My name is Tess McClure, I am 16  years old from Greenville, Ohio. Sports have always been a big thing in my life, from the very young age of about 7 years old. I started getting into softball in about third grade, started with t-ball and so on. I was on many summer ball slow pitches teams out of GGSA (Greenville Girls Softball Association). When Junior high came I was scared to play fast pitch because I never thought I would be able to hit a ball. But once eighth grade softball season came I was ready to face my fear and play for the team. I was not very good when I started but as every kid does I improved. I made the high school varsity softball team at my school  my freshmen year and even though I was not a starter, I was a key part of the game as the number one courtesy runner for our pitcher and sometimes the catcher. After working long and hard I finally gained the spot as the back up short stop and even played some second base in a few games. Heading into my sophomore year I was still not a starter but was more involved than I was the previous seasons. I played more short stop than second base this year but was more interested in playing out field. I told my parents I wanted to play travel ball and coincidentally had a friend ask if I would play second base for her team, PC Inferno, even though I was still more interested in out field, I said yes. At the beginning of summer I went to their tryouts and asked to tryout for left field, they were all impressed. I made the team and played all summer improving at every tournament. Like I previously said I used to be scared to hit a fast pitch ball, we played a tournament in Fairborn, my dream came true... I got to text my high school coach and tell him,"I just hit an over the fence grand-slam!" We had a very successful season, and I am very caught up in softball. I continue to play for the well know, Lady Wave softball team, in preparation of pursuing my dreams of playing softball while I attend college, and earn my degree.