Tech Speak Softball

TECHNICALLY SPEAKING: SOFTBALL

Featuring: Elie Chavez

Info

TIMING Chavez judges the distance to the base, the speed of the ball to execute the slide efficiently

POP UP SLIDE Chavez positions her back leg and uses her leading front foot to guide herself to the outside of the bag where she then pops up to avoid the tag

FOCUS Chavez focuses on maintaining control, aiming for the base with her lead foot, and timing her slide to evade the tag

Elie Chavez, an academic weapon on campus and a secret weapon on the softball field. Chavez has been on varsity softball for four years while also maintaining a 4.7 GPA. Softball is her all time favorite sport, but it does not stop there. She played varsity volleyball her junior and senior year and varsity soccer her senior year. She is the ASB president and has shown prowess throughout her time at PRHS. From a young age, Elie was drawn to the diamond. Softball became her sanctuary, her escape from the pressures of everyday life. "I've been playing softball for 11 years," Chavez said, a testament to her dedication to the sport.Outside of high school softball, Chavez fills her summer and fall playing travel ball and has competed in many states across the US. She has been on four different club teams over the past seven years. Despite the rigorous demands of her athletic pursuits, Chavez has never neglected her academics. Late nights were spent studying after practices, and even during summer breaks, she found herself in hotel rooms, diligently working on coursework while her teammates enjoyed nights out. But it wasn't just the thrill of competition that kept Chavez coming back to the field. It was the connections she made along the way – the coaches who believed in her, the teammates who became like family, and the opponents who pushed her to be her best.“I love how you can never be perfect. It's always like it's a game of failure and you work and you work and you work until you can be as perfect as you can because perfect practice, makes perfect, makes perfect practice,” Chavez said. As her high school years draw to a close, Chavez is facing a pivotal moment in her life. While she dreams of playing collegiate softball, she is also realistic about the possibility of pursuing other paths and one day being a softball coach. Chavez has her sights set on a four-year university, where she hopes to continue her athletic pursuit and major in mechanical engineering.Chavez is more than just a softball player, she is a testament to the power of dedication, hard work, and perseverance. Her journey as a tri-sport athlete had shaped her into the person she was today – resilient, ambitious, and ready to take on whatever the future held.

THE VARSITY SOFTBALL GUIDE