Agape Freedom Sports LLC

Written by: Jeric Yurkanin | Agape Freedom Sports |

Some dreams never come true. Some never even begin. But others? They start small—just a flicker in the heart of a child—and with vision, work, and belief, they grow.

For some, dreaming begins young. Like my son, who’s about to start first grade at Valley View. He’s already planning out his future—wants to live on Church Street in Jessup, obsessed with the Race of the Saints, flipping through YouTube videos of the event on repeat. He tells me he wants to be a college football player at Clemson. He’s six. It’s just a dream, right? But sometimes… that’s where everything begins.

Let’s go back.

Two girls. Two dreams. Kalli Karwowski and Taylor Cawley.

Kalli was just six or seven when she watched Valley View celebrate a state championship. She stood on the curb, fire trucks blaring, fans screaming, a sea of blue, yellow and white in the streets. She looked up at her dad with a confident smile and said, “Dad, I’ll do that one day.”

It was just a dream.
But dreams paired with belief and work? That’s where the magic happens.

Since that moment, Kalli’s life became preparation for Thursday, play in the high school state championship game. Travel ball tournaments. Endless road trips with her parents. Late-night throwing sessions in the backyard. All of it—step by step—building toward something bigger.

Taylor’s dream began in 2013. She was six, sitting in the stands as Valley View took the field for another state championship. She watched the Lady Cougars dominate, scoring four runs in the first inning and winning 5–0. She didn’t know all the details, couldn’t grasp the magnitude at the time, but she felt it—the energy, the pride, the joy. She watched the players, studied their movements, and locked in on their smiles.

She also had stories. Her aunt, Brittany, was part of Valley View’s first state title in 2000. It wasn’t just a program. It was a legacy.

“When I was a kid, I went to see Valley View win the state championship in 2013. Ever since then, it has been a goal of mine,” said Taylor Cawley.

“As a little girl, I was always connected to the Valley View softball program,” said shortstop Kalli Karwowski. “I went to all the camps and watched the older girls play, dreaming of being in their shoes one day. To now have the chance to play for a state championship, wearing the same uniform as the players I once looked up to, feels surreal. It’s something I’ve dreamed about for so long—and to live it out with my team and for my community means everything.”

Some people say a dream is just a dream. But sometimes, it becomes more.

Kalli never imagined that her final high school softball game would take place on the very field where her college career will begin—at Penn State. She’ll be wearing navy blue and white next season for the Nittany Lions, carrying the same pride she wore in blue, yellow, and white as a Cougar.

“To end my high school career at the same place I’ll be starting my college journey in just a few months is a full-circle moment I never would’ve imagined,” Karwowski said. “All the hard work, sacrifices, and setbacks led to this. Getting to live it surrounded by the people who’ve believed in me from the start is something I’ll carry with me for the rest of my life.”

Not every dream in sports comes true. But sometimes—with the right coaching, the right mentors, the right belief—they do. Just like they did for Kalli and Taylor.

And Thursday, at that state championship game, somewhere in the stands, there will be a 6- or 7-year-old girl wearing Valley View colors. She’ll be watching wide-eyed, soaking in the energy, not quite understanding everything—but feeling it. Watching Kalli, bound for Penn State. Watching Taylor, heading to Binghamton. Watching her heroes.

She’ll go home and dream of being just like them. Of wearing the Cougar uniform. Of walking that same field, playing with that same pride. Because in Valley View, softball runs deep—it’s in the DNA.

And it all starts with just a dream.

So dream.
Dream big.