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Here’s our TLI for Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022:
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EXTRA ELITE SPOTLIGHT: TOMMI EWING
2028 SS/UT Tommi Ewing recently talked to Extra Inning Softball about Beverly Bandits 14U Futures-Mercurio, vocal leadership, hitting and mental game, PGF Nationals, Warrior Academy, volleyball, the financial field, Rachel Garcia, Kobe Bryant and “Cobra Kai.”
EXTRA ELITE SPOTLIGHT Q&A
Name: Tommi Ewing
Hometown: Grove City, OH
High School: Grove City High
Club Team: Beverly Bandits 14U Futures-Mercurio
Graduation Year: 2028
Height: 5-foot-3
Position: SS/UT
Nickname: “T”
Twitter: @24Tommi
Honors: Honor Student; Student of the Month; and goal of becoming a member of the Nation Junior Honor Society.
Travel Ball Summer Stats: .353 AVG, 13 doubles, seven triples, two homer, 29 SBs, 64 RBIs, 48 putouts, 103 assists and one double play.
Tell us about your travel team/organization and how you became involved with them? My travel team organization is the Beverly Bandits and is run by Bill Conroy. When joining this organization, I learned really fast that one of the most important things to the Bandits is aggressive base running. We got involved with the Bandits because my older sister first played for them (we are 12 years apart) and I knew I wanted to follow in her footsteps, but make my own path. I originally started with the Bandits in my first year of 10U. I played with them for one year. I left after my first 10U year and when I wasn’t with the Bandits I developed as an athlete, continuing to make major progress in my softball career. I found my way back to the Bandits again in my second year of 12U and was very glad to be back again!
What do you bring to the team? Over this past season, I have grown to be a vocal leader and I try my best to lead by action. I have worked very hard to improve my defensive skills. For example, my transfer has gotten quicker over time along with my foot work. My goal is to be one of the best middle infielders for my age group.
What areas are you focusing on/trying to improve this fall? This fall, I’m trying to improve on my hitting and mental part of the game. I also want to work on getting stronger to be more aggressive around the bases because, as a Bandit, we value that.
Can you tell us about your experience at PGF Nationals this summer? The experience I had at PGF Nationals was very eye opening to see how great the competition was in California. All the teams were very good and skilled.
Which player/team was your toughest opponent and why? One of the toughest teams we played was Warrior Softball Academy because they had great hitting approaches. Every batter was very disciplined in the box.
What sports do you play and how do you manage your time/practice/school? My main sport is softball, then volleyball. When I wake up, I go to school, I get started with any homework that needs to be done while I’m in study hall, go to volleyball practice/game and then I come home and work on softball. The best way for me to manage this is to stay organized and stay on a routine. I stay organized by creating a mental list to keep myself on track and viewing my school app that has all of my assignments that need to be done.
What areas are you interested in future occupations and why? I’ve thought about being in the financial field because I like managing my money and some other people’s too. I’m still not entirely sure what I want to do when I grow up because I want to try multiple things to see what I like and am most passionate about.
Who is your sports hero and why? As a kid, I always wanted to be like Rachel Garcia. I liked her so much, not because she was a phenomenal pitcher, but because she could hit super well. I thought it was very inspiring that she could pitch and hit at the highest college softball level. She also got the Gatorade Player of the Year.
What’s the best hype song and why? I don’t think there’s just one best hype song for me. I think these are a few great hype songs that pick me up before our games or while I work out. “On to the Next One” by Jay-Z was my walk up song last season, “Dreams and Nightmares” by Meekmill (and) “Gold Digger” by Kanye West are just a few that I like to listen to.
But what really gets me hyped is the Kobe Bryant’s motivational speech that I found on YouTube, “The Mindset of a Winner.” It just really puts things in perspective of what it should look like to be a great athlete, and I like to make time listen to this before my tournaments on the weekends to get mentally prepared.
What’s your favorite TV show to binge and why? Right now, I would say my favorite TV show to binge watch is “Cobra Kai,” because it’s very entertaining to watch and I like how there’s different types of learning styles with martial arts.
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