Juggling high school sports and your classes can be hard. But some students take it even a step further playing on both the JV and varsity teams. Sophomore Carmen Santoro has taken this step for the girls North Harford softball team.  

     “I have played softball since I was 5 years old. My older sister played it, so I started it because she liked it. I played for Forest Hill Recreation at first and eventually moved to Heat, a travel team. I am a pitcher meaning I am the person who throws the balls at the other team’s batter. I’ve learned over the years different techniques to doing this and how to read the batter and throw to try and strike them out. I mostly started because of my sister. I would watch her pitch when I was younger and that’s the position I always thought was able to control the game in a way and I enjoy that kind of pressure while playing.” 

     Santoro states, “I like that I can experience different levels of softball and play with different types of people. It allows me to grow as a player and a teammate.” Being on both teams must come with a balance of school and sports. “It’s not hard balancing both teams because I am primarily on JV, so I don’t always have to worry about doing double all the time. Although I would say playing for varsity is much more challenging due to the lower chances of playing time during games. It’s hard to get to know the other players and their playing styles when I don’t get much time to experience games with them. I do like having the opportunity to watch how they play and what they do that may be different from what I do to try and improve my own skills and playing style.”

     “I was very excited to get the opportunity to play with both teams, I get more challenged on varsity, while still getting the chance to strive on JV. I think it is a good experience for me in the future because it will allow me to experience playing with new people and give me more experience, since I play more games than I initially would.”

“I like that I can experience different levels of softball and play with many different people all at different levels that I would not have gotten the chance to play with on my travel team.” 

     The girls’ varsity softball team is currently standing at a record of 8-3 and JV stands with a record of, 7-3. Santoro is currently standing at 57 strikeouts and 6 walks in her high school career.