It's the NFL of football, the MLB of baseball, the NBA of basketball!

People, it's the NPF!

National Pro Fastpitch. Heard of it?

It exists.

This is proof there is life after college for a softball player.

I wasn't left to packing up my things in a box to keep as memories for my later years. Instead I packed up everything and flew to Ohio.

Why would I fly this far away from summer in paradise, you ask? Because it is home to the Akron Racers, my new professional softball team.

So we don't get paid the $27.5 million over six years with a $2.3 million signing bonus. What we do is for the love of the game, and to be real-life examples to young softball players dreaming of playing in college and being able to one day call themselves a pro.

And why shouldn't we be able to? Female sports are on the rise, finding ways to match up to the aura surrounding men's sports. I'm not at all going to rant about feminism or women's rights here, but there are many talented athletes overlooked simply because of their gender. My team here is loaded with All-Americans, a player of the year, players of their conference, national leaders in home runs, and a top-notch pitching staff.

These teams in the NPF are the best of the best in the world of softball in America, well, of course, aside from the untouchable Olympic team stacked with mutant softball players with super powers. But who can name even one team in the league? I know I couldn't a year ago.

Until I got here, I was oblivious to the importance of this league. It has the potential to reach millions of young softball players, to inspire them to be great at what they do, and to love what they do.

I forgot how much fun softball was until I got here. I've had three practices, pushing four hours each, to the point where my feet are sore from standing so long, my stomach starts growling because it hasn't been fed, my nose keeps running from the cold weather. But I love it.

My teammates are top-notch softball athletes. It's a privilege to play with such players who enjoy practicing, commit themselves to being the best they can be, and in turn motivate me to improve myself. I'm rejuvenated and excited for this new season to start.

Next time I will explain the logistics of the NPF and how everything works here. Though I feel like I closed my eyes and pointed to a state on the map to pick where I would go this summer, I have a special opportunity here to do something a very small percentage of softball players will ever do, and for that I am truly grateful.