Inner Circle

Pro Life: A New Passion

The Pro Life Sara Moulton

I want you to take a minute and think about something you’re passionate about. I mean really think about it. What drives you and excites you? What do you find yourself talking about frequently, and when you aren’t talking about it, it slips into the conversation anyway? What motivates you? What challenges you? Do you have your answer yet?

My obvious answer for the past 18 years has always been the same. SOFTBALL. Whenever we did introductions in school, (give your name and a hobby) mine was always the same, “My name is Sara and I play softball”. I was always known as “Sara, the Softball Player”. Softball softball softball. It has consumed almost every aspect of my life for the past 18 years. It has been my longest relationship, my biggest struggle, and my greatest accomplishment. Softball. The game, the atmosphere, the competition, the triumphs, the struggles, the good days and the bad, I can confidently say that I love everything about it.

Two years ago, after I returned home to Minnesota following my rookie campaign with the Chicago Bandits, I was introduced to a new passion. INSTRUCTING. Pitching instructing to be more specific. I didn’t think it was possible to love a part of the game more than actually playing until I gave my first pitching lesson. It could have been the way my client listened, engaged, asked questions and took into consideration what I was saying. Or it could have been watching her apply the critique I gave to her pitch and produce a successful outcome. Or maybe it was the moment of shock and excitement on both of our faces afterwards when the pitch was corrected and worked. Whatever it was sealed the deal for me. Looking back, that was a proud moment, one that I will always cherish, and one that sparked thousands of lessons following.

Outside of playing games all summer, the Bandits are extremely involved in the softball community around Chicago. Each week when we walk into the locker room there is a sign-up sheet for upcoming weekly community outreach events, clinics, and volunteer opportunities. There are a handful of community and club softball games played on our field every day, and on game days we show up in pairs and surprise the players during these games and get to hang out in the dugout with the teams answering questions and providing insight. Sometimes we get lucky and get to coach a base when the team is on offense. Bandit clinics are at the top of my list of my favorite things to do during the summer and deserve a blog post of their own (stay tuned). I don’t know if it’s showing up to the clinics wearing Chicago Bandit’s across my chest, or the title of being a Pro, but the kids are always energized, excited, and eager to learn. It makes our job as instructors that much more rewarding and we always have a blast.

Being able to give back to the sport that has done so much for me the past 18 years is something I take pride in and now takes priority over everything else in my life. The survival of our sport relies on the next generation and I am determined to do everything I can to pass on what I have learned, overcome, and concurred throughout my years as a player to them.

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