As senior varsity softball shortstop Dani Thomas concludes her final season at Campolindo, she looks forward to continuing her athletic career at Boston College.
Thomas signed to play with Boston College as a sophomore and she plans to honor that contract. “I was getting looks, I guess, being recruited, and I had my dream school, which was Oregon. Then, I had BC, which I really didn’t even think about, but then once I went over there, and did my research about it, I just felt like it was the right choice for me,” she said.
After growing up playing baseball, she was introduced to softball and began playing in 8th grade. She’s been playing the sport for about 5 years.
“I used to play baseball, and then one of my teammates had a sister who played softball. She just introduced me to the sport,” Thomas explained. She has been playing for the Cougars for the past 3 years, after skipping her freshman season.
Freshman varsity softball catcher Abby Morris praised Thomas as an effective leader and inspirational player. “She’s always really supportive. She’s a very good leader. She tells people as it is and if someone’s like messing up she’ll help fix it but in a nice way,” Morris said.
Thomas tries to be equitable in her treatment of teammates. “I try to be a better leader by just treating the team at the same level, as I am not like there’s a senior, junior, freshman, sophomore kind of thing, so it’s just more of a family than separate level,” she said.
She has won several awards in her softball career. “Last two years I won the defensive MVP [Most Valuable Player] awards and then for this team all-league last year,” she said.
Morris believes Thomas’ biggest contribution to the team is her determined attitude and fun-loving personality. “She always is really supportive and she keeps a really focused energy, so you’re focusing on softball, but you still can have fun at the same time. She’s honestly one of my best friends and one of the most amazing people I’ve ever met,” Morris said.
Thomas views her position as vital to the way the team functions on defense. “I would say as shortstop you’re the leader of the field, so you have to talk, even if you did horribly at bat, but you still need to pump up rest of the team. That’s probably one of the biggest challenges,” she explained.
“I’ve never really played with anybody at her level, so I don’t really see any challenges for her, and she always manages to get the throws on time which is important,” Morris said.
Thomas explained that the friendly environment of the team this year helped make the season memorable for her, even if the squad’s record could have been better. “There weren’t many challenges this season. We all got along. We didn’t win that much, but it was still a better environment, so it was good,” Thomas said.
“The coaching was really good this season. They were like that cool uncle, who you’d like go to, and they’re fun to be around, and teach you a lot of stuff,” Thomas said of the Cougars’ first-year coaching staff.
Morris is disappointed to see Thomas graduate, but knows BC will bring her many valuable opportunities. She said,”I’m sad Boston College is so far away, but I know that it’s a really good choice, and she’ll love it there. Go eagles!”
