Emily McDowell is a junior at Struthers High School. She’s part of the Spanish Club, NHS and a Multi-sport athlete. Emily plays softball, volleyball, and basketball. She plays all these sports while maintaining a 4.0 GPA.
McDowell has been playing softball since she was around 5 years old. McDowell started in kindergarten and has played since, making it almost 13 years. The athlete is not inspired by anyone in particular but she thinks about her mom and dad every time she steps on the field.
The junior thrives to be the best she can be for her parents, they have put a lot into her 13 years of softball.
“There wasn’t exactly a person who inspired me to play but every time I play I think of my mom and dad and how much they inspire me to work as hard as I can because they have sacrificed so much for me to be on different travel teams and get me new equipment every time I need it. They inspire me to be the best that I can be, because they both work as hard as they can to provide for all of us,” says the softball player.
This year the softball team took the opportunity to use their off season wisely, they entered a winter league and progressed even though the season didn’t go as everyone planned. While they practice week after week, they get ready for the school season.
The junior athlete pushes herself to be better for the upcoming season.
“Although we didn’t win that many games it was still fun and it was definitely a place to put my skills to practice and continue to grow as a player on offense and on defense, and also I think this upcoming season has a lot of potential with all the girls that have been practicing a lot in the offseason. I can see the dedication that has already been shown even before the season starts,” says McDowell.
The junior moved schools this season after playing here freshman year and playing for her previous school heartland christian. McDowell believes she thrives more here because she has grown up with the girls here and played with them almost all of her life.
The athlete gets to play with her “Family” again.
“I really enjoyed playing softball for struthers more than heartland because these are the girls that I grew up playing with. There literally my family and the girls that I saw almost every day. There are the girls I spent my childhood with, and every summer up until I turned 15. It created a sense of community that I didn’t have at heartland because half of the girls had never played for,” states the student.
