Emma Ortiz '17 Recruiting Profile

Being a coach's kid, I was always around the game of softball and grew up with it being a huge part of my life. Softball was like another family member to me. On any given day, I could be found at a softball field watching game after game fantasizing about when it would be my opportunity to play. I started playing sports when I was five years old. Like every other kid, I played my share of various sports, but my true love was always softball. It held a different spot in my heart compared to all the other sports- it was unique. Because of this, softball became a huge part of my childhood. As I have grown older, I have begun to realize how much softball meant to me. There were times in my life when I had to deal with tragedies and emotional pain, but when I stepped on the field, all of that went away for a little while.Softball was my release from any negativity that was in my life at that current moment. It had a way of reassuring me that everything was going to work itself out. I just had to keep swinging for the fences. Softball transformed me into the young woman I am today by teaching me hard work, teamwork, and how to deal with failure. Academically, softball has taught me that hard work, dedication, and focus are things that should be a part of any equation to help me be the best student-athlete. I push myself to take as many advanced courses such as: PAP Algebra I, PAP Geometry, and PAP English I. I will continue to challenge myself through out the remainder of my high school career to take as many advanced courses as possible in order to fulfill my aspirations to become an Athletic Trainer/Physical Therapist in the future. I was raised in a family that knows the value of hard work and working to get what you want in life. I have been blessed to have been shown that if you want something badly enough in life, you have to work hard for it. Nothing that is worth having will just be handed to you. With that being said, going into high school, I knew being a coach's kid meant I would have to work twice as hard as my peers both academically and athletically. I knew that some of my peers would be looking to me as an example, and I feel that I rose to the occasion. My ultimate goal is to make it to the collegiate level in softball, not only for myself, but for my family, and everyone that has had a hand in developing my love and respect for the game.