Any Coaches Favorite Player – Makensie Foreman

This weeks softball player of the week

Coaching girls can be a hard thing. Coaching girls that you absolutely think the world of, that show character, have self-worth, and are dedicated to working hard – however is a gift. At the end of the day,they end up teaching YOU more about life and this sport, than you teach them.

We hear so much these days about entitled players, players whining about playing time, players who don’t work hard, or who are losing their passion – that for today’s Fan Share spotlight we wanted to highlight a 16U player that shows (and has shown for the past 3 years on the same team) more integrity and heart and hard work than anyone we have ever met on the field.

A player that is not only respectful, and polite – but is the total package on the ball-field. Always giving 100%, always showing up to practice and making her commitment to her team a priority. A player that may not talk a whole lot, but always has a smile on her face and is a total joy to be around.

Her name is Makensie Foreman. She is a 16u high-school player from Villa Rica, Georgia. She played both JV and Varsity on her school team, and plays travel ball for the West Georgia Lunachicks. She has been playing softball since she was just a little girl – and still loves the game. Aside from being an amazing ball player, she is also a stellar student – maintaining a nearly 4.0 average as high school sophomore. She is beautiful inside and out, smart and talented.

Makensie doesn’t see herself as a leader of anything. Her humility is honorable and honest. But through the exemplary example of hard work, sportsmanship and dedication – we can call her nothing less than a leader on and off the field.

She is THE TOTAL PACKAGE. Not just as a player, but as a PERSON as well. At the end of the day, that is what matters most and that is what will ensure her success in life.

A kid who when her team unexpectedly got blind sided by losing a starting catcher, stepped up and said she could catch. And catch she can.

Didn’t matter than it had been 5 years (a very long time in this sport and age group) since she adorned catching gear. Didn’t matter that she hadn’t practiced in that position in well…ever. Didn’t matter that it may not be her first choice of positions to play. She she said she could, she would – and she did. Amazingly well. Because that is what her team needed.

This is also a player, who has seen her share of being moved around the field. In fact, the coaches aren’t quite sure where her favorite position is because she is willing, and seemingly happy to play anywhere. 3rd. Short. 2nd base. Out field. First base. And yes, even behind the plate….

She never asks, never requests to play in one certain spot. Pouts or runs to her parents when things aren’t going exactly the way she wants. She just happily is one of the first girls on the field, glove on, playing whatever position to the best of her ability, that she is asked. And we have never seen her leave the field clean, she is always glittered with brick dust and dirt – the visual proof that she gives her all, every play, every at bat, every ball.

When she is asked what she wants to do, where she wants to play she says, “I am just happy to be on the field playing the game that I love!” The best part, is this answer is not one of political correctness, or one she has been conditioned to say by the adults in her life. It’s one that she genuinely seems to feel. And in this day and age, it shows an uncanny commitment to the overall success of the team itself. Sure, she may rather be at 3rd base, but if she knows that catching (bless her heart) or playing left field is what is going to give the team the best chance at success, you can always rely on her to be there, giving her all – and playing ball with heart.

As is true for most ball players – especially at this age, there have been times when she has considered giving it up. It’s not always easy to continue. But instead of giving into these whims she wrote a message to herself on the mirror in her room that simply said, “Remember why you started.” And she came back to the field, with an even bigger smile, a seemingly more grateful heart, more confidence and as an even better ball player than she was before.

There are not as many Makensie’s on the ballfield these days as we would hope. And our hope for all of them – and especially this Makensie, is that she always realizes how amazingly talented, smart and funny she is. That she never loses her smile. And that she always lets her passion shine through.