“Clear eyes. Full hearts. Can’t lose.” That’s the motto of the Mission Viejo team, the No. 1 ranked team in the nation according to our FAB 50 rankings.
Taylor McQuillin, the talented pitcher ranked as the No. 5 rated prospect in the 2015 class, tells what it’s like to be the target of every team they play and how the Diablos approach each game knowing this.
The Southern California standout has committed to the Univ. of Arizona and plays for one of the premier club teams in the nation, the OC Batbusters-Haning. She is also a standout student with a 4.2 GPA at Mission Viejo (Calif.) High School where she earned 1st team All-Orange County honors in 2013.
Perhaps Taylor’s greatest accomplishment is she has done all this despite having to overcome birth defects making her completely blind in the left eye and with only partial hearing on the left side.
Be sure to check out Taylor’s previous blogs and those of our other standout bloggers!
*****
To many players, high school season is just “another season” and not enjoyable because it isn’t as competitive or exciting as travel ball.
However, some people—such as me— like high-school softball.
I enjoy it, like I enjoy travel ball, because my team is out to compete. Being the top team in the nation, we have a major target on our back. Every team that plays us comes out to play with its “A game” because they have nothing to lose by losing to us.
We are expected to come out and beat every opponent and that is what our team sets out to do. We are a motivated group of athletes that always enjoy competition.
Each game we go out and play our game… the game that we know how to play. We leave our heart out on the field every time and play every game like it is our last. Our team plays for one another and does not play selfish so, that way, we perform for our team.
It does not overwhelm us when we know that teams talk about us or talk about how they are ready to come out strong to beat us because we work just as hard everyday and every practice to better ourselves.
That is what the game is about to us: each time on the field is a new experience and a new time to learn and improve…to get better. Teams do not take us lightly and we do not take them lightly either. No matter whom we play or where we are, we will come out to compete and come out to win.
What’s the point of playing if you want to lose, right?
Physically our team has the capability to win. Mentally we get stronger each and every day. We learn from one another and thrive off of our team’s excellence and motivation.
If one person has a bad day, we look to the other people on our team to pick us up because in the end you are only as strong as your weakest player.
In the end we are all there to win. We do not like to lose—nor does any other team—but we will fight until the end.
One of our coaches says it best, “It’s not about winning the battle, it is about winning the war.” At the end of the day, the only thing we strive for is to be the last team standing.
We still have a long ways to go and a lot of tough games left but we aren’t done yet. We are far from done but we are still pushing to get stronger. It is time to peak, not fall.
Our team’s motto is “Clear eyes. Full hearts. Can’t lose.”
Every inning of every game, when you take that first step onto the field, go out with clear eyes.
Every pitch, every at bat, every second, play with a full heart.
The only one standing in the way of our success is ourselves. But in the end having clear eyes and a full heart, we won’t lose.
— Taylor McQuillin