Last year we started a tradition where the Seniors write a letter to future DSU Hornet softball players. They left great advice and left a lasting impression on this program. Senior weekend just past and it's time for our 2 seniors to write their letter. They did an excellent job in telling future players what it means to play for this program. This is what they had to say:
Dear Future Hornets,
First, we want to say
congratulations on your commitment to play softball at DSU. We remember how
relieving and great it felt to know that all our hard work had finally paid
off. However, remember that this is still only the beginning. There is still so
much more you will learn about this sport and playing at the next level. We have three core covenants or guiding
principles for this team. The three core covenants that we stand for are
family, excellence and courageous.
As a family
we encourage each other to achieve academic goals. We hold each other
accountable to attend class and also study together. It is important to
positively represent DSU softball in the community and on social media with our
actions and behavior. We invest time in building relationships with teammates
and to love one another. It is important that we are always polite, kind,
generous, and thankful. We are consistently encouraging one another in the
weight room and pushing each other to give best effort. We work hard together, no
one left behind! We respect our coaches and teammates at all times. We support
teammates, coaches and program with actions, behavior and words. We trust each
other to give our best effort daily. We encourage, push, and pick each other up.
We help each other when we are struggling. We work hard in our personal lives
to build up our DSU family. Spending quality time together helps us become a
family.
We strive
for excellence in the classroom, community, with our nutrition, in our strength
and conditioning program, on the softball field and in our personal lives. We
attend every class, on time. We stay organized to complete all assignment on
time. We do our own work and do not cheat. We aren’t afraid to get tutors or
extra help when we are struggling in a class. We complete all assigned study
hall hours. We volunteer our time to make an impact in our community. We are 15
minutes early to events. In everything we do we do it with good intentions. We
fuel our bodies before and after workouts by making healthy nutritional
decisions. We make stretching and rolling out a priority in our recovery
process. When it comes to strength and conditioning, we prepare with our best
effort and trust in our preparation. We never make excuses or quit. We complete
every lift, rep, set, and run that is given to us by our coaches. We constantly
push ourselves further. We commit to mastering the fundamentals and executing
the details of the game. We communicate with each other during each play. We
leave everything on the field and sprint on and off the field. We play with
passion, energy, and effort daily. We strive to be the best version of
ourselves. We surround ourselves with people who support encourage and
challenge us to be the best.
We are
courageous because we properly prepare for class, exams and trust in our
preparation. We initiate and build relationships with our professors. We give
our best effort when things get tough and we never give up. We go all out and
give 100% to strive for a 4.0 GPA. We aren’t afraid to participate in class
discussions. We walk tall with our head up, make eye contact, say hello, and
shake hands. We don’t lie or cheat and we show integrity at all times. We make
good choices about what we consume and know that it will impact our
performance. It’s important to be proactive, stay committed to rehab and
recovery, never give up and feel sorry for ourselves. We compete with each
other and challenge ourselves every day.
We act differently than how we feel. We believe in ourselves and our
teammates. We have an unrelenting will to win every pitch and trust in our
abilities. It is important to act, walk, talk and play like the player we want
to be… a champion. We are relentless in our pursuit of our goals. We strive for
success daily even if we have to get out of our comfort zone to achieve this
success. We always show passion for the things that interest us.
Don’t forget to remember that this
is an opportunity of a lifetime that not many are granted. It’s important to
start training your mind and heart to become the competitor you were designed
to be! However, at the end of the day always remember to have fun and make the
most of these next four years. We are not lying when we say they go by
extremely fast. We are sitting here typing this letter to you future hornets
trying to figure out how we got here so quickly. We hope this can give you a
good idea of what Delaware State University Softball is all about so you guys
can come in and continue to build the legacy.
We wish you all the best!
Tara and Dani (2017 graduating
seniors)
Thank you Dani and Tara for this letter. This is exactly what it means to play for this program and everything we stand for.
