I hope you love it as much as I did.

I hope you feel the butterflies before a big game.

I hope you sing loud, ridiculous cheers with your teammates and remember those cheers for years to come.

RELATED: Dear Youth Sports Parents: The Only Words Your Child Needs to Hear From You Are, “I Love Watching You Play”

I hope the smell of freshly cut grass and wet dirt make you think of your favorite place.

I hope you meet girls who are like you and who are different from you, but it doesn’t matter because they become your family.

I hope you slide into second and feel the brush burn and cringe thinking about how much it’s going to hurt peeling off your uniform and how much worse it will hurt in the shower.

I hope you have long bus and van rides with your team where you create game day rituals that can’t be broken and memories you’ll carry with you forever.

I hope you are lucky enough to find a coach who believes in you more than you believe in yourself.

I hope you spend weekends in hotels, sweat like you never sweat before, swim, and then sweat some more.

I hope there are two outs, bases loaded, the game tied, and you want the bat in your hands.

I hope you know what it feels like to win a championship with your team and feel like you are on top of the world.

I hope you love this game so much that the day you step on the field the last time, you feel like you lost a piece of yourself.

RELATED: Why Youth Sports Grow Strong Girls

I hope you love it like I did, but if someday you don’t . . .

I hope you pave your own path and follow your own dreams.

I hope you find something that fills your soul and makes you feel alive.

I hope you know how strong and beautiful you are and that you are enough.

But most of all, I hope you know I love you now and will love whoever you become, and I’m forever your biggest fan.

Originally published on the author’s Facebook page

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Rachel Steigerwald

I am a teacher, a mother of two, and am "running" my way through the chaos of life, one mile at a time. I hope that by sharing my personal experiences of being a busy, working mother to a child with dyslexia, I can promote kindness, acceptance, and understanding for those who may be struggling.

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