“The holiday season for me is a time of thanks,” Taylor McQuillin says.  “It is where people express how thankful they are for the things they have and this time of the year brings everyone together and creates closer bonds.”

Taylor is one of the top pitchers in the 2015 class and will be definitely make the Hot 100 list for the 2015 class when it comes out in the near future.

The Southern California standout has committed to the Univ. of Arizona and plays for one of the premier club teams in the nation, OC Batbusters-Haning.  She is also a standout student with a 4.2 GPA at Mission Viejo (Calif.) High School where she earned 1^st team All-Orange County honors this past spring.

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.

Here is her latest blog for Student Sports Softball in which she reflects on the people and opportunities she’s encountered that have put where she is today.

Be sure to check out Taylor’s previous blogs and those of our other standout bloggers!

 

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Since this is around the holiday seasons I thought it would be an appropriate time to write about how thankful I am for the amazing opportunities and wonderful people in my life and how they have helped me get to where I am today.

I appreciate each and every single one of my coaches over my whole softball “career” because without any of them, I would not have become the softball player I am today.

Each coach gave me a different perspective of the game and each used his or her own philosophies to take the time and teach me and I could not be more grateful for their time and patience throughout the years.

With their coaching, I have gotten the opportunity to meet great people and life long friends as well as play on some of the best teams in the country. Without their help, I wouldn’t be where I am today.

Even coaches that I have never personally played for I would like to thank because they have also encouraged me to be the player and athlete I am today. I enjoy when other coaches walk up to me and talk to me and tell me their perspectives on how I play as well because everything to me is a learning experience and a way to become better.

So thank you to all of them as well.

As far as coaches go, I would also like to take the time and thank my mentors and instructors for all the effort and time they have put into making me a better player as well. Off the field is where a lot of the hard work is done too and without my pitching coaches and hitting instructor, I would not continue to get better either.

My appreciation has also gone out to my family and friends for always defending me and having my back and wanting to see me grow as not only an athlete, but a person as well. I am beyond blessed for the people in my life and I would not know where I would be without some of them.

Softball has given me the opportunity to know such amazing people and I am thankful for that as well. I want to thank my family and friends for their support and encouragement and thank all the people who came to watch me play over the years and cheered me on.

It means a lot to me to see that they took time out of their day to come watch me play and support me in something that I love to do. They push me to strive to be a better person each and every day.

The holiday season for me is a time of thanks. It is where people express how thankful they are for the things they have and this time of the year brings everyone together and creates closer bonds.

It is the time of year to reminisce over old, fond memories and a time to take a step back and look at your life through a perspective that a lot of people don’t everyday.

I have always been thankful for what I have and how far I have come but I also know that it is far from over and I have a long ways to go. I am so blessed for everything given to me and all of the wonderful opportunities put in front of me.

So thank you to everyone who has coached me, mentored me, and stood by me on my journey throughout my softball career because without any of these people I would not be who I am today.

— Taylor McQuillin