Nicole Conway
MARK STEVENS – HEAD SOFTBALL COACH, Catalina Foothills High School
Nicole Conway embodies all of the attributes of a Triple Impact Competitor in many ways. Her personal mastery of her sport is demonstrated every day as she spends countless hours fine tunes her pitching skills with her pitching coach so that she has a full complement of pitches to use each game. In addition to her pitching, Nic is a hard working hitter who always leads the team in most of the hitting categories. She will always stay after practice to work on her hitting form and situational hitting so that she is fully prepared for the next game. As a pitching ace, Nic is the natural leader of the team, but goes farther than that. She constantly leads by example and help bring her teammates up to her level of play each and every game. She is the biggest cheerleader for her team and is always encouraging and inspiring her teammates to rise up and be the best they can be as well. An example of this was our trip to Yuma to play the number one team in our division. Nic pitched a 13 inning game, throwing 207 pitches and striking out 21 in a tough 5-4 loss. The next morning we played the second game of the trip and Nic, despite pitching over 200 pitches the night before, wanted to pitch again so as not to let the team down for this game. Instead Nic volunteered to keep the scorebook and help her teammates with their hitting strategies and cheered them on to the win. This is just one example of the passion and dedication Nic brings to her team each and every day.
Outside of her personal accomplishments on and off the softball field, Nic honors the games in many ways. She is always respectful to the umpires, coaches and opposing players and understands that each has a unique role to play in the game. But even more Nic has a passion to make the game better for herself, her teammates and the community. Nic works with our local little league softball teams through camps and clinics, teaching the young girls softball skills and to have a passion for playing the game. As the star pitcher for her high school team, the little leaguers look up to her as a role model and a mentor and Nic embraces this opportunity. Nic also has a small Bow making business where she sells hair bows at softball tournaments and donates all of the proceeds to a local charity, which she has been doing for many years. This year she also led a shoe donation drive for her high school team in which her teammates donated new shoes and $1000 to the Kicks 4 Kids program which supplies shoes for those in need.
KATE MASON – TEAMMATE
This year I was a freshman on the varsity softball team at Catalina Foothills High School. Although this was an exciting opportunity, it came with a lot of new challenges and responsibilities. I can say without hesitation that Nic Conway not only helped me successfully get through this season, but also helped me grow to be a better athlete and student by being an amazing role model. Nic took me in and treated me like a sister not just a teammate. She was protective when necessary but showed me the way with her work ethic and drive. Nic works harder than anyone I have ever known when it comes to the classroom and the playing field. Last week I was walking out of school and saw Nic pitching to her father. Nobody asked her to be out there to pitch, but Nic still was out there in the heat just so she could be better. She works when nobody is watching and she inspires others with her style and grit. She has goals that she is determined to achieve and she will not be outworked until she does. Nic was our pitcher and she led the team in every way possible for us to have the best chance of winning. The leader she carries herself as is the leader every team should want and need. Nic helped me pick my head up after the games I didn’t have my best athletic performance, and her words taught me how even the great athletes have their tough days and that I could come back stronger. Softball is a grueling mental and physical game. Ever since I first saw Nic play at a Pima League game in January, I looked up to the way she embraced and honored the sport even when it got tough. No matter how many awards Nic wins or how high her batting average is, she stays humble and continues to play the game that she loves so much. All in all, nobody deserves this scholarship more than Nic. She honors the game with her work, her attitude and her effort and those leadership traits impact all other teammates.