Being A Team

Dark gray clouds cover the sky as we walk across the field. The humid air clings to my skin with every step I take. Gosh, I hope it does not rain, I think to myself. It is Saturday morning and we are here to practice. It is 6:00 am and the rest of the world is quiet. We stand in silence for a few minutes while we all wake up and begin focusing on being here. Then we start to smile and joke around. We stretch, grab a partner and a ball and start throwing to warm up.

 As we line up to hit rain pours from the sky. Within seconds our clothes are drenched but we continue hitting and no one complains. Standing in line to hit I realize the pure determination and respect of my team. Not a single teammate questions our coach about staying outside. We trust him we know that whatever he is saying is the best for us. After an hour of hitting our coach tells us to huddle up. We form a circle and he smiles, "Everyone can go home now". Surprise comes across our captains faces, practices are usually two hours, rain or shine. “You girls have stuck it out through the rain today, without any complaints, that’s impressive”, explains our coach. “You know that I believe with hard work also comes being a kid, you have to have time to have fun with your friends, even during the season. There’s no point in staying out in the rain”. Our team smiles and gathers our stuff, and we run back inside.

            Looking back at this practice, many people wouldn’t think this small gesture of ending practice early would make a difference. But it does. Our team shows the will and the power to play this sport. We stick everything out as a team. I have become so close with these girls and this coach. Before games and during practice, we laugh and joke but we know that we are serious. This is our season. Being part of this team gives you a strong feeling of acceptance. I know that we are always behind each other. It is a powerful feeling because with a team that is so close, you get an overwhelming feeling that makes you want to perform at your very best every single game. You want to make your team proud. I often think about the strength our team gets from little things. We are strong but not cocky. We can joke around, but we can also buckle down and get things done when we need to. With determination, strength, love and acceptance our team continues to move forward in the season. We give each game everything we have, and we are always improving. Only one motto stays in our thoughts and minds, this is our season. And we continue moving forward. 

Word Count: 482

Example Conclusion Paragraph

Smoking negatively affects an athletes ability to perform their best. Whether a decision  about smoking is to fit into a group or has become a bad habit, smoking does no good for an athletes performance. Imagine the affects smoking has on the body which in return affects preformance. Running with your team, or working out and an althete is suddenly short of breath and light headed. Smoking affects your preformance which can give other athletes an advantage over you. It could be the difference between you or someone else getting a scholarship. As a future habit smoking also causes many types of cancer and cigarette prices can be costly. Smoking has no positive affects and in the long run can cause many problems for your body and success.

Photo Essay, Thesis Statement homework

Thesis: Playing a team orientated sport requires communication, determination and respect among players. 

1. Communication is key for running successful plays during a game. 

2. Sports require determination to help players work hard  and  be successful. 

                                   3. All sports require mutual respect between players to create a good team environment.

Holliston High School vs. Hopkinton (April 13, 2012)

Game Five.  Getting into my mom’s car after practice I cannot help but be excited. Tomorrow is the big game. All night I cannot concentrate, all my thoughts are about tomorrow as Holliston plays Hopkinton for the first time this season.  As I lay in bed I have to contain myself from becoming too cocky. This is a hyped up game both undefeated teams meet on Hopkinton’s home field at 3:45. We will both show what this season means to us. Throughout school the next day, it is hard to focus. Every ounce of energy I have, I want to put into this game. Finally as the last bell of the day rings, I make my way to the locker room to get my equipment. Our team has waited weeks for this game, and there is only an hour and a half left until it starts. Pushing the door open to the locker room I hear the whoops and cheers of my team. Here we go!

Jumping off the last step of the bus, a confident air hangs over our team. Walking across the bright green grass to the field I start to relax. Being here all my thoughts from the day fade away. I can breathe and focus on one thing and one thing only, this game. Our team walks in two lines to the dugout. We grab our gloves from our bags and retrieve a neon yellow ball from the bucket. Throwing the ball around we start to warm up. After throwing we stretch and then we see the umpires walk onto the field. The game is about to start. Our captains walk towards home plate to talk to the umpires and the rest of the team forms a huddle. Our first baseman Lindy looks around the circle and starts to speak, “Guys, this is our game. Take everything you have and focus. We have worked too hard to just hand Hopkinton this game. We have to work together and fight for this game”. As Lindy finishes talking our captains come running over. They start cheering. “Here we go Holliston! Let’s start it off”.  We pass around high fives and jog back into the dugout. The game has begun.

With four shutout innings behind us, both teams are determined to put a run on the board.  Standing in right field I see our coach motion for us to move back, the next three hitters are the best on Hopkinton’s team. The first batter gets up and our pitcher, Molly, easily strikes her out. As the next girl gets up to bat, Molly winds her arm. As Molly releases the ball, the batter squares her bat and bunts the ball. Our catcher grabs the ball, but fumbles with the surprise bunt. The batter gets to first, leaving us runners on first and third. As the next batter approaches the plate I take a step back, knowing that this girl can hit. On the first pitch the girl sends the ball flying towards me. I drop step and run back trying to read where the ball is going to go. The ball flies over the fence behind me, giving the girl a homerun. At the bottom of the fifth it is now three to zero with Hopkinton in the lead.

As we run back into the dugout our coach calls a timeout and tells us to sit and listen for a second. He tells us that this game is to be played in the moment, “You girls cannot get caught up in winning or losing. Play every inning like an individual game”.  We nod our heads at our coach and become focused again. We came into this game with the desire to win. We have to continue to dig deep because we are still in this.

Watching from the bench of the orange and green painted dugout I can see the determination clouded over the faces of our batters. As soon as the pitcher releases the ball, our team moves as a machine taking four leading steps off the base.  This is it. The last inning of the game. We need four runs to win and three runs to tie the game. Our first batter of the inning approaches the plate. She sets back her weight and as the ball rockets forward she twists her hips and hits the ball. The yellow object fly’s over the center fieldsmen’s head and over the bright orange fence. With a homerun and two other runs batted in, we are now only behind one run, as the score approaches 4-3. Our next batter hits the ball to left field and she makes it to first. One of our best hitters then approaches the plate. Lauren takes two perfect pitches. Our coach tells her to relax as she looks at him for any signals. As the pitcher winds her arm back for the third time, Lauren shifts her bat and sends the ball flying to right field. The right fielder puts her arm up and with a blind catch, catches Laurens hit. Our runner on first runs to second base but forgets to tag first base. Hopkinton throws the ball to first and our player dives but is too late. Both runners are out which ends the inning. With a  shock the game is over and Hopkinton has won.

As we sit down on the bus, everyone is silent. This is our first loss of the season and it is not something that we were mentally prepared for. As the bus lurches forward, our coach walks to the back of the bus and sits down. “You girls played a great game today.  You have nothing to hang your heads about. You came back and played in the moment just like I told you to” he said. Even though we had lost this game, we are still united. We are still determined and we still want to win. Practice makes perfect, and one loss is not going to stop our team. As we walk off the bus our pitcher yells our names, we all turn around. She smiles and says, “No one go home hanging their head. This is our season, and we are going to have road blocks. The next time we play Hopkinton, they better be ready, because were coming for them”. With that our team forms a huddle and then we put our hands toward the sky. “On three everybody say Holliston”, said our captain. “One, two, three...Holliston”, yells our team. One loss was nothing in a season of twenty games and we will move on from it. For each and every player the determination to succeed overpowers any bad feelings about one loss. Our team will stop at nothing to improve, because this is our season. 

 Word Count: 1135

Holliston High School VS. Ashland (April 5, 2012)

Game one. Walking up the steps to the bus we start a new season. I walk to the back of the bus, putting my head phones in. I sit down and turn around and look at my teammates. I have gotten so close to these twelve girls in the past three weeks, through long tryouts and practices. We laugh and listen to music but it is clear that we all hold determination and focus on our minds. Ten minutes from the field our captain Lauren reads our team a quote, “Make your weaknesses your strengths and your strengths stronger”. This year our team is here to win. With a new coach, Holliston has a new face this season. There are brand new things to learn. But the most determining part is his will, to teach and help us. As we pull into the parking lot of the field, we get pumped up. We know we can win, but we are not cocky. We are here for the game. We are here with a new season to play softball. We are here as a united team that won’t stop at anything. We are here to play and we will not stop playing and fighting until the umpire says that it is time to go home. Welcome to my life, living to play the sport of softball. But welcome to my town, welcome to Holliston High School softball.

Stepping onto the field for the first time of the season, gives you a special feeling. This season the feeling is more intense with a great coach and a supportive team behind you. We put our head, mind and body into this game. Our coach keeps telling us that if we buy into what he is telling us we are going to be champions this season. Before the game we throw around the ball, we cheer each other on and start to focus on being here. We look like an army with our black and white wind breakers. But we also send a message that Holliston has a new face this season.  After a while we get into the rhythm of throwing the ball, and then we see the umpires walk across the field. At this moment we know the game is about to start. We walk back onto the dugout and take off our warm up jackets. Our coach tells us that we will be hitting first. Grabbing our bats and helmets we walk to the end of the dugout and align our equipment. As Ashland takes the field our first batter, Ashley, walks onto the field and to home plate. Here we go!

Looking out of the dugout we have runners on first and third. I am on deck batting and my pre-game nerves start to come back.  When my teammate strikes out, I put on my batting gloves. As I step into the box, I glance at my coach and he says, “Relax!” I take my first pitch, a perfect strike but I let it go by. I step out of the box and calm down. I have millions of butterflies in my stomach but at that moment I want nothing more than to hit the ball. I step back into the box and the world falls away. I can no longer hear the screams of my teammates or the claps of my coach; it is just the pitcher and I. As she winds her arm back, I shift my weight. When she lets go of the ball I take a step and lead with my right foot. I watch the ball all the way to my bat and keep my chin down. Time slows and everything is quiet. As the ball cracks against my bat all of the sound I heard before floods back. All the noise from my team and my family comes to me and I take off running.

Sitting down in right field after our game, a warm smile overcomes me. This is our first game and win of the season and it feels good. It shows that the endless hours of practice has paid off. And it shows that I can play on this team, and we can win. There is pride from wearing this Holliston jersey and there is pure determination on everyone’s mind for the course of this season. Small mistakes from this game do not matter. We take them and go back to perfect them at practice. Nothing is going to stop us this season. We take the pride and smiles and happiness from this game and we move forward starting our momentum, and think about this, you have a team with pure determination, want desire and love for this game…and its only April!

Word Count: 791

My Top Dozen Favorite Songs

12. Opposite of Adults- Chiddy Bang puts his creative mind to work when he opens this song with happy screaming children. It shows the love from his fans when he finally makes it to the top.  I love this song because the beat is different and Chiddy Bang goes through the story of becoming a rapper. I first heard this song last summer so it reminds me of swimming, cook outs and being with friends.

11. Feel So Close- An undiscovered artist Calvin Harris puts out a song that is so hard to resist. With its catchy up beat tune, it cannot help but be one of my favorites. Jogging out to the softball field this is always stuck in my head as I catch myself humming the tune constantly.

10. Magic Power- A Triumph song that is very unfamiliar to my generation, but one very close to my heart. Magic Power is my dad and my song, and we always listen to it on the highway when we are traveling. I love its slow tempo in the beginning but then how it progresses into a guitar intro and meaningful lyrics.

9. We are young- This is one of the best songs I have ever heard.  “Fun.”, creates a very upbeat song that to me represents my freshmen year. This song tells of being young and being with my friends and living in the moment. This is a popular song, and sticks with me because, either on the radio or playing from my IPod, I am always listening to it.

8. September- September is my summer anthem song with my family. Every summer we drive up to Maine in my mother’s 1970 Cutlass Convertible, and listen to this song. We drive around with the top of the convertible down listening to this song every summer; because it is on the same CD we keep in the car. We all sing along to and Earth, Wind and Fire classic, all pretending to know the words!

7. For the First Time- I love this song because it always shows me that everything gets better. To me this song represents making the best of situations where you have nothing. Going between slow and fast tempos it keeps your ears tuned and its words will warm your heart. This song has gotten me through hard times and holds a soft spot on my IPod.

6. Proud Mary- The first song I ever learned to play on the guitar. I rarely hear it on the radio, but when I do it sparks some of my best childhood memories of learning to play guitar and read music. I always know this song when I hear it because of the distinct sound of Creedence Clearwater.

5. Lose Yourself- This is the most empowering song I have ever heard. This song tells you to take every experience you have ever had and use it to your advantage. This rap song seems dark but has a positive message and pulls you through the hardest times. Eminem is my favorite rapper and I love how he raps from his life experiences. Once you have heard this song once, you will never forget it.

4. Not Afraid- This made my list because I believe in everything this song represents. Eminem shows that his struggles have made him stronger, and that he has changed to not disappoint his fans. This song to me represents the fight left in people.  I always listen to this song before every sports game I play, because it makes me focus and remember to be strong.

3. Waiting on the World to Change- I believe this is the perfect song for everyone to listen to. John Mayer portrays the world as everyone waiting for things to get better and showing how people have to deal with their problems. This memorable tune has a different beat but has so much meaning to me.

2. Good Riddance (Time of Your life) - I first heard this song at Natures Classroom in 6^th grade and it has stuck with me ever since. I also wrote an eight page paper on it in eighth grade. This song is about moving on in parts in life and making decisions for yourself. I love Green Day for their punk music but this is a rare softer side of them that I could listen to over and over.

1. Imagine- My all-time favorite song. My IPod says I have listened to this song two thousand five hundred and fifty three times. I love everything John Lennon stood for and believe that everyone should know this song. I heard this song when I started listening to older music, and shortly after this song I discovered The Beatles. This soft song always puts me in a somber mood and will remain my favorite for a long time to come.

What is an essay?

An essay is a paragraph or multiple paragraphs on a certain subject. An essay should include a introductory paragraph that contains a thesis, or your postion on the subject. It should have at least two body paragraphs. There should be a topic and concluding sentence to go with each of your body paragrahs. Body paragraphs should be made up of concrete details and commentary to go with them. Your commentary should not be a summary, but your thoughts on the subject. Following the body paragraphs you should have a concluding paragraph. The concluding paragraph reflects on what you have already said, as you add more commentary. Concluding paragraphs should not contain any concrete details. A concluding paragraph does not repeat words or your thesis! It is also important to revise your work, and peer edit to fix final mistakes. Lastly you can use other techniques including weaving to blend concrete details and commentary to make your writing more interesting.