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Here’s our TLI for Friday, Nov. 11, 2022:
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EXTRA ELITE SPOTLIGHT: SOPHIE SMITH
Missouri-committed 2024 MIF Sophie Smith recently talked to Extra Inning Softball about Prolific 16U-Vaughn, regular workouts, consistency and aggressiveness, Alliance Nationals, Impact Gold, Missouri, physical therapy and sports management, Sis Bates, Moneybagg Yo, “Outer Banks” and juggling.
EXTRA ELITE SPOTLIGHT Q&A
Name: Sophie Smith
Hometown: Spring, TX
High School: Klein Oak High
Club Team: Prolific 16U-Vaughn
Graduation Year: 2024
Height: 5-foot-6
Position: MIF
Nickname: Soph
Twitter: @sophiegsmith22
Honors: 6A Academic All-District; 6A All-District Team; and TFL Championship All-Tournament Team.
Tell us about your travel team/organization and how you became involved with them? I moved to Prolific Fastpitch at the beginning of this season. I always enjoyed watching them play. They played with grit and always seemed to have great chemistry in the dugout. My biggest reason to make the move though was Ray Vaughn. He’s an amazing coach! He has very high standards and holds his players accountable. I can count on him to coach me with honesty and intensity. He was also instrumental in my recruiting process.
What are some of your training methods/training routine? A typical week of training for me includes fielding lessons in College Station with my old Bombers coach Kristi Malpass, hitting lessons in Katy with Eddie Sessum, and team practice in Deer Park with Prolific (twice a week if we aren’t playing). I also workout with a trainer three days a week and try to go to my high school softball fields to hit at least three times a week.
What areas are you focusing on/trying to improve this fall? Right now, my main focus is on consistency and aggressiveness at the plate. I’m working on jumping on good pitches early in the count and just having good overall at-bats.
Can you tell us about your experience at Alliance Nationals this summer? My first year of the Alliance Nationals in Florida, we had a great run, making it to the Elite 8. It was an amazing experience! This past summer we played at the Alliance Nationals in Indiana. Unfortunately, we had multiple plays out with Covid, so our run was pretty short-lived. Overall, it was a great learning experience, and it’s always fun to play different teams.
Which player/team was your toughest opponent and why? Probably the Impact Gold National team has been our toughest opponent. They are a super-talented group of girls that are competitive on both sides of the field. It is always fun to play them.
Can you talk about your decision to commit to Missouri? I was so excited to get the call from Coach (Larissa) Anderson on September 1st. We had a great conversation and I really like her softball philosophy. Visiting Columbia for my unofficial visit was amazing! The campus is beautiful. The athletic facilities are top notch and the coaches were all very welcoming and spent a lot of time showing me around. I got to watch two fall ball games and see how Coach Anderson, Coach (Jeff) Cottrill and Coach (Sara) Marino intereracted with their team and I was super impressed with everything I saw. Overall, I loved the feel of Mizzou and I’m so excited to get there and start my collegiate career!
What areas are you interested in future occupations and why? I’ve always wanted to go into physical therapy and that’s still an option for me, but Mizzou has a great Sports Management program and that also interests me, so I’m still trying to figure out which avenue is best for me. I do know that I want to work in a sports-related field after graduation, so either of these options will help me reach that goal.
Who is your sports hero and why? Sis Bates is my hero. She’s an amazing defensive player. She’s so fun to watch and she always looks like she is having a blast. She’s the reason I wear the number 22.
What’s the best hype song and why? “Me vs. Me” by Moneybagg Yo. It gets me pumped up and ready to play!
What’s your favorite TV show to binge and why? “Outer Banks.” It’s a mystery and a love story with great characters. I can’t ever stop watching it after one episode. It’s sooo good!
Do you have a secret talent/skill? Ummm … well, I can juggle. Is that considered a talent? Not a skill or talent, but a little fun fact about me. I’m a triplet. I have a brother and sister who are also 16 (years old) and an older sister who is 19 (years old).
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