Members of the Illinois softball team are writing a blog, which will be published throughout the 2016-17 school year. Follow all the action of Head coach Tyra Perry's squad right here on FIGHTINGILLINI.com.

Hello everyone!

My name is Erin Walker and I am a junior transfer pitcher majoring in kinesiology from Tuscola, Ill.

Our last week of our fall season has just finished and I am so blessed to be able to call this team my family! We truly grew so much, both on and off the field, in just a few short months. We took every practice and game as an opportunity to get better, whether that meant we won/had a perfect practice, or we lost/had a mediocre practice and had to use that to make us better the next day. No matter what the outcome was, it was all about what we learned from the challenge presented to us. 

Each player made both individual and team goals towards the beginning of our fall season and shared them with each other and our coaches. Being able to share these with each other allows us to keep each other accountable for achieving those goals. If we are not doing anything to build the team up, then we are dragging the team down! After everyone shared what their goals were, we then chose our favorite top 10 team goals and made a sheet to keep for ourselves to look at every day and remind us of what we are trying to achieve. One of those goals is to give one percent more every single day.  If we are able to give that one percent more, then we are able to push each other and ourselves to our ultimate limits. It is the perfect chance to see what we are truly capable of!  

This team has the ability to do great things, and I see us achieving every goal we set for ourselves, both individually and as a team. The one thing I learned this fall is that we all want to grow and improve in our skill on the field, but we also understand, and stress constantly, how important it is for us to grow together as a family. That includes struggle.  There will always be obstacles and challenges thrown our way, but nothing that we are not capable of overcoming. We will never be given something that we cannot do! The heart and passion that radiates from each and every player is unbelievable and I am so excited to see just how much we accomplish in our spring season!  We will definitely be going all the way!

Go Illini!

Erin