Almost from the moment a girl holds her first glove, someone is urging her to hustle. Her father, her brother, her teammates, her coaches, her fans and even her mother tell her to hustle.

She soon discovers that hustle is an attitude. It can be described in many ways. In a phrase, it is being there first. It is maximum effort willingly and joyfully expressed.

Hustle is a driving, vigorous desire to succeed, and that motivation is visible. It is running like a girl on fire and enjoying every eye-watering second of it.

Hustle wears many faces. Whoops, hollers, scowls and laughter are all aspects of the devil that motivates hustle. But determination is at the bottom of it all.

Hustle is also concentration, singleness of purpose. Hustle eliminates pain and enhances courage. You give a little more than you or the coach, or your opponent thought you had. It is running hard to the base, slide, pop-up and heading right for the next base. Hustle is not talk; it is action.

Hustle is doing one thing while thinking about the next move and the one after that. It is knowing where your teammate will be and firing the ball to her, right on the money.

When you hustle, you'll know it. Friends wink at you, players respect you, coaches use you as an example and kids wait for your smile after the game. You'll feel your teammates sweaty hands on the back of your neck, and you'll see the crowd jumping in the air. The game is over and there is a feeling inside that is all your own.

You see, hustle is not just a word. It's character, personality and habit all rolled into a way of life. It's the thing that makes the game worth every fleeting minute of the effort.