Freshman year is a time for change for many students. It’s their first year in high school, in a new building, with a completely different experience.
However, for one freshman at Bellwood-Antis, one thing has remained consistent from junior high to high school, and she’s picking up exactly where she left off last season.
For this reason, Abby Clabaugh is this week’s BluePrint Athlete of the Week.
Abby is an outfielder on the Bellwood-Antis softball team. In the early parts of her first season, Abby is batting .333 with 1 RBI and double. She is also a reliable defender for the softball team, sporting a 1.000 fielding percentage with no errors.
“Playing travel ball over the past few summers has helped prepare me for the more competitive nature of varsity softball,” said Abby when asked what the change from junior high to varsity has been like.
Abby has been playing softball for the past five years and played on a high-level travel team, so it is no surprise to see her acclimating so quickly to the varsity level.
As a freshman in sports, it is important to have people to guide you. When asked who has been her biggest role model for sports this year, Abby said, “The graduating seniors on the varsity volleyball team are who I want to be like in both of my sports. They included the younger players, played to win, and worked hard.”
Abby said she plays sports due to her love for the competitive environment that sports create. She also loves being part of a hard working and dedicated team. No doubt, with this mindset Abby is always going to be determined to sharpen her game and improve.
Her mindset is noticeable not only to her team, but to her coaches as well. Softball coach Heather Quick said Abby embodies dedication, teamwork, and resilience, “proving that hard work and talent go hand in hand.”
“Each time she steps in the batters box, it’s with attitude and a mindset that she is getting on base,” Coach Quick said. “As a freshman, she is sitting on the second highest batting average on the team, so having her bat in our lineup is an asset for us.”
For the rest of her freshman season, Abby’s goal is to do her best in order to help her team succeed.
Outside of sports, Abby looks up to her mom and dad, whom she said were encouraging and hardworking people whom she believes have helped her get to where she is.
“No matter what gets in their way, they always find a way to work around it,” Abby said. “I can’t imagine what my life would be like without both of them.”
It should come as no surprise, then, that Abby wants to become a teacher, like her mom, Myers third grade teacher Mrs. Alli Clabaugh. Abby is hopeful to continue her softball or volleyball career collegiately.
