I was eight years old and in my third year of Little League baseball. At the team practice, my coach announced that two new players would be joining our team. I couldn't wait to see who they would be since they couldn't be worse than the team I was on. I smiled and turned to the person next to me and said, "I hope they are good." Coach Tom proceeded to say their names were Suzie and Danielle. At the sound of this, a giant laugh went up from the entire team since he was obviously joking, or so we thought. Then we then got ready to begin practice.

Suzie stood there in pink spikes, a pink shirt, and wore a pink glove. She looked like the worst possible teammate that a player could have. I asked Coach, "Is she seriously on our team, or is this a joke?" He only said, "Go to second base," which was intended for her. My immediate thought was that the season would be a waste. I couldn't figure out what would intrigue a girl to play baseball. After all, a girl's life was supposed to be centered around Barbie and playing "house." From my position at first base, I watched her field ground balls. After her first play, any doubts about her ability vanished. From that point on, I knew she meant business.

About a week later, our first game took place. Although my peers felt that Suzie wasn't qualified to start at second base, I had confidence in her. She didn't fail me. We managed to turn a double play, a feat rarely accomplished by eight-year-old ballplayers. Our coordination, as well as natural ability allowed us to perform well even at a low level of play. We even made the all-star team not as individuals - but as a pair. I learned that the right girls were certainly qualified to play great baseball. l