RANKINGS
EVENTS
I COMMITTED
COLLEGE
ABOUT
Paige Vickery is a talented pitcher/infielder from Commerce, Georgia who plays in the Tennessee Mojo travel organization and has been on our radar for several years as a top player in the Class of 2023.
But her journey hasn’t been easy.
In this Inside Pitch submitted to Extra Inning Softball, Paige talks about her rollercoaster ride of success on the field tempered with dealing with knee injuries that have put her on the sideline.
However, through it all she’s maintained a positive perspective and shares here how her faith in God–and herself– has kept driving her forward…
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We shall overcome: “The Lord is on my side, I will not fear.” (Psalms 118:6)
Whether it is a pandemic or a personal injury, we all must have faith. As a Christian, I believe things happen for a reason. In my case, it was an injury.
Once someone has an injury, they think they will not overcome it and because I have a positive mindset, I knew I could come back better than ever. This injury made me a better player physically and mentally.
On August 25, 2018, I was in 8th grade at the time, and it was softball season. Luckily, I got to be moved up to JV in school ball. We were playing our first game of the day and I was playing shortstop when a ball got hit behind third. I went out to catch it to make an out, but once I planted my left cleat got stuck in the grass and I dislocated my knee, breaking my knee cap.
The first person I saw was the opposing team’s coach, Coach Melissa Mullis, who played at LSU. My dad (Mike Vickery) also came down there. Once I saw him, I thought, “Oh no it’s bad.”
The worst sign was when I saw my dad tear up. That’s not something I wanted to see because I knew then it was very bad. After getting two different opinions on my knee, the doctors decided that surgery wasn’t a very good idea right then. So, I spent several months in physical therapy. I was back on the field in June and game ready in July.
My team and I had a great tournament at the Sparkler in Colorado in July of 2019, where I got to pitch in the All-Star game. We went 5-0 to play in the TV bracket. We played the best team in the nation, which was our goal. We came up short, but it was a great opportunity that made us better as a team and as individual players as well.
To start my freshman season in high school, I got to play JV and varsity ball. I finished the season with eight home runs total and the Commerce High team’s second-highest batting average of .425. The highlight of my freshman year to me was getting my very first grand slam and hitting a big home run in the Sweet 16 to help lead our team to its first Elite Eight appearance in Columbus, Georgia.
Unfortunately, before the Elite Eight tournament, I dislocated my knee again. I was out for the rest of the season, not being able to play in the Elite Eight. I felt as though I let my teammates, my coaches, and my parents down. After finishing 3rd in Columbus, I was so proud of my team.
We had a great year!
On November 12, 2019, I had MPFL surgery. I am actively doing physical therapy right now and was released April 13th, ahead of schedule, but I will continue to do physical therapy. Also, I will continue to work with my personal trainer to be a better player than I was before my injury.
Brooks Cherry, the head of our Tennessee Mojo organization, has set us up with Pro Swings and coaches Stephanie Best, Jade Rhodes, and Jenn Salling. We are so lucky and blessed to have this amazing opportunity and relationship with such a talented group.
With these coaches being professional players, All Americans, Olympians, National Champions, NCAA stats leaders, and former college coaches, we cannot go wrong with getting our daily assignments from this amazing group of ladies.
I am enjoying every minute of it!
Paige Vickery (Class of 2023)