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ABOUT
Life is great… except when it’s not. Competition is great… except when you lose.
In a sport where hitting .300 (three successful at-bats out of 10) is considered a triumph, it’s obvious that things won’t always go as hoped and adversity can and will be encountered at every turn.
Of course, as we’ve seen this year in particular, sometimes it hits much harder than expected…
Makenzie “Mak” Droddy is a talented and successful 2021 catcher from Crowley, Louisiana who is committed to Alabama-Birmingham. She has played on the biggest club stages with the Birmingham Thunderbolts club organization and had great success, but she has also faced her share of trials and tribulations over the two years.
Mak, who was an Extra Inning Softball 1st Team High School All-American as a freshman in 2018 when she hit .533 with 17 home runs, 63 RBIs and was walked 35 times (17 intentionally), decided to transfer to a private school last year but, because of transfer rules, had to sit out of sports for an entire year at her new school.
She had a big return this spring, but after only a couple of games, the Coronavirus put a halt to the season just as she was showing the skills that helped her earn All-State and All-American honors the year before.
Back in the groove this summer with the Bolts, Makenzie helped the team make it to the championship game in the final tournament of the season, but learned that morning that an unexpected tragedy had hit her family.
And just last Friday (Oct. 9, 2020), the region where the senior lives was struck by Hurricane Delta—the second one in six weeks to hit Southwest Louisiana—knocking out power and phone service and causing some damage to the family’s home and property.
“We had a direct hit of a hurricane last night destroying lots around us but, thankfully, we are all safe and healthy,” Tiffany Droddy, Mak’s mother, wrote us on Saturday. “It will be a mess to clean and restore but, again, we are so thankful to be safe. Things can be replaced, but people cannot! It’s such a scary situation… definitely the worst storm we have been hit with.”
We asked Makenzie how she has been able to cope with those tough obstacles she’s faced recently… here’s what she said has helped her, in some cases literally, through the storms of life…
*****
To me, adversity is just something that is a part of my everyday life. No matter how large or small the trial, we face it each and every day. I would not say that I like adversity but I certainly don’t run from it; facing adversity has shaped me into who I am today.
The past few years have been an absolute whirlwind. After coming off of a successful freshman year on the field and in the classroom, I had to make one of what I thought was the most challenging decision I have ever made: I decided to transfer to Northside Christian, a small Christian school in Crowley Louisiana.
However, after transferring I wanted to cry! I had no idea how advanced their academics were compared to what I had been receiving (I was a 4.0 honor student so I really wasn’t expecting to be “behind”) and I was learning multiple lessons every night just to try to catch up to where they were plus I had learn what they were currently teaching.
I knew I had to continue to maintain my grades and stay ahead in sports. I played my fall 2019 season with the Bolts and then it was time for “ineligible season” which was hard!
I had to sit out for a full calendar year of high school sports and, no matter how bad I wanted to be on the field, it did not change the matter of the situation and I was not allowed to play.
I did find a way to be part of the team and I loved every minute of being the Team Manager. It was a new role for me one that I had never experienced but it was a great feeling to be part of the team and help in anyway I could.
After a long 367 days—I was only required to be out for 365 days but some paperwork from my previous school wasn’t turned in promptly so that tacked on a few more days— I was finally eligible to play again.
I felt as if I was on Cloud 9 after a successful first game, but ittle did I know that would be one of the only games I would play that season. I was able to play two full games before school shut down because of COVID-19.
I had daily work for online classes and I continued to hit, catch and work out to prepare for my summer season with the Bolts. I live eight hours from the Bolts facility so I have to make sure to find every opportunity to work at home and continue to be better than I was yesterday.
Although many tournaments were cancelled and added at the last minute, we were thankfully able to have a season. Unfortunately, during our last tournament (the morning of the championship game )my great-grandmother, Annabelle, who was like a best friend, passed away unexpectedly.
Throughout this time, I have just tried to maintain a positive attitude, have a good mindset, and know what I wanted to accomplish. I have always been taught not to think of myself as the victim and this has helped me so much.
I am aware that, no matter the situation and no matter how difficult something seems, I know my problems are small compared to so many other people.
Someone told me once that when you stand too close to a painting you can’t see the painting you can only focus on that small area. I try to remember that when I start to get upset about all the things that seem to go wrong.
I remember to step back so I can see the whole picture and when I do my big problems fade because I am not focused on just that… and it doesn’t seem like the end of the world anymore!
I try to be happy in all that I do, I think being happy is a choice. I was always taught you don’t have to have the best and you don’t have to be perfect. Things don’t have to be ideal for you to be happy.
Instead of focusing on all the negative things going on, I try and focus on all that I am blessed with. I am thankful for all that I have and I try and give back as much as I can. I love to help others, and if you’re blessed enough to be healthy and able, then do it!!
My advice to anyone struggling to overcome adversity is choose to be happy and continue to work hard because, in the end, you will know that you have given it your best and that is a great feeling.
For me, stuff doesn’t always happen like I think it should or hope it would but eventually things find a way of working out. I am glad I didn’t quit when things got hard and I know things will be hard again…that’s life.
I am thankful that softball has taught me so many lessons about failure, struggle and, most importantly, how to get back up when life may knock you down!
— Makenzie Droddy