The Write Stuff: Journaling Helps Peyton Davis Improve Focus

Peyton Davis Peyton Davis RHP/RF Cherokee Bluff High School | 2027 GA was intrigued when a friend mentioned she kept a daily journal. Although Davis didn’t like to write, she decided to give it a try before travel ball games. It’s now become a staple of the right-handed pitcher’s routine.

“I go down and have the hotel breakfast, get into prayer to try and calm my nerves and then I journal out my thoughts,” Davis said. “I write about what I want to work on from yesterday, what I can improve on, how I’m going to better myself, and how I’m going to attack that day. It’s really helped me up my game to be more consistent and really focus on getting first-pitch strikes and have a lot more swings and misses.”

Davis, a 2027 recruit from Flowery Branch, Georgia, plays for Top Gun 16U National and Cherokee Bluffs High School. She was introduced to softball at age 3 because her sister was playing.

“My sister was a catcher, so I was like, ‘Okay, I’m going to be a pitcher.’ That’s kind of how it all started,” Davis said. “I started pitching when I was around 8 years old, and quickly just fell in love with the sport. It became like a second home to be on the field with the girls.”

Davis has developed a diverse repertoire in the circle, including a curveball that came naturally to her and helps keep hitters off balance.

“I go out there with more of a cocky kind of confidence. In practice, I work as humble, but on the field, I play confident because I feel like it’s good to be a pitcher on the mound who has a little bit of swag,” Davis said. “I have such amazing girls behind me that I can go out there, have confidence on the mound, be able to pound the strike zone, get ground balls, and I know that my defense will be there.”

During her sophomore year, Davis suffered an arm injury that sidelined her for nine months.

“Softball has always been more than a sport for me—it’s where I come alive and feel most like myself. It’s given me lifelong friendships and lessons I’ll always carry. So when injury struck, it felt like everything was falling apart,” Davis said. “With the cost of being out for nine months, it took a toll on me mentally and physically. But in that darkness, I turned to my faith. God showed me this wasn’t the end, just a turning point. He gave me strength for the hard rehab and began healing deeper parts of me—my mindset, patience, and trust. I learned to be kinder to my body and grew not just as an athlete, but as a person.”

Once she returned to the field, Davis had “I’m not back, I’m better” stitched into her glove as a reminder of her recovery.

“It’s not just a phrase, it’s the truth of how far I’ve come and how setbacks can lead to something greater,” Davis said. “It’s the proof of how far God has brought me, and the reminder that even setbacks can lead to something greater. “

Davis participates in track and field in high school to help stay in shape for softball. She has posted times of 12.83 seconds in the 100 and 27.49 in the 200, while recording a career-best mark of 17-feet, 8-inches in the long jump.

Davis has a 4.3 weighted GPA and was recently one of 25 students accepted into a healthcare scholar program. Alongside her studies, she will be working in a hospital to obtain her Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) license.

“I would love to eventually go into the field of kinesiology and probably biomechanical engineering for sports,” Davis said. “For the longest time I wanted to pursue aeronautical engineering. I think it’s the coolest thing ever, but I found that I wanted to stay a part of sports because it’s been my life for so long. So I feel like being able to incorporate physical therapy and then a little bit of engineering would be the ideal career for me.”

Davis wants to pitch in college and has been receiving interest from several schools. 

“The main thing I’m looking for right now is a college that makes me feel like a human and not just a player,” she said. “I want a college that sees me as someone who’s not just going out there and throwing a bright yellow ball in a circle really hard, but sees me as someone who has feelings and emotions and is able to be there for me when it’s not a great day, when I’m not throwing my absolute best.”

Like many athletes, Davis is a bit superstitious when it comes to her pre-game routine. She eats a banana and a bowl of Fruit Loops at the hotel breakfast bar, which is a combination that she discovered at age 12 before a successful outing and kept in place. After the meal, she recites The Lord’s Prayer.

“I am heavily involved in my faith and heavily involved in prayer before games, because we aren’t promised every single day,” Davis said. “Waking up and having the opportunity and the ability to even play the game is so special. It’s amazing that our bodies have been given the ability to play this game and the way we are.”

The journaling has given Davis a way to organize her thoughts and clear her mind. It’s also given her an appreciation for a task she thought she didn’t enjoy.

“It honestly made me grow a love for writing,” she said. “I started to do a journal at night as well to reflect on my thoughts and reflect on the day. I feel like I’ve become a little bit of a better writer too.”