When Grace O’Brien ‘26 was five years old, she stepped onto the softball field for the first time, not actually wanting to play the game. She had no idea that day would change her life forever. What started as a small activity just during the spring quickly turned into a passion that has shaped her life and taught her important life lessons. 

Now seventeen years old, Grace O’Brien could not imagine what her childhood and  teenage years would look like without the game. 

“I wouldn’t have the friends I have today without softball,” Grace said. 

Through the countless practices, games, and long weekend tournaments, softball became more than just a hobby it became a place where she built friendships, learned discipline, and grew as a person. 

Grace’s biggest supporters throughout her softball career were her parents, Trish and Butch O’Brien. For years, they spent weekends and weekdays driving her to plenty of practices, games, and cheering her on from the sidelines.

“Watching Grace grow up on the softball field has been my favorite thing,” Trish O’Brien said. “Not only has she grown as a player, but she’s grown as a person,” Butch added. “Softball helped her become the person she is today.”

“I’ve played softball with

Grace through middle school and high school and she’s been an asset on all of our teams,” Camryn O’Connor ‘26 added. “I couldn’t imagine playing the game without her.”

After 12 years of playing, over the summer Grace made the tough decision to officially retire from softball, this was a huge and hard decision for her to make. Over the past year, the game that once came naturally to her began to feel more like a responsibility than something she truly enjoyed. 

Softball was her first love, and it always felt like home. For years, the field was where she felt most like herself, confident and carefree. But during her freshman year something shifted, and the game stopped being fun for her. The joy she once felt was replaced with constant pressure, making it harder for her to love the sport she has played for so long.  

The challenge was no longer physical but mental. The pressure to perform a certain way every practice and game brought on stress, anxiety, and frustration affecting how she played the game. Walking away from softball was her listening to what she wanted for herself. 

“Quitting softball felt like I was losing a part of myself but also it’s opening a new chapter in my life,” O’Brien said. 

Letting go of the game she once loved meant letting go of something that had been part of her identity. Grace could play the game with her eyes closed, but she also knew it was time to move on. In the end, softball gave her more than just skills on a field but also taught her discipline, resilience, and the importance of listening to herself. 

Even without softball, Grace looks forward to new opportunities and experiences during her senior year. She began rediscovering herself and what made her happy. Softball will always be part of her story, but it no longer defines who she is. 

Grace has not played softball since July 2025, marking a major change after spending most of her life on the field. Even though she has stepped away from the sport, the lessons, friendships and memories she has gained from the sport will stay with her long after her final inning.