When building programs college coaches bring in the best players they can find from high schools all over. Whether it be Internationally, out of state, in state and sometimes it just happens to be from the same Conference. Some players meet their new teammates for the first time at summer work outs or the first days on campus and sometimes these players play against each other on club teams. It is not uncommon for athletes to play against or know each other in high school, then become teammates in college. The question is-- what happens when those new teammates who were once rivals in high school are now teammates in college?
What is a teammate? A great teammate strives to improve. A great teammate is optimistic. A great teammate has respect for others. A great teammate is a leader. A great teammate is resilient.
What is a rival? The word rival most commonly refers to a person, or team that tries to defeat or be more successful than another person or team, which means that rivals tend to come in pairs. Players, teams or schools, might be longtime rivals if they try over many years to outdo each other.
In the next chapter of this series we will interview players who talk about going from being rivals in high school to college teammates. We have the story of three current Mustang players that played in a very competitive Mountain Valley Conference (MVC) division where they faced each other in the regular season and then had to battle it out in the playoffs before they became teammates.
Abby Ferland's Story: Monmouth Academy
Playing against Winthrop and Oak Hill was always a task I was willing to take. Coming from Monmouth, these two teams were some of our biggest rivals because they were our bordering schools. Each team was battling for the bragging rights of being the better team. Each team was battling for material for fan sections to use to chirp each other when we faced off in every sport. There was always a sense of competition and rivalry as soon as we stepped onto each other's fields--no backing down.
My freshman year I was on varsity. It seemed daunting at times to be playing against girls that seemed so much older. It was this season where I was extremely nervous to play against Oak Hill. To bat against Makayla Nadeau, the woman who would be one of my assistant coaches 4 years later. I always had respect for her skill and the way she played the game.
Fast forward a year or two later. New Oak Hill pitchers had to emerge. Right away I noticed Molly Flaherty. A first baseman and pitcher who had a presence. She was able to control the game and make outs when necessary. In those days I despised her for getting the outs they needed, but when I found out I would be playing with her at CM, I was thrilled.
Then there was Winthrop… The team we constantly had back and forth battles with in both the regular and post season. Whenever we played each other there was always an intense, heavily competitive atmosphere. Almost one I could not explain. Maria Dostie was someone I knew as an underdog. This player always somehow snagged my hard-hit balls to left field and made the plays whenever they needed it most. Although frustrating for me at the time, I respected her drive and the way she made the plays. I was lucky enough to play with her (and a few other of my soon to be teammates) the summer I graduated. This was a good way to get to know each other better, and see each other in a different, noncompetitive light.
Now that I've played with these girls at CM I turned my high school "enemies" into some of my closest friends!
Molly Flaherty Oak Hill High School
Going to Oak Hill High School and playing my four years of high school softball two of our rivals were Monmouth Academy and Winthrop High School. See in the MVC we were a class B school that played mostly Class C teams. That meant to get the points we needed to seed high in playoffs we had to beat the top teams and two of the toughest teams were Monmouth and Winthrop. I always had a respect for both teams because it was always a close game and very competitive even though we played each of them once a year. When I was in the process of being recruited, I had no idea who my future teammates would be. As each recruit's article came out, I was thrilled to see that I would be playing with both Abby Ferland (Monmouth Academy) and Maria Dostie (Winthrop High School).
When we would play Winthrop, it was always a super close game so when I learned that Maria was also being recruited for the CM softball team I was so excited that we would have another strong player. She was one of the top outfielders in the conference and knew that only would make my future college team stronger. I did not personally get to meet Maria until the summer before we went to college, but we did play on opposing travel softball teams. I met a lot of my new teammates that summer, but Marias outfield skills really stood out to me along with her super positive attitude. The way she pulls together our team or even her high school team during times in the game where we might not be doing well really helps everyone get back into the right mindset.
As far as Monmouth goes again those games were always tough and being a boarding town, our two schools became instant rivals. Our schools play against each other all the way down to the youth leagues. Due to this I have known Abby Ferland since about middle school. When I found out she was also was getting recruited for CM softball it was exciting news because I knew we would have a solid catcher. Being a pitcher, that is a very important position to me as a great catcher can make a pitcher that much better and knowing that position needed to be filled and she was the right one for the job. Over the years whenever we played Monmouth and I was pitching I would get nervous pitching to Abby because I knew she was also a solid hitter. This made it tough and I really had to think about each pitch to make sure they were perfect. But playing great players like Maria and Abby forced me to be not only a better pitcher but an all-around better player. Now being teammates, we continue to make each other better players. We push each other in the weight room as well as on the field. I think being those rivals in high schools we have that little bit of inside competitiveness of can I strike them out during inter squad scrimmages and can I hit further than them during hitting practice. But all in all, my former rivals are some of the best teammates I could ask for.
Maria Dostie Winthrop High School
I transferred to Winthrop High School my sophomore year and I quickly learned two of our biggest rivals were Monmouth Academy where Abby Ferland was from and Oak Hill where Molly Flaherty was from. We played them both in the regular season and they were always huge games as it seemed that the team that won in the regular season would end up getting that higher seed in the playoffs. Which was huge when it came to having a home playoff game or travel on the road.
I remember we would practice extra hard when it came to base running before playing Monmouth because Abby's cannon of an arm was very well known in the conference. We practiced diving a lot and running the bases. I think one of the biggest playoff games we had was against Monmouth as we hosted them at our home field my junior year. The game went right down to the last inning. Fortunate for us we jumped out to an early lead and held on for the victory as I caught the winning catch that sent us to the semifinals. But that is how it seemed all our games went. Back and forth, and it boiled down to who made the least number of mistakes. After graduating we were able to play together during a season of summer ball and it was a lot more fun playing with Abby then against her! When I found out she was going to CM I was excited because not only is she a great player but a great person. I hated playing against Her, but I love Playing with Her.'"
Oak Hill was always a tough team to play as well. See Oak Hill was a class B team and we were class C team and we only played them one time a year and we knew if we could find a way to beat them it would give us good points for playoffs. Even though they were the next class up from us every game was always very competitive. One of the games that sticks out in my heads was at Oak Hill with the game tied one of my teammates hit a home run in the last inning and we held on for the win. There were allot of good pitchers in our conference, but few teams had that pitcher you really had to watch out for. One of those teams just happened to be Oak Hill, which the pitcher was Molly Flaherty. I remember every player talking about Molly's spin she had on the ball when she pitched. She had a lot of control and that is what you had to watch out for. This made hitting her pitches very difficult. After hearing Molly had decided to attend CM as well, I knew we would have a solid team as not only having one of the top catchers in the league we now had one of the top pitchers as well.
Coach Bruce Robertson
"I think it's really helped these players playing against each other over the years and having that competitive nature and gave them an Edge and a certain amount of respect for each other. Knowing that they competed at such a high level against each other over the years while leaving it all on the field," Now they go to a new team and they are now playing together, they have got to go back to the bottom, they have to prove themselves to a new bunch of people. They may have been the best player on their teams, coming from somewhere else, but they now have got to earn the respect of the players, and people around you, at the same time. I don't think you can go somewhere and demand that it should be like you're used to, or like 'I'm number one so you should be giving me this and giving me that. You must Earn it Every day!'"
