I love softball. I’m going to play til I’m ninety, and then get married. At 17 years old Lisa Birocci already knows what she is going to do for the rest of her life. After all, she’s been doing it since she was 6. You don’t find this kind of dedication in everyone. It has to be nurtured and fed. And, in Lisa’s case her love of the game has been nurtured from everyone around her. She and her father have collected baseball cards ever since she can remember. With her 8th grade sister, a star pitcher in her own right, and her mother she’s formed a local softball team. And, she never misses a game with her hero, Minnesota Twins center fielder Kirby Pluckett.
Lisa’s dedication to the game has helped her team to be a winner. Last year the team accomplished all the goals it set for itself. They won the state championship last year. And, they’ve won the conference championship 5 years in a row. That couldn’t have been done without a loyal, dedicated and strong pitcher. But physically throwing the ball isn’t all she does for her team. She’s organized team meetings, to discuss strategy, and sleep-overs when problems have come up between teammates. We had a time that we were really struggling, people were arguing with each other, it was just not working for us. But we set our differences aside when we had to. That’s the make-up of a good team.
And, the team is destined to only get better. Many of last year’s players are coming back for the new season. And a new catcher, Annie Beaman, is transferring in from a different school. She has to earn her place on the team but she could make a difference.
Lisa sets high standards for herself on the field. Those standards would be impossible without a strong workout routine, and she has a killer. Most people’s arms would get tired after throwing a ball a few dozen times but for Lisa that’s just the beginning. It takes me 50 to 100 pitches to warm up. Then I do side snaps and flips with my wrist. When I can’t pitch, like during basketball season, I have hand weights that I lift. I also use those spring things to build up my finger strength.
Lisa says that her whole life revolves around softball but as everyone knows a good athlete has to be well-rounded, and she is. School is very important to her. She admits that this is the most important time of her life and that she wants to make sure she starts life on the right foot. She has nothing to worry about on that score. Her grades are all As and Bs. She loves to read. Her favorite reading material is short stories and poems. I like to analyze what the author really meant.
As far as college goes, all the votes are not in yet. Lisa’s been recruited by schools all across the country, but has decided she wants to stay relatively local. I don’t want to go to college in the same town as my parents. It’s going to come down to U. of Iowa or Iowa State. Each program is really good. It’s just going to come down to my gut feeling. I’m leaning toward Iowa right now, though I’m kind of bouncing between teaching and nursing. I’d love to do a high school English class.
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