By Melody Coombs

Melody Coombs, 2020 shortstop/outfielder for NC Lady Lightning recently committed to Syracuse University. She shares her experience and mindset during the week.

MONDAY

It's 6:00 AM and my legs are jelly, my right shoulder feels numb, and my feet feel as bad as they look.  I do not even have the energy to open my eyes and turn off this alarm. Lord, give me the strength to get through this day.

School day is good, besides the fact that I must be the only eighth grader that did not have even one moment to post a pic on SNAP all weekend. After school I go home to change and head to speed and agility (Coach Ennis) so that I can not only "be the fastest", but I am told that I have to, "STAY the fastest".

My stats are good, but where would I end up if they decrease? I can't take that chance. How am I going to get through this hour with rubber thighs? I do not know. Push. Push. Push. Push through this feeling of total exhaustion, mentally and physically.

Time for homework. Hit the bed. Life is good.

TUESDAY

I go to school. I do my homework. I change my clothes for my middle school softball game.

I tell myself, "No wasted at bats, no errors in the field." Coaches could be watching! I have to be the best. I deserve the opportunity to play in the WCAC and at the collegiate level. My family is counting on me. My sister did this. A chance for a better education and more opportunity is what I want.

WEDNESDAY

After homework and school, we drive an hour and a half to Virginia for a hitting lesson. Have to make sure that my batting average does not decrease. I will be moved lower in the batting line up. College coaches will be there this weekend. I can't take the chance of having a bad weekend hitting; my parents will blame it solely on me not going to batting practice. No days off. No rest. Go. Go. Go.

THURSDAY

Because of our scheduled games this weekend, I get all of my assignments that I will miss tomorrow, take any tests that will be given, explain to my teachers that I will be at yet another college showcase event. Thursdays, I love Thursdays. I get to go home and see my family. Eat with them. Fight and wrestle with my brother and sister! Hear about all the mistakes I made at the tournament last weekend. I pray. I watch a little TV and sleep in my own bed for the last time this week.

FRIDAY

Today is travel day. I hate leaving home, but I need the exposure. I need to play where the coaches are. I need to play with the team that has the most connections and the best players. Work. Work. Work. My parents are investing too much time and money to fail now.

SATURDAY

My teammates arrive for total competition. I want them to do well, but I have to be the star. I can't let anyone take shortstop, centerfield or my spot in the order. Don't know them very well. Some live in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. We meet every weekend to perform as a team.

We smile, bring a good attitude in front of the college coaches. We have fun, but not too much fun. I tell myself be a leader, talk in the field, but for goodness sake don't miss a ball or strike out. Three games today, I have to do well.

What college coaches are here today? Did they see my last play? Did they see me pop up to the infield? Did they see me miss that ball? Play. Play. Play. Now back to the hotel. No pool time, just food and bed.

SUNDAY

The car is packed and ready to return home. We play two games. The week is over. We head home. There is no better feeling. At this point in my week, the stress is over. For eight hours of my life, I just relax while my mom or dad drive.

***

On Monday, I do it all again. This is my life. There is not one day of my week that I am not operating under stress, pressure, accountability and obligation to the ones I love and depend on me to succeed. I owe it to them. I owe it to MYSELF! I will succeed. I will be the girl that represents St. Mary's County as a softball player on the USA National Team.  

I will to be an example to young woman that devote their life to working hard every day at a sport that they love, academic success and a close relationship to the Lord that gave them the athletic ability. I will share with them the times that I wanted to give up, the times I just wanted to be a NORMAL teenager. I will tell them how they will be let down by coaches they trust, teammates they thought were your friends and when they think they are doing everything they can to become the best, they will sit the bench because they are the new kids or the youngest.

I will make them understand that more than half of making it, as an athlete, is withstanding.  Withstanding pressure, withstanding unfair situations, withstanding exhaustion, withstanding feeling like everything we do is for nothing.

It is a sport, but I know now that it is so much more. It is building character. It is reaching a goal that seems so far away and way too hard. It is showing up and doing your best when so many people are upset with the team you choose to be on or the batting coach you are paying for.  It's hard, so hard.

I will also share with them the unbelievable feeling of hitting my first home run.  I will reminisce about the time we won a showcase tournament in Alabama.  I will remember opening my first letter from Auburn University after attending a skills camp.

Listening to . I will describe to them that after these experiences, there is NO task that I cannot accomplish. I KNOW what it takes to do great things. I KNOW the amount of effort that is required to make changes in the world.

Attending St. Mary's Ryken is one step in my Master Plan. I will be a testimony to the Future of Ryken students to prove what can be accomplished by a young, African American girl from Saint Mary's County whose heart and drive outweighed all obstacles that stood in my way.