Breaking records; reaching milestones

by Matthew Ondesko: Managing Editor

It has been a pretty good year for North Tonawanda High School junior softball player Addison D’Andrea. The junior had another solid season for North Tonawanda as they went 14-6 overall and 10-4 in the NFL.

During the season, D’Andrea hit a milestone and broke a record. You could say the junior has been flying under the radar but that is about the change. The center fielder has been consistent since she stepped on the varsity softball diamond as an eighth grader.

Earlier in the spring, D’Andrea had a week were she smacked three home rums. One of those home runs broke the record for most home runs in North Toanwanda softball history. The power has been on display since an early age, and D’Andrea just keeps raking.

The power just hasn’t been there since she has been getting older. D’Andrea was raking as soon as she made the team as an eighth grader. There she was hitting bombs and thought maybe she had a chance at the record.

“It means a lot to me. When I made Varsity as an eighth grader and I hit my first home run and I started to think that there was a chance I could break the record,” stated D’Andrea. “I set that goal for myself as an eighth grader. I loved breaking that record, but with breaking it I hope it brought light to our program and team because NT used to be an amazing program and we have a very good team now.”

The home run record was the just the first thing she accomplished during a very successful junior campaign. Next came another milestone. This milestone was really only known by D’Andrea and her parents.

As the season was about to get underway D’Andrea knew she was only 25 hits away from 100 for a career. While 25 hits doesn’t seem like a lot, this is Western New York and the softball weather here is not great.

Getting enough games in just to get 25 hits was step one. As she closed in on the milestone it was fitting that the hit that was number 100 was a two-run bomb to centerfield in a 17-0 win, ti improve NT to 11-2 on the season.

“At the beginning of the season I knew I was only 25 hits away and I was on pace to break that milestone this year,” stated D’Andrea. “No one really knew except my family and I, we kept tracking it every year.”

All the home runs, and hits, it’s not surprising. D’Andrea is a hitter, it’s what she does. She has a very simple approach at the plater, see the ball, hit the ball. That approach has worked for her so far in her career.

She knows how mental the game of softball can be. Every hitter at some point during the season will go through a slump of some kind. By keeping her approach simple, D’Andrea can cut down on the slumps and just focus at the task at hand.

“When I go into the box I take a deep breath and have the mentality of see ball, hit ball. I worked a lot with my hitting coach, Trevor Sterner over the past three years ,and we’ve realized that, that mentality helps the most,” stated D’Andrea. “Softball is a mental game and my hitting coach has helped me a lot with phrases that set my mind straight before I approach the box.”

But to be the all-around player that she wants to be, D’Andrea knows she needs to work on all aspects of her game - not just hitting. This is why she will put in the extra work in the outfield during the season, and offseason.

This is why D’Andrea attends as many camps as she can during the summer. It’s all so she can prove to everyone that her game just isn’t hitting the long ball. Her game is about being the best player on the field every time she steps across those white lines.

“I work a lot in the off season with my travel team, and there my coaches; Shaun DiMino, and Daryl Ross help me work a lot of fundamentals and little things that will help me when i’m playing. I also attend a lot of camps during the summer and I have learned a lot from those camps,” stated D’Andrea. “Out of practice, I work at the field with my mom and dad. With the weather it is tough to get outside, especially being an outfielder working outside is important I work on a lot of fast transitions and quick first steps. I always like to do more.”

That includes playing all summer for her travel team, NY Diamond Girls. Being able to play travel ball allows D’Andrea to see different players, and teams, throughout summer. High school ball it’s just the same couple of teams through a compact season.

With the travel ball, D’Andrea is playing against the best of the best throughout the state. It also allows D’Andrea to work on things throughout the summer that she may not get the chance to during a short season.

She has been playing travel for the past seven years and is used to the schedule pf playing every weekend during the summer, and traveling to different places.

“The Diamond Girls organization is very well known and produces a lot of collegiate players. The coaching staff and players made the switch very easy for me, “ stated D’Andrea. “Travel allows me to transition from seeing the same teams for 2 months to seeing teams from all over the states that are really good competition. I enjoy playing every weekend and traveling. I’ve done it for the last 7 years so I have adjusted to traveling a lot in the summer.”

As D’Andrea gets ready to become a senior, the recruiting process has heated up. Recruiting is not for the faint of heart. It can be a daunting task at times, putting yourself out there to coaches and schools.

“Through the process I have learned that everything that is supposed to happen, will happen. I’ve realized not every team is going to want you but your work won’t go unnoticed. Someone will see the countless hours that have been spent practicing and analyzing,” stated D’Andrea. “At times I don’t mentally have it in me because not every coach will answer and that’s part of recruiting. Now is the time for me to really ramp up emailing. I’ve been emailing coaches and going to camps since I was a freshman. The camps have helped me get to know coaches and what to say when reaching out.”

A player can learn a lot about themselves both as a person and as an athlete during this process.