Be Hungry.
Wednesday, September 7, 2022
I spent the majority of my early years playing baseball, and then softball. It was the perfect excuse to get out of my house a few days a week since my parents never let me go anywhere other than school. #growinguplatino
It wasn't until I got recruited to an all-girls softball team that I learned more than just the rules of the game.
Coach was a hard-ass. He was strict, had lots of rules, was always barking orders, and never liked loosing. The girls looked like they had been playing since they popped out of the womb- I'm not gonna lie- it was really intimidating. My first few practices I already knew this newfound hobby wasn't gonna last very long. Granted, I stayed playing for about 5 years and stopped shortly before college.
We traveled throughout the five boroughs but mostly played in Coney and Harlem. I can't even begin to explain the amount of nostalgia that runs through my body whenever I walk by Kaiser or go to a Cyclones game. I get instant flashbacks of drinking gatorade, eating sunflower seeds, cheering, and every game/practice we ever had. Double headers on Saturdays and Sundays, and in the winter months we had conditioning until it was nicer out. Commitment really met it's match with the Hustlers. (Yes, this was our team name.)
I remember one game where you could visibly tell these girls were just learning and weren't the most motivated. It was too hot of a day to be wearing a jersey, pants, knee high socks, cleats, and a visor- but here we all were. It was disgusting out and coach made it beyond apparent that he wanted us to demolish them - so an immediate mercy was the endgame.
It was only the first at bat of the game and we had already a home run. It's a moment I will never forget- one of the Hustlers had hit a single, but brought it all the way home. Once the shot had hit outfield and the right fielder was in no rush to grab the ball, and coach started yelling: "GO THREE GO THREE!" & she went alllll the way home.
I remember the other team looking completely pissed and in disbelief. Coach had picked up a nearby fern shoved it in his mouth, and said to himself, "you gotta be hungry ladies." And since then, I've thought of so many instances in my life where this phrase has applied.
"Being hungry" in it's literal sense was one thing- but "being hungry" in life is all dependent of you. It's something you have to have internally- almost like a craving of sorts. Personally, the best way I've come to think of it is as a testament as to how badly you want something, and how you won't stop at anything until you get there.
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