THE DRILL: Veteran Maddie Petersen helps lead young Trojan softball team
Apr. 30—WORTHINGTON — Any time a sports team features a younger roster, it's important for the team to also feature some veterans to help lead those younger players along.
That is the case for the Worthington High School softball team this season, as it has a number of girls playing their first seasons at the varsity level.
The younger girls on the team have seemed to transition well to the increased level of play. They have also gelled well with the rest of the team, thanks in large part to the leadership of the team captains.
One of those leading captains is Maddie Petersen, the team's talented and experienced catcher. Now into her second year as a team captain, the senior at WHS said her leadership role is that of a veteran who wants the younger girls to look up to her. She has only gotten better in that role in the past year.
"I think I've grown as a leader," Petersen said. "I was also a captain last year and I think this year, they take it more serious."
Petersen is a multisport athlete with plenty of leadership experience as she was also a team captain for the Trojan volleyball and hockey teams. She played with a lot of the same girls during hockey season this past winter, so she's been able to build relationships with them heading into softball season.
"Being a leader with all the younger girls, it's definitely different than volleyball, but they were all on the hockey team with us and it's kind of fun to have them around," she said. "You know, they're super young, but they act just like us."
Through nine games this season, the Trojans hold a 3-6 record a they already have more wins than they did all of last season.
"I think the season's gone like decent so far," she said. "You know, the losses suck, but we're improving each loss better and better."
Petersen's sports journey began at a very young age and she grew up watching her sister, Olivia, play softball. Olivia, a 2016 WHS graduate, was a former all-conference softball player.
Petersen is very familiar with playing at the catcher position as she initially started out wanting to catch and has stuck with it ever since. She said she's grown a lot at the position adjusting to the different pitchers throughout her years on varsity.
Once her final high school sports season comes to an end this spring, Petersen will continue her athletic journey in Worthington after she graduates as she signed on to Minnesota West Community and Technical College to play volleyball and softball.
"I've always thought that I wanted to play sports after high school, it was more like, 'Am I good enough to play sports after high school?' she said.
The full video can be found on dglobe.com, but here is a sample of our interview.
QUESTION: As a multisport athlete, what is the transition between each sport like?
ANSWER: "The difference between, like, from volleyball to hockey to now to softball, I don't feel like there's a super big difference just because I'm playing with the same girls all year long. But there's definitely a difference in like, how the coaches are and how practices are run."
QUESTION: What is a favorite softball memory that sticks out to you?
ANSWER: "I think my favorite softball memory throughout the years was during COVID. The starting varsity catcher had COVID, so I got the chance to start a varsity game and play a couple and that really stuck out to me."
QUESTION: What's the best piece of advice you've received in your athletic career?
ANSWER: "The best piece of advice I've probably received was to not let one mistake turn into many."
