring brings along rain and all the creepy crawlers, the most important thing that comes with this season is the start of high school softball.

In Pennsylvania and other places affected by the harsh winter season, spring is a breath of fresh air.

Literally.

While it may only be 40 degrees and we may end up with pneumonia, the opportunity to go outside is too tempting to not take advantage of especially after months spent practicing indoors.

While I fully expected to write my thoughts on the differences between high school and travel softball, I came across something the other day and I just had to write about it.

A few weeks ago Caitlin Lowe said her final goodbye to softball through a letter. In her letter she thanks her parents, her fans, her coaches, her teammates, and everyone else you would expect.

However, she mentioned that the best advice she could give was to respect the game. She wrote, “If you respect the game in all its glory, if you do it with passion, then it will pay you back in ways you could never even imagine.”

My mind has been stuck on that statement ever since.

On a similar note, I was finally cleaning my room (only after a few weeks of my father nagging me about it) when I found an article my travel coach made me write out back in 12U.

After reading the article, focusing on an interview with Sue Enquist, it made me think about the points Enquist had made. She had talked about being competitive and loving the game but also about respecting and honoring the game.

You can call it fate, or just a coincidence but I was thinking about Lowe’s goodbye when I had found it. Both the letter by Lowe and the article about Enquist made me think, “How great is this game I have the opportunity to play?”

Softball doesn’t discriminate. It doesn’t matter how big you are or how small you are. How much money you have, or how strong you are. It won’t judge you even when the rest of the world will. We are all equals from the game’s point of view.

In softball, you get what you give.

Looking back on it, I believe that is why I fell in love with the game. The game doesn’t care where you come from or what you look like. It cares about the effort, the commitment, and the attitude you bring to the field each and every day.

I was hit with this realization in the middle of a period when I was questioning myself and my relationship to the game. Now, however, I find myself more motivated than ever because I understand how much the game of softball has given me. My love for the game has been renewed and I cannot wait to see what the next few months bring.

I wish you all the best of luck in your high school seasons! Kick some butt but most of all have fun and love every minute of it!

“There is no judgment of you by the game of softball. Rather you will be judged on your love for the game in your approach to your execution.” – Sue Enquist

Delaney Elling
Class of 2016
We Are… Penn State

[]content-premium]