Play Like a Girl
女孩打球有女孩样
文：Sami Holzman
译：海尧爸爸
To The Little Softball Girls,
写给垒球场上的女孩儿们，
Here you are！
嘿，女孩儿们，你们来啦！
Breaking in your first pink mitt,
buying your first set of cleats,
and picking out your first bat.
戴上了你第一副粉红色垒球手套，
买到了你第一双钉鞋，
选到了你第一支心仪球棒。
You’ll be wearing knee-high socks,
neon sliding shorts,
a tank top,
and a matching visor with your ponytail poking through.
瞧瞧帅气的你！穿上过膝的长筒球袜，
套上加厚的滑垒短裤，
穿上崭新的队服短衫，
再把马尾高高梳起，穿过遮阳檐帽。
Your helmet will be too big,
your bag will be too heavy,
and you’ll have more empty water bottles than you’ll know what to do with.
比起小小的你，
你的新头盔看起来会有些大，
你的新球包会显得特别重，
你的水壶会空的比你想象的快，快很多！
This is the beginning of something amazing.
这一切都会让你翘首以待！
Every hit, every error,
every win, every loss,
and every team you play on will help shape your experience with softball.
每一次击球，每一次失误，
每一场胜利，每一场失败，
每一支你参加过的队伍，
都会成为你打垒球路上的每一步脚印，一步又一步。
Your teammates and coaches will become family.
This can be a life-changing experience if you let it.
你的队友和教练，他们会变成你的家人一样。
所有这些经历，也会改变你的一生。
There are just a few things I want you to keep in mind as you start on this incredible journey:
在这个开始这段神奇旅程的时候，有几件事情，我希望你能记住：
Have fun
乐在其中
Don’t play this game because your parents or your friends want you to.
Play for yourself.
不要只因为你的父母或者朋友的期望而来打球。
为自己而打球。
You will be dedicating hundreds of hours,
complete weekends,
and entire summers to this sport.
Play because you love softball and you can’t imagine your life without it.
你会在这项运动上消耗掉成百上千的小时，
这会是整个周末，
也可能是整个暑假！
因为热爱，所以坚持。
因为有了这项运动，你的生活将变得不可思议。
You’ll forget about the three hour-long practices,
the 90-degree days, the rain outs,
the strikeouts,
the sore arms, the skinned knees,
and driving two hours for 8 a.m. games.
At the time, these moments never seem worth it.
你会忘记三个多小时的训练,
你会忘记训练场上有多少桑拿天和下雨天,
你会忘记怎样被三振，怎样弄酸了自己的胳膊，怎样擦破了自己的膝盖，
怎样没睡醒就坐车去赶早上的比赛。
这时，你的付出和收获比起来显得那么的不对等。
But you’ll remember the cheers you screamed for your teammates,
the matching bows in your braided hair,
the pre-wrap, and the racer-back lines and the farmer’s tan that will never ever go away.
但是，你会记得一些事情：
你会记得你怎样声嘶力竭地为队友加油，
你会记得扎上和你辫子相称的大蝴蝶结，
你会记得缠带和背心留下的痕迹，
你会记得被晒成班上最黑的那个（而且你会一直黑下去哦!）
You’ll remember the times spent in the dugout,
the championship games,
the laughs you had on and off the field,
how applying eye black was a work of art,
and how it felt to put your batting gloves on before stepping in between those white lines.
你会记得你在球员席里的时光，
你会记得在冠军赛的那些重要比赛，
你会记得你在场上和场下的开心笑容，
你会记得每场赛前脸上涂的那些图案，
你会记得每次踏进打击白线框前的紧张心情。
Play the game
享受比赛
There will be blood, sweat, and tears.
Get dirty. Never be afraid to slide or dive.
Getting hit by a pitch doesn’t really count unless there are seam marks on your skin.
在垒球的旅程中，会有汗水，泪水，血水。
去弄脏自己吧！永远不要怕去滑垒和扑垒。
被球打到？只有留下了带着球缝线的淤痕，才真的算受伤呢！
Every bruise, every cut, and every scrape
is a testament to how much effort you put into this sport.
And as A League of Their Own says,
“There’s no crying in baseball.”
So suck it up buttercup- you’ve got a game to play.
淤青、划伤、擦伤，每一道都是证据，
证明你为了这项运动付出了多少，
就像电影《红粉联盟》里说的：
“棒球里没有哭哭啼啼这回事。”
把这些苦都咽到肚子里去吧！你还有比赛要打呢！
Use every single play as a learning experience.
The long practices and hard work will pay off when you hit your first home run, when you make a diving play,
or when you beat out the throw.
把每一次击球、传球、接球、跑动，都作为好好学习的机会吧。
当你打出第一支home run的时候，
当你第一次扑垒的时候，
当你在对方犀利的传球中仍以分毫之差成功得分的时候，
那些训练里的努力和汗水都变得值得了！
There is no greater feeling
than hitting a pitch with the sweet spot of your bat
and watching the ball soar over the fence.
用球棒的最佳位置打到投手的球，
然后望着球远远飞到本垒打墙外……
没有一种能超过这时的感觉。
Love the game.
真的热爱比赛吧
This sport will teach you more than mechanics.
You learn teamwork,
communication, patience, discipline, and dedication.
这项运动会教你很多，远远超过技术和战术……
你会学到团队协作，
学到有效的沟通，学到耐心，学到纪律和自律，
学到为球队为队友牺牲奉献。
Don’t take these lessons for granted.
Not many people get this opportunity.
不要把这些学到东西当成理所当然的，
并不是很多人有这样的机会。
Thank your family
感恩家庭
Your family will spend thousands of dollars
on equipment, tournament fees, gas money,
and sunflower seeds.
你的父母会花很多钱，
给你购买装备，参加比赛的注册费，来去的旅费，
还有你在场边磕的瓜子和各种零食。
They will get up at the crack of dawn
and sit through the freezing cold and blazing heat
to watch your games.
黎明破晓的时候，他们就起床了；
而一天下来，无论寒冷彻骨还是热浪滔滔，
只要你在比赛，他们真可以呆一整天。
They will be your biggest supporters
throughout your entire softball career.
在你整个垒球生涯中，
你的家人会一直是你最大的支持者。
It doesn’t seem like it now,
but you are the future of softball.
现在看上去不太像，
但你们确实是女子垒球的未来。
You will turn into “one of the older girls” you used to look up to.
Years will flash by in an instant
and suddenly you’re walking across the field on your senior night.
你也会变成你今天仰视的那些“挺厉害的大姐姐”们中的一员，
时间会快速地流逝，
忽然之间，你会发现你已经站在高级别的赛场上。
Please cherish the moments while they last.
Give this game everything you have,
play as long as you possibly can,
and regret nothing.
因此，珍惜现在垒球场上的每一刻吧！
把你能给的一切都给这项运动，
坚持打垒球到尽量尽量久，
不要留下遗憾！
I started playing when I was just five years old and since then,
I dedicated over 15 years to this sport.
I have met my absolute best friends through it.
I hope you fall in love with this amazing game as much as I have.
我自己在五岁开始打球就一直坚持着，
在这项运动中奉献了自己的十五年岁月。
这个过程中我碰到了自己最好最好的朋友。
我希望你能爱上这项运动，就像我一样。
And when people tell you “you throw like a girl,”
take it as a compliment.
最后，当再有人嘲笑“你扔球像个女孩一样（没有力气）”的时候，
把它当做一种褒奖吧！
