Inside Pitch: Class of 2022 Standout Catcher Sam Roe… “Working with Young Players in My Community Inspires Me”

Role models aren’t just the top players in the upper echelons of sport (like the well-deserved softball standouts who will be representing their countries at the Tokyo Olympics this summer, including Team USA).

For younger players, including those just starting out, their heroes can be just a few years older than them and that has been the case for Sam Roe, the top-ranked player in the 2022 Extra Elite 100 when it came out last year.

Last week, we re-ran an article titled Extra Star Power: 10 Things You Didn’t Know About 2022 Elite 100’s #1 Player Sam Roe! and one of those items was about how the Florida commit is “good with kids” and how she volunteers as the Strike Zone in Destin, Florida.

She helps out frequently with hitting and catching lessons for the younger kids and said in the article last year:

“I absolutely love giving back to the sport that made me who I am today. Helping out the younger kids puts a huge smile on my face; it is an awesome feeling to watch a young kid learn something new.”

This week, Sam added: “I’ve been working with these young athletes from my community and they just inspire me.”

Here are her thoughts on the tutoring and mentoring she’s done with the Destin Softball Little League Camp and the Catcher’s Union to help young people improve their skills and increase their love of softball…

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If you’re reading this then you are probably pretty familiar with the sport and the community of softball, but not everyone has always been familiar with the sport… we all had to start somewhere!

Now let’s look back and take a trip down memory lane:

Do you remember your very first time stepping out onto the field? How about your first practice with your softball team?

If you are anything like me, those were some the most fun and important days of our lives. Without those first few days of being nervous, exited, and hungry to learn I have no idea where I would be at today.

I have been so blessed with the opportunity to get to help with some of the most hard-working and talented girls and boys learning the game of softball and baseball in my community.

This blog is dedicated to them!

I never thought a group of 8, 9, and 10 -year-olds could teach me so many life lessons. They have taught me more about softball and to life than I could ever imagine.

Every time I work with them it reminds me of the reasons I started playing the sport and that no matter what I should always play for the pure joy of the game and never take it for granted.

I will always be thankful for them and I will never forget the times of coaching, laughter, and fun we spend together.

I asked one of my players, Leighton Gordan, who is 8-years-old, why she loves to play softball and she replied, “I love playing softball because it is challenging and fun. And I like playing with my friends.”

If you ask me, those are some great reasons to love the sport.!

My teammates and I aren’t exactly the 8-year-old little girls we used to be, but we definitely love and compete in the sport like it’s our first season playing!

— Sam Roe (UhOhSamRoe)