| Otsego's Ireland doesn't want any special treatment |
 |
 |
 |
| Written by KEVIN GORDON Sentinel Assistant Sports Editor | ||
| Saturday, 05 May 2012 01:43 | ||
The 15-year-old is active in athletics and music at Otsego. She’s the starting first baseman on the varsity softball team, plays wing on the junior varsity basketball team and plays the trumpet in the band. Ireland also has a 3.2 grade-point average, and enjoys spending time with family and friends during her spare time. And by the way, she was born without her left hand. The 5-foot-6 Ireland is hitting .320 and has provided the Knights, 13-6 overall, with solid defense. “I just want people to see me as a normal person,” she said. “I don’t want people treating me any differently. I don’t like special treatment.” Defensively, Ireland catches with the glove on her right hand and then transfers the glove and ball into her left hand, so she can throw the ball. “Her defense is as good any first baseman in the (Northern Buckeye Conference),” Otsego softball coach Dan Sheperd said. “She has a hard-nosed attitude that the ball getting by her is totally unacceptable. She hits right-handed, and uses her left hand to balance the bat in the right hand. But then she swings the bat with her right hand only. “I’ve learned to do the transferring of the ball and glove, but the hitting has been the hardest part,” Ireland said. She’s steadily improved her bat speed with added physical strength each season. She’s also learning to adjust to the consistently good pitching at the high school level. She plays travel softball in the summer. She played in a U14 World Series with the Lady Irish before switching to the Wizards. “Hitting’s been a big adjustment and it’s something I just have to keep working at,” said Ireland, who hits seventh for Otsego. She’s doubled and tripled off the outfield fence a number of times this season. Each time Ireland plays for a new coach, she meets with the coach before the season starts to ask that she receive no special treatment. “She said the only time she’d get mad at me is if I treated her any differently,” Sheperd said. “I said, ‘fair enough’ and that’s the last I’ve made any comment about it.” Ireland eventually earned the starting spot at first. “I really don’t like to put freshmen on the varsity because you want them to grow by playing on the junior varsity first,” Sheperd said. “A freshman playing first base, I didn’t see that happening. But in a very short period of time, it became very clear to me and the rest of the coaching staff, if we don’t put her at first base, we’re too stupid to be coaches. “She’s such a coachable kid and she works very hard at doing what you are teaching. Her work ethic and the fact she has contributed has endeared her to the older athletes. They like her a lot. She’s just a great kid.” Ireland has been “throwing the ball ever since she was able to walk,” her dad, Rick, said. She played softball growing up in Grand Rapids where her dad helped coach the team. She also participated in dance, cheerleading and gymnastics before softball became her favorite activity. “We made everything normal for her,” her mom, Kandi, said. “We made her find her own way through everything ... even opening pop bottles, opening potato chip bags ... she’s never once said, ‘I can’t do it.’ She’s learned to do everything for herself. She’s very confident in herself.” “She’s always been a natural athlete and she’s never wanted to have any prosthetics,” Rick Ireland said. “She works hard to get better in everything she does.” She played flag football until the sixth grade when she gave that up because of time conflicts with fall softball. “Not once have I ever thought, ‘Why me?’” she said. “You have to live with what you have and make the best of it. I’m used to the way I do things, so it’s normal to me but maybe isn’t to others.” And she’s appreciated the support of her teammates, coaches and family. “The girls on the team have been so nice to play with, and the coaches have been great and they were the ones who gave me a chance,” she said. “My parents have helped me a lot.” she added. “Dad would go out and help me learn to transition the glove and how to hit. My mom has been there for a lot of support. Even on the days I couldn’t hit a beach ball to save my life, she’s still supportive, telling me I can do it. They’ve been outside with me all the time, practicing and giving me the confidence to be successful.” She’s a modern-day Jim Abbott, who pitched in Major League Baseball from 1989-1999 after being born without a right hand. “I didn’t know about him until two years ago, but it’s really cool having someone like him to look up to,” she said. |
||
| Last Updated on Saturday, 05 May 2012 07:22 |
Front Page Stories
| BG schools to discuss redistricting 05/21/2013 | MARIE THOMAS BAIRD Sentinel Education Editor  Bowling Green School District plans to change the boundaries for its elementary school [ ... ] |
Perrysburg school forecast predicts budget surplus 05/21/2013 | PETER KUEBECK Sentinel Staff Writer  PERRYSBURG - The school district is expected to run a budget surplus for the next four [ ... ] | Other Front Page Articles | ||
Comments
RSS feed for comments to this post.