Natalie Shellhorn  sits on the bleachers and watches the softball team practice. All the softball girls stare at her and her family, wondering what she is doing there. She nervously watches the practice hoping she gets cleared soon so she can play.

“My first impression was ‘Oh my gosh, I’m not gonna make this team,”’ Shellhorn says.

Shellhorn ended up making varsity and batting second in the lineup for most games.

“It’s surprising how I rose so fast,” Shellhorn  said, “I was expecting to play junior varsity for the first couple of weeks.”

She transferred to Regis at the beginning of the year, so schedule was really hectic. She transferred and right away had to adjust to having practice or games every day along with school work. She said how the workload is much different from middle school, so the adjustment was pretty hard to do.

She also had to adjust from playing club softball to the high school softball world.

“Club softball is competitive, but not in the same way. For high school we’re all competing for a starting spot and trying to work for state. But for club softball if you do bad in a tournament it’s done that weekend,” Shellhorn said.

Another thing that was different between club and high school softball for Shellhorn was the coaches. In club softball her dad was a coach, so it was different playing for someone who isn’t biased. She says that there are pros and cons for both coaches, but she definitely misses her dad.

She said, “You have to work a lot harder to keep your spot, because at any moment it could change.”

It was pretty nerve-wracking for Shellhorn to bat second in the lineup as a freshman. Her batting average from a couple weeks ago was over .300, so she didn’t let her nerves get to her. That’s partly from her routine before every game.

Everyday before games when putting on her uniform Shellhorn listens to music to hype her up and get her ready for the game. She likes to listen to upbeat songs that she can sing along to.

She also has a routine for right before she gets up to bat. Shellhorn draws a line in the dirt right when she gets in the batters box to focus her mind. Shellhorn learned this in a mental camp she did last year and it has helped calm her nerves, especially playing at such a high level.

Overall, Shellhorn enjoyed her freshman year softball season more than she thought she would. Her best memory was during the castle view game when she was playing second base. Shellhorn dove for the ball and it magically went in her glove. That was the first time Shellhorn has successfully dove for a ball. Natalie has experienced a lot of firsts this season and is excited to continue to grow next year.