Have you ever had one of those days, when something in your daily activities reminded you of a special time in your life, that changed or helped shaped your future self?
Let me explain mine; I was at practice the other day, appreciating the beauty of the sport and the hard work our players put in and noticed we had a young recruit in the stands with her Mom and Dad. It instantly reminded me of when I was in that same place, in what now seems like many years ago now, sitting in the stands watching my future college softball team practice.
It also reminded me of a funny story. When packing for my visit to the beautiful University of Arizona campus, I had NO idea what to bring. And being an independent, know-it-all teenager, I didn’t solicit packing advice from my parents, and what would they know anyway! This was my first college visit, so I packed my best and most “hip” (at the time) outfits, and we hit the road.
As we landed in Tucson, my dad, and my hitting coach (who came along with us), were both going over what I needed to say, how I needed to act, and also how to “dress”. I thought to myself, dress! Surely they won’t pay attention to what I’m wearing, will they? But having the crazy support system I had, they immediately conducted an inventory of the contents of my suitcase and insisted that everything I packed was completely wrong and must be replaced!
In a panic, we drove straight from the airport, to the nearest Sports Authority in Tucson (I still know the exact one) and they proceeded to buy me; Nike sweat pants, an Arizona sweatshirt, and some Nike Shox Shoes (the reason for the Nike Shox, was because the high heel would make me look taller to the coaches – Ha!).
I begrudgingly did as they told me and wore all my newly acquired attire to the softball fields. I sat in the stands, watched the team practice and met the coaches afterward. I had the best time on that visit. I knew right away, that Arizona Softball was the family I wanted to be a part of, but I also knew I had A LOT of work to do, in the time I had left in High School, in order to crack that amazing lineup when I arrived.
As I sit back, 7 years later, I think about the time I was in those stands, wide-eyed in awe of such incredible softball players, wondering if I was going to be able to be as good as they are, but anxious to get there. Throughout my years at Arizona, as a player and now as a grad. assistant coach, I have seen many recruits come into the program and each time, couldn’t help but take notice what each of them was wearing and wondering if they too, made a stop at the local Sports Authority before arriving to campus.
But looking back, I can honestly say, I was recruited for my enduring drive, passion, enthusiasm and what I bring to the table as far as softball skills go, and not because I looked 5’5” tall in my Nike Shox shoes, instead of my real height of 5’ 4”. You see, someone like Coach Candrea, who has recruited so many players, for so many years, has surely seen most every conceivable outfit recruits wear on their visits, but he knows to look past that, and is more interested in determining who the person that stands before him is on the inside, trying to measure what makes this person who they are and what they will bring to the Arizona Softball family.
So, what I learned from this is, even though your appearance and appeal seem to be important to you in everyday life, its not everything, in fact it’s only a small fraction of who we are as individuals. What is most important about each and every person, and recruit, is their character, personality, and passion. Those are the most important traits in each of us that truly shapes the type of person we are, and not just “dressing up” to be.
As you go through your days, try to remember, it really doesn’t matter how you look physically or what brand clothes you are wearing or how “Hip” your outfit is, but more importantly its the “type” of person you are and what you contribute to others around you. You can spend countless hours being concerned with what you want people to see from the outside, but try, EVERY DAY to work on that person on the inside, the person that people get to know, trust and count on. Because when all things are considered, this is the person that will make the most impact on others.
