Inspire, Summer 2012

I remember, years ago, hopping the barbed wire fence onto Cedarville’s athletic fields with my daughter, Cecelia (we call her CeCe). Not only did we rip our pants more than once, we also practiced corner kicks on the soccer field and pitching on the softball diamond. CeCe’s interest in athletics developed through these mother-daughter practice sessions, and she recently completed her freshman season pitching for the Lady Jackets softball team. As a mother of an athlete, there are many more moments I remember — after-school practices, weekend games, out-of-town tournaments, and dinners on the run. It wasn’t always easy, but ask me today if the sacrifice is worth it. I’ll tell you that it is. Play Ball CeCe started playing little league soccer in first grade through the Soccer Association for Youth. She was a goalkeeper, and she loved it. By fourth grade, she was playing more competitive soccer with the Enon Soccer Club. She took lessons on Friday nights, worked hard, and improved. While in middle school, her team placed second in an international tournament at Disney’s Wide World of Sports in Orlando, Florida. In fourth grade, as her athletic talent developed, I encouraged CeCe to try a year of little league softball, and she was game. We soon discovered CeCe was a natural pitcher. By sixth grade, CeCe was playing both travel softball and club soccer. When CeCe started high school, she and I both painfully realized that for her to be a successful pitcher, she needed to stop playing soccer and focus on pitching. Here’s to the Home Team by Sandy (Hitchcock) DeBartolo ’90 Sandy (Hitchcock) DeBartolo ’90 knows what it takes to raise a student-athlete from little league to Yellow Jacket pitcher to NCCAA All-America Second Team. 18 SUMMER 2012