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Here’s our TLI for Tuesday, Jan. 25:
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EXTRA SPOTLIGHT: JUNE MCCUNE
C/3B June McCune, #58 in the 2025 Extra Elite 100 who moved from Georgia Impact Premier 07-Sullivan to Beverly Bandits Premier 14U-Moran, has been very active going to softball training camps and battling anxiety.
EXTRA SPOTLIGHT Q&A
Name: June McCune
Hometown: Gibsonia, PA
High School: Pine Richland High
Club Team: Beverly Bandits Premier 14U-Moran
Graduation Year: 2025
Position: C/3B
Nickname: “Stickers”
Twitter: @junemccune_2025
Honors:
Takes Honors history, English, biology and geometry; OnDeck 3-star ranking; Select 30 All-American (2021); Thesoftballzone.com Player of the Year (2020); and Softball Nation All-American MVP (2020).
Club Highlights:
Batted .373 in the fall and only allowed two stolen bases.
Which softball camps have you been to? What do you get out of them?
(Over the last year) Notre Dame, Northwestern, Wisconsin, Pitt and OnDeck. All these camps have one thing in common. Personal interaction with coaches and players. I love it! It is amazing. I get little tips and drills to improve my swing, through and make me more athletic. I also get a feel for what the day and life is of an athlete at that school. Camps have helped me learn that I do want to live the D1 lifestyle. Camps also have taught me how to get recruited and coaches like to see effort. Coaches understand a mistake or error, they don’t understand not trying.
Tell us about your travel team/organization and how you became involved with them?
The Bandits had been reaching out to me by way of prior Coach, David Trackwell, for a year and a half. But I had been playing with Georgia Impact-Sullivan for all last season and I thought the opportunity had passed. Then at the OnDeck Chicago Jamboree, Bill Conroy was there to watch me hit 16 of 20 batting practice balls over the fence. Literally, the next day David Trackwell called. From there it’s just been a perfect fit with Chad (Moran’s) understanding of what college coaches are looking for, John Stone’s approach to hitters and the game, and having a mentor like Sarah Stone. And of course Coach Kronenberger, a pro whiffle ball thrower. He has helped me with some breather techniques to help me stay calm and centered in the box and in the game of softball in general.
What should we expect from your club team this summer?
This summer you should expect to see my team compete. I cannot predict the future, but I know we have been working our butts off this winter. We have gotten stronger, more athletic, smarter and recovered. We have a strong base. Chad always tells us that we are building a house and it’s not due until the weekend of PGF. All I can say is that we are ready to play ball and hustle.
Do you have a secret talent/skill?
Over the past year and a half I have been working on mental health. Softball is like 80 percent mentality. What is in between my ears is in my control and out at the same time. Since I struggle with anxiety on a daily basis I have learned how to center myself. Some of these techniques include just taking a deep breathe. Anxiety can turn the good into the bad very fast, to stop this from happening over the last few months I have been journaling. I write down something I am proud of, something that was positive, and a thought that I can think about as a fall asleep. It has been so helpful and really has made me feel that I can accomplish any obstacle. Learning how to deal with it was hard, but I’m glad I did because now I get to be an amazing teammate and person overall. Learning to conquer these intrusive thoughts has brought out a strong new player in me. I am more confident and outgoing when I play. When I step on that field, the smile will never shake from my face. When I play, I hope that everyone can see the heart and soul I put into every little motion.
What’s your most memorable softball story?
I used to get super nervous going to camps until this past summer. At the Chicago Jamboree in July, I literally knocked it out of the park, hitting 16 out of 20 batting practice pitchers out of the park (13 in a row at one point). There were something like 30 college coaches there to watch it. By the end of the weekend, I had invites to 10 camps.
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