When first participating in any sort of sporting activity as a child, enjoyment represented the most important aspect of the game.

My younger sporting career started with running around all summer long for many years playing Little League baseball.

I remember countless afternoons and nights at Skippy Field hitting and playing catch with teammates. My team played to have fun, and there was no pressure as to how well my teammates and I performed — the perfect situation.

But as I got older, baseball got harder. The pitches were faster, the field bigger and the competition tougher. I had trouble adjusting to these changes, and found myself struggling.

As I continued not to play up to my personal standards, I began to put a lot of pressure on myself to improve.

I constantly thought about my every action on the field, which as many athletes know, only makes the sport more difficult. In turn, it also made it more difficult for me to have fun.

This was baseball, the sport I had always loved, and yet my own expectations eventually led to a struggle to enjoy it.

At this point I had to take a step back and introspect.

Baseball had invariably been a favorite activity of mine and I did not want my own pressure to ruin my love for one of my favorite sports.

From that point on, I decided I would still hold myself to personal standards, but not let my shortcomings keep me from having fun playing baseball.

Nowadays, I love playing baseball and I appreciate it for what it is — a game I enjoy.

In addition, I realized that I can use some of what I learned from baseball and apply it to other aspects of my life, like academics. With school I have learned to stay persistent and not to put extra pressure on myself when certain subjects challenge me. This proves helpful as school often tests me.

At the end of the day, I realized deep down I compete in sports because I genuinely like them. I learned not to put so much weight on my shoulders that I can’t enjoy playing the sports I love. In the future I plan to use what I have learned to better my sports experiences.