Have you ever made a mistake that you wish you could redo? I am sure we have all made that mistake. Well, John, a fourteen year old boy, certainly has. There was one huge mistake that he made while playing baseball last summer.

It was a beautiful day in Middlebury, Indiana. The sun was shining brightly, the temperature was a perfect seventy-five degrees, and there was only a little breeze. It was a wonderful day to be playing baseball. Middlebury, a small town in Indiana, was hosting a big baseball tournament for boys. The fields were raked to perfection and the grass was freshly mowed. When John got up earlier that morning, he knew today was going to be great! He first jumped into the shower, and then he went down to the kitchen to eat his favorite breakfast, scrambled eggs and bacon. He then went to gather his things he would need for the day. He had to get his baseball bag, a couple water bottles, and he had to get dressed in his uniform. He called for his dad to ask him when they had to leave. Since the first game of the day was at nine in the morning, they had to leave by 7:30 to get there an hour before the game to warm up. On the car ride to the game, John was getting himself psyched up and was imagining all the great plays he would make today. John played third base and was very good. He was batting in the three hole in the lineup and that was the most important spot. Once they got to the field, John went over to find his team, the Devils. John and his teammates were all good friends. They started to warm up together by throwing the ball back and forth and doing some batting practice. John was looking great! Now it was time for the first game of the day against the Lions. The game went without a hitch and John’s team easily won. After the game, the team had a quick break for thirty minutes before they had to get ready for the second game. During the break, John munched on a few snacks and talked with his teammates. When it was time for the second game, the team was feeling pretty confident. Again, the game went on without a hitch and the Devils won. The team was super excited and John thought that they might have a chance at winning the tournament. They had a much longer break before the third and final game of the day. During the break, John ate lunch and took a little nap under a tree. John knew that if his team won the third game, they would be in a very good spot to win the tournament. After he took a little nap, John went to scope out the team that they would be playing next. The other team, the Sharks, was still playing their second game. The Sharks were killing the other team! The score was thirteen to one with the Sharks winning. As John was watching them, he started to notice how good they were. The pitcher was throwing almost all strikes, they were hitting the ball well, and they were looking very sharp. He started to worry about the game against the Sharks and that his team might lose. He finally realized that it was no good to think any more about it so, he went back to where his team was sitting and gave them a review of the Sharks. His teammates were all still feeling pretty confident and they said that the key to winning the game was to not make mistakes. When it was time for the third game to start, John had calmed down quite a bit. His team ran onto the field to start the game. The first, second, and third innings passed uneventfully. In the top of the fourth inning, when the sharks were up to bat, a boy hit a two-run homerun. The Devils knew they had to answer back, so in the bottom of the fourth inning, with a man on second and third, a boy hit a double which caused the two runs the score. Nothing happened in the fifth and sixth innings. In the top of the seventh inning, a boy from the Sharks hit a homerun. The Devils didn’t answer back right away, but in the bottom of the eighth inning, a boy hit a three-run homerun. The score was now three to five. John couldn’t believe that they might win! It was the top of the ninth, the bases were loaded, there were two outs, and the Sharks were up to bat. The boy up to bat was one of the Sharks best hitters, so all of the outfielders were way far back in the outfield. John was getting pretty excited because they only needed one more out to win the game. The batter then hit the ball right to John. Thinking this was an easy play, John scooped the ball up into his mitt, and prepared to throw the ball to first. He suddenly realized that the ball wasn’t in his mitt. It had rolled right in between John’s legs to the outfield. Since the left outfielder was so far back, it took him a while to get to the ball, so three runs scored and the batter got triple. The Shark’s team and crowd were going crazy. John couldn’t believe what had just happened! He was mortified at the situation. After they had gotten the final out, it was time for them to bat. John’s coach told him to not worry about the mistake, but to make it up while batting. When John got up to bat, there were two outs, with the bases loaded. All John needed to get was a double to tie the game up and send it into extra innings. Instead, John kept replaying the mistake he had made in his head, and that resulted in him striking out. He was so mad that he had made that huge of a mistake and then he couldn’t help fix the situation. John went home feeling very sad and all he wanted to do was crawl into bed and never have to play baseball again. Unfortunately for John, he had to wake up early again the next morning and go back to the baseball tournament. John was not feeling confident at all, and all he could think about was the mistake. It was like a huge cloud hovering over his head. It was elimination day in the tournament, so that meant that if you lost, you would go home right away. During warm ups for the first game, John was very quiet and wasn’t looking as good as he was yesterday. When it came time for the first game, John was extremely nervous that he would make the same mistake as yesterday. In the first inning, the Devils were out in the field first. When a fly ball came to John, he got ready to catch it, but then he started worrying he would make a mistake. He then did make a mistake, and he dropped the ball. Then in the bottom of the first inning, John struck out when he got up to bat. Throughout the game, John was making mistakes, like dropping balls, making bad throws, and striking out. He just couldn’t stop thinking about the mistake he made yesterday, and he kept worrying that he would do it again. The final score of the game was eleven to five, with the other team winning, so that meant the Devils were going home. The team was all pretty bummed out and John was feeling as guilty as ever.

John learned some valuable lessons that day. Maybe if he didn’t think about the big mistake he made, he would have played better. I hope you have learned something from reading this story.