Newport High School Softball Team

On the Newport High School softball team there was one girl that everyone looked up to and admired. She was the shining star, the homerun hitter, and the fierce pitcher. So, of course, we all voted her captain when it was our senior year. We wanted to be the best and we knew that to be the best we had to be led by the best and the best was Ashton. When she would go up to bat, we would chant, “She’s a homerun hitter and you’re never gonna get her so give up! So give up!” The other teams cringed when Ashton stepped onto the pitchers mound. Her fast, intimidating pitch was known throughout our conference. Ashton was our key to success. Her love for the game was overbearing. Not only did she play on our high school team, she spent much of her summers playing on a travel team.

As captain of the softball team, everyone relied greatly on her for almost anything. Whether it be that someone forgot their socks or they were needing help on their swing, Ashton was there to help. Well, at least she was for the beginning of our season. It was her senior year, so she wanted to live it up as most seniors do. This would have been okay if it were in moderation.

Slowly Ashton’s priorities changed. At first, there would be a picture every once in a while of her with friends at a bonfire. Then she would come to class hungover and feeling crappy. Eventually, every weekend and some weekdays, she was out partying. Drinking, and she even took up smoking cigarettes. Once, she got caught smoking in the bathroom at school and got detention. This only made her rebellion worse.

As one of her best friends, I hated to sit back and watch her throw what she had away. She could be one of the best college softball players out there. So, I confronted her. I just wanted to make sure that she knew what all she was getting herself into and let her know that I was here for her. I remember telling her, “You can party for a little while and work for the rest of your life or you can work for a little while and party for the rest of your life.” She just kind of laughed and thanked me for caring.

As I expected, Ashton didn’t change the way that she was acting. She was acting careless in softball and everyone was noticing especially our coach. I can remember multiple times that he had a one on one talk with her after practice. I can only imagine what all he said to her. Coach was like a second dad to her and I could see disappointment written all over his face.

The team did pretty well throughout

...