RANKINGS
EVENTS
I COMMITTED
COLLEGE
ABOUT
We continue our list of the Top 15 Softball Stories of 2018, which will run through December 31st when we’ll present our No. 1 story of the year.
We’ve surveyed the softball community and talked internally as well to come up with what were the most impactful and relevant stories in 2018 pertaining to the world of fastpitch softball.
Here are the previous stories:
- #15… Alexia Carrasquillo: The Shot Heard Round the Recruiting World (Dec. 17, 2018)
- #14… Ashley Rogers Overcomes Tragedy to Become National Player of the Year (Dec. 18, 2018)
Today is #13, an inspiring story of how one high school softball player decided to make a difference in her community and create something that will bless generations of young athletes in her Wisconsin hometown…
To provide comments, insights or thoughts, email: [email protected].
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Sydney Supple has had great success in her softball career including winning a PGF National title while wearing the orange and black of the Beverly Bandit travel team and earning Extra Inning Softball All-American honors and multiple Gatorade State Player of the Year awards, but she’s far from done.
A Northwestern signee in the Class of 2019, the Oshkosh, Wisconsin senior still has a year left of high school and club ball left and she hasn’t stopped on or off the field, either, in her efforts to leave a lasting legacy to those young players who will follow in her footsteps.
Syd has been a blogger for me for several years and back in February she wrote an Inside Pitch article titled: Extra Blog: Syd Supple’s One Maine Goal Left to Achieve.
In it, she asks herself: “Have I given enough back to the community that built me?”
She answered her own question by stating: “In speaking with the Parks Department of our city, I plan on using the money I was granted ($1,000 for winning Gatorade Player of the Year) along with other grants to put together a premier softball complex for Oshkosh.”
The original goal was to raise $75,000 to cover everything, but the natural salesman and fired-up competitor in her didn’t stop her fund-raising efforts and today she’s over $90,000 and working towards $100,000 because, as her mother Heidi puts it, “she is planning to make this top-notch for the community.”
Ground breaking was held October 30 and according the athlete’s mother, “They were able to get a lot of the ground filled in before winter so they can start right away once the snow melts.”
Naturally, her parents are proud that their daughter isn’t just about success on the field, but making sure she leaves her imprint in the community.”
“Besides her athletic talent,” says Syd’s mother, “I have always told her that her greatest gift is her passion. She brings so much heart and soul into everything she does. She brings out the best in the people around her, whether it is her teammates, her friends, or even her Dad and me, she inspires us daily and brings out the best in us.”
Jay, her father, adds: “Syd’s selflessness is what impresses me more than anything, it’s never about her, it’s about everybody around her. She elevates everyone with her passion, grit and toughness.”
*** To make a donation and help Sydney reach her goal of $100,000, you can contribute at this website: ThatsMySpinOnIt.com.
— Brentt Eads, Extra Inning Softball
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Update: She did it! Sydney Supple Raises $75,000+ to Build A “Field of Dreams”
(article originally published Sept. 23, 2018 on Extra Inning Softball)
In a year of amazing accomplishments in softball, one of the most impressive has to be the fund-raising efforts of a high school softball player who decided to improve her community and give back to the sport she loves.
In July, we told the story of All-American Sydney Supple from Oshkosh, Wisconsin, the 2019 standout pitcher/infielder who is headed to Northwestern and was the winner of this year’s Gatorade State Player of the Year award which came with a $1,000 grant to go to a youth charity.
Syd used that money as the starting point to raise $75,000 to renovate a softball field in her community to make it a one that local high school, club and youth could use.
Below is the original story published 2 1/2 months ago when Syd was just halfway to her goal, but first she comments on her appreciation to those who helped her raise the funds to make this happen:
“Thanks to the community of generous donors and people who gave matches, I was able to turn my starting $1,000 from Gatorade to $75,000.”
“Reaching this goal allows us to officially break ground on the ballpark, but we are not done raising money! I am still out spreading the word to continue to raise money to enhance the field by adding overheads on the dugouts and a scoreboard.”
“Looking back I am so touched that countless of people have invested into the future of our sport. I am happy to know that girls and boys growing up in my hometown will have an even better opportunity and place to play than I ever did.”
“More importantly, I want this field to be a message that lives on forever that you can be from Oshkosh, Wisconsin or any other place in the world and go somewhere: ‘Follow your dreams and know you are capable of making a difference!'”
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Original article published July 10, 2018
All-American Sydney Supple’s Blog: More Than Halfway to Building Her “Field of Dreams”
(article originally published July 10, 2018 on Extra Inning Softball)
It may not be Iowa and the legendary cornfield turned into the “Field of Dreams” as made famous in the Kevin Costner movie from 1989, but the adjacent Midwest state of Wisconsin, Sydney Supple–one of the top players in the country–is trying to have the same impact in building a playing field that will help inspire generations of softball players for years to come.
