Get on board with Extra Inning Softball’s regular feature, The Last Inning!
We are scouring the Internet and social media and keeping our ears to the street for the latest going on in the softball community.
To contribute information, insights, thoughts or content ideas, email us at info@extrainningsoftball.com and also los.extrainningsoftball@gmail.com.
Here’s our TLI for Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2021…
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EXTRA SPOTLIGHT: EMMA SIMON
Emma Simon, a decorated softball player for Marist High of Atlanta, GA, and EC Bullets 05-Bilz, tore her ACL in the final basketball game of January 2021.
She had surgery in February and battled her way back until recently rejoining the EC Bullets and earning All-Star honors at the Scenic City Showcase in November.
Here’s more on this standout sophomore…
EXTRA SPOTLIGHT Q&A
Name: EMMA SIMON
Hometown: Atlanta, GA
High School: Marist High
Club Team: EC Bullets 05-Bilz 16U
Graduation Year: 2024
Height: 5-foot-6
Position: MIF
Nickname: Em
Twitter: @EmmaSimon2024
Honors: #162 in the Class of 2024 and #92 middle infielder in the Class of 2024; Scenic City Showcase All-Star Game participant (2020); Marist High Dean’s List (highest academic honors) all high school terms; member of Spanish National Honor Society; AP Spanish (2021/22); and AP World History (2020/21)
Travel Ball Highlights/Fall Stats: I was just recently cleared to return to playing as the fall travel ball season went on, but helped the team I played for reach the finals of the 16U division at the Atlanta Elite Invitational.
High School Highlights: In Georgia, school ball is played in the fall, and therefore I wasn’t able to play this year because of my injury recovery. It was hard for me because we had such an awesome group of girls this year, but I am also looking forward to next year. Unfortunately, we fell a little short of our goals, but, hopefully, we can make a big run next year.
Tell us about your travel team/organization and how you became involved with them?
I just recently joined the EC Bullets organization, and am so excited to play for them, especially my coaches Jessica Bilz and Ally Kersthold. In Georgia, this is a really premier organization, and a great team. I have known the coaches for a long time, and I go to school with a couple of the players. When the opportunity came up to join this amazing team I could not say no.
Can you talk about your injury and what you did in rehab to get back on the field?
Getting hurt gave me a new perspective on the game and what it means to be a teammate. The whole time, I really missed being on the field, and would have done anything to be out there with my friends. I was lucky enough to have a great team helping with my rehab, including the training staff at my school and my physical therapist Aaron at Adapt Physical Therapy in Atlanta. In August, we really changed the therapy process from working on mobility to regaining quad strength, and I started working on some explosive movements. With all of their help, I was able to return to the field this fall.
I have also been very lucky to be able to work with one of the best coaches in the country, Lincoln Martin, with both my offense and defense. He’s helped me get stronger hitting and moving on defense, but is also amazing in helping me work on the mental aspect of getting back in the game. I’m still working on my PT and strength, and can’t wait for winter and spring workouts!
How did your club team do this past summer and in the fall?
Being able to get back on the field this fall with a team was awesome, and it will really help me when the spring season comes. The team I played with this fall had some good success, including making the finals of the Atlanta Elite Invitational (while missing some other players who were hurt).
We also played in the Alliance SEFL National Qualifier, getting a chance to play some top teams in the Southeast. While I have joined a different team, I will greatly miss the girls and the coaches. They have really helped me develop and grow as a player over these past couple years.
What should we expect from your club team this summer?
I cannot wait to get on the field with Coach Bilz’s Bullets girls. As a team they had good success this year and last fall including earning an Alliance berth, and coming in 2nd place at the Alliance 4th of July tournament in Colorado last summer. There is a ton of talent on the team on both offense and defense. The coaches are great, and always pushing the team to not be satisfied, and to get better. I really think that we are going to do some amazing things, and I just want to contribute however I can to help us improve.
What should we expect from your high school team this spring?
In Georgia, we played high school ball last fall, so we will not play this spring.
Do you have a secret talent/skill?
I am bilingual (English and Spanish).
What’s your most memorable softball story?
My freshman year, I got the opportunity to start at third base, which was a position that I had never played before. I’m not going to lie, it was a little intimidating as a freshman trying to do as well as I could in a position that I had never played before. Throughout the season, my defense was pretty solid, but I was struggling a little with my hitting. Once playoffs started, there was a lot of pressure on everyone in the lineup to get a hit. Of course,
I was up to bat against Madison County with two outs in the top of the 7th inning when the game was tied. I remember the first pitch being a strike, and I started to get super nervous because I wanted to do the best that I could for my team.
I got in the box for the second pitch, ready to hit whatever came to me and I don’t really remember much after that. The next thing I knew, my ball had two-hopped the fence and scored the winning run, and I was on second base. All of my teammates were in the dugout cheering me on, and it was the best feeling ever, knowing that I had helped my team and gotten past some of my hitting struggles.
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*** Scroll down to see the latest commits including a pair going to the Big Ten plus players on the move…
