Jenny Gordon '20 Recruiting Profile

• As a nine year old girl, my parents asked if I wanted to play softball.   At first, I was not sure.   Did I want to play a sport where I would get dirty or had to dive for a ball or slide into a base.  Well after my first practice, I knew that the softball field was more than a place to play a game.  It was the place that I was missing in my life.   Since that day, softball has always been in my windshield and I am looking ahead.   Playing softball has made me into a better person.  Playing softball has taught me that hard work, dedication and determination is key to be successful in all aspects of life.  So as I look in the rear view mirror on the lessons I learned from great coaches and some not so great coaches, I keep looking forward and setting my eye on playing at the elite college level.  College softball is not a dream for me.  College softball is my goal.    I like to relate and make connection to musics and the one song that can sum up my relationship with softball is the song  "Better Place" by Rachel Platten.   She sings about this better place when something came along.   That sometime for me is softball.  

                you're my favorite thing
                all the love that you bring
                But it feels like I've opened my eyes again
                And the colors are golden and bright again
                There's a song in my heart, I feel like I belong
                It's a better place since you came along

      When I step onto that softball field my whole world feels complete.   When I step onto a college softball, I know that I will belong.

When I was 13, I tried out for an 18u Elite Showcase team.  I knew that I was not at the level of my teammates.  I knew I had to work hard because I was younger and smaller.   It was my coach Al Pace who saw something in me. 

• "It was her drive and dedication that I saw in her that made me confident she would give me 110% and would not let me know down I will never forget the week in Massachusetts when our catcher was hurt and Jenny stepped up and really did a fantastic job or the weekend we          were down to nine players and we put Jenny at second base.  A position she never played before.  Jenny might be smalbut she is a force to          be reckoned with. " - Al Pace 18U Insanity Elite Coach
• "Jenny is the first player to help another player and a player not afraid to ask to help when a new skill or position is put in front of her.  One key character trait that Jenny brings to the field is her innate kindness.   One event that stands out to me as her high school coach is  when we had a novice player got hit in the face with the ball.   Jenny went home and came back the next day with her face mask for the  player.   This showed me that she is not only a fierce player but a compassionate player.  Even though Jenny was in the mist of high school tryouts, she volunteered to throw with the novice player even though Jenny was 1000x stronger than the novice player.  Jenny worked with her and for me this is the true representation of sportsmanship and teamwork." - Maureen Gallagher JFK High School Coach
• My ideal coach would be someone who pushes me beyond my limits.  A coach who has more confidence in me then I have in myself.   I believe my ideal coach will not mind staying after a workout to hit me some extra balls or show me options to help me to become a better player.   I want a coach to want me to expand and learn from every practice, every game and every opportunity.    In closing, my ideal coach teaches me lessons that I not only can apply on the field but can use in my everyday life.

Thank you for taking the time and reading my Personal Statement.   Have a great day!

Jenny Theresa Gordon