Calli Long '18 Recruiting Profile

I have a life-long goal of going into a field of work that deals with my favorite subjects of science and mathematics and also allows me the ability to help people. Dedication and my willingness to help others are two of my most important qualities. I want to dedicate my life to helping others. Taking these qualities and applying them to my passion for softball makes me not just a great player but a great teammate.

As I indicated above, dedication is a quality that I see strongly within myself. When I set my mind to do something, I do it. For example, in January 2016, I choose to change from hitting right handed to left handed. I worked diligiently for four months and increased my batting average to above 0.500. I have pushed myself to where I have placed as the only sophomore on my team as All-Conference. I have built up my strength to be more competitive and to become the “triple threat” as a left-handed slapper and hitter. As I can see what I need to do to place All-State, I know I must put in the time and effort to continue to improve. Therefore, I have the dedication to achieve my goal.

My willingness to help others makes me be a great teammate. For example, one of the girls who made the Junior Varsity team is the one that fits the stereotype of the unpopular girl; however, I encouraged her to try out, provided her rides to practice (our field is 2 miles from our school), and try to help her with her skills. The other members of the varsity team ignore her but I know it is important to be there for her as it takes more than just me to be the team. This girl has now become the first one the coach picks to pinch run and has more confidence in herself than I have seen before. It was not the popular choice to help her but it is the right choice as she is part of my team.

Academically, to potentially accelerate my college aspirations, I am taking as many pre-AP, AP and college classes as my school offers. I know that keeping my GPA as high as possible is as important as keeping my batting average above 0.500. That dedication I have to softball is the same I apply to my studies.

I think being a great player is very important as you can see in my statistics. I also believe being a great student is very important as you can see in my GPA. However, the most important quality is being a great teammate. We cannot win if we do not work as a team.