Riley Robertson '22 Recruiting Profile

The question that everyone is asked as a child, in pre-school, 2nd grade, 6th grade, and all the way through high school and college is, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" To be honest, I had a more concrete answer in 2nd grade than as a junior in high school. After I worked through answers such as: veterinarian, marine biologist, mechanic, investigative journalist, doctor, and politician, I realized that what I really want to do is change the world. After pondering this notion for awhile, I concluded that to change the world, I had to change myself. I had to become even more dedicated, even more responsible, even more driven, even more caring, and most of all, even more confident. I had to become the best version of myself every single day, and to do that, I had to committ myself every single day, no exceptions. What followed that inspiring piece of wisdom was clarity. Clarity in the notion that not every day is going to be the best. I'm not going to push myself harder every single day, I'm not going to be the best version of myself every single day, I'm not going to be able to get a base hit every single at bat, and I'm not going to be able to get every runner out, and that's okay, because the next day, I have the chance to do better. 

Through sports, I have learned the meaning and value of hard work, teamwork, dedication, and confidence. I know now that to change myself, I have to change my game. The values I've learned playing softball will stay with me for my entire life, and for that, I am eternally grateful. This wonderful game has taught me how to work with a team to achieve our goals, how to work harder than I ever thought possible, to be confident when faced with the possibility of failure, to strive for greatness, and most of all, to bounce back from failure. I hate to admit it, but I've failed a lot in softball over the years. Strikeouts, calling the wrong play, getting tagged sliding into home. But, the most important part of failure is the recovery. I've learned to use my failure as fuel to train harder, run faster, jump higher, and play smarter. By playing softball, I have learned how to live successfully. But I'm ready for more. I'm ready to take my game to the next level. I won't let my softball career end at high school state championships my senior year. Just as Pete Rose once said, "I'd walk through hell in a gasoline suit to play baseball," I'd set any goal, practice as many hours as it took, to play softball in college; because to me, softball isn't just a game, it's a way of life. I may not know what I want to do when I grow up, or how to change the world, but I have softball, and that's a start.