Home Run Kevin Tente

“Clunk.”

“Home run!” my teammate yelled, laughing.

I winced, trying to hide my embarrassment; a home run would have been great if I had been playing baseball, but I was at my first high school tennis practice, and instead of the ball ending up on the other side of the net, it ended up on the other side of the fence around the football field.

In my defense, I was not a tennis player. I had been playing baseball since I was five years old. When I started high school, I tried out for and made the school’s freshman baseball team, starting at third base. I was always eager to play, and it was a great experience to be an integral part of a team while supporting my teammates and friends throughout the season.

Sophomore year, I started preparing in January for the March tryouts for the junior varsity baseball team. I frequented the batting cages and learned to withstand the shock of hitting a baseball with a freezing aluminum bat. In March, I spent most of my time in snow-filled parks playing catch with friends. Before I knew it, it was time for tryouts, and I was looking forward to showing my coaches and teammates how much I had improved from the previous season.

After the first three days of tryouts, the coaches made the first cuts. My...