By Dean Costalas
Sports Editor

Success in Spring Ford is something no team is really apart from. This year’s softball team is no exception, granting themselves a state playoff berth after an excellent performance in both the regular season as well as district playoffs. A major contributor to that stellar performance was the combination of leadership and outstanding play that was seen in senior Julia Heine. Both at bat and in the dugout, Heine shines like a star and goes above and beyond to send her team to new heights.

Q: What was the difference between the team this year and in years past, if any?

A: I really like the team chemistry this year. I think the girls really came together, especially down the stretch, and that has really helped us.

Q: This year’s group has an absurd amount of talent, with Bri Peck really serving as an exclamation point. How did the team strike a balance between dealing with that much natural ability and having to maintain a good work ethic?

A: I think that anyone who has gotten to our level of play has had to put the work in in order to achieve it. Each and every girl on the team has put in the time and effort that we needed, and nobody really took how good they are for granted. Yeah, a lot of us are going on to play in college, but that doesn’t really matter out here on this field, right now, and I think our team does a really good job of balancing that out.

Q: Speaking of the future, you’re attending Jefferson University next year and continuing your career there as well. How do you feel Spring-Ford has prepared you for this next chapter?

A: Well, very well. Mr Hughes has been a great coach, always pushing us to get to that next level. Our past seniors I think have also helped guide me, especially when I was younger, giving pointers and helping fine tune stuff I really didn’t know or think about. That advice combined with the coaching has really helped me get to this point in my career that I’m happy to have achieved.