How great is it when a young softball player, with a strong passion for the game, works hard for countless hours perfecting her craft and is rewarded with the opportunity to play the sport she loves at the college level?

Telling the athlete’s story of how she was honored with an athletic scholarship is one of the best parts of my job and in this great first-person account, you’ll learn how a Virginia sophomore, Riley McCarthy, followed the blueprint of success:

• Riley did her homework and studied the catching position
• put in the hours of work, practice and game competition
• worked hard on her own to improve her skills
• put herself in exposure situations including camps, showcases and tournaments

And it all paid off as she’s committed to a program that fit a particular criteria she was looking for (think geography and weather)!

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I started playing travel softball after moving to Savannah, Ga. from Germany. My Dad was active duty Army when I was 11, almost 12 years old.

He and I initially worked on learning the catching position by using New England Catching Camp videos, Jen Schro videos, and various YouTube videos from the internet.

I was the only catcher on my teams in Georgia so I got lots of time behind the plate to learn the position, sometimes six to seven games a day (lots of one day tournaments!).

In 2012, my Dad was assigned to Quantico, Va. so we moved to Manassas in Virginia.  In 2013, I earned a spot on Coach Reese Kiple’s Wagner’s-3n2 18U Gold team, and that’s when my recruiting actually started.

I found I had a real possibility to actually play college softball and Wagner’s was going to get me in front of coaches to find out if this is possible.  Before it was just a thought, or a dream, but after I earned my spot on Wagner’s 3N2 I quickly learned that if I pushed hard I could do this.

All winter I worked very hard in my room with a resistance band/ball that my dad drilled to my bedroom wall, working on my overhand arm speed and did other exercises that strengthened my core and upper body.

In the spring I went to a Scout softball combine and when Coach Mark clocked my overhand speed and learned my hard work paid off big time: I had increased my overhand velocity eight mph, from 58 mph to 66 mph!

That spring as a freshman, I earned a spot on my high school’s varsity softball team—Brentsville District High School in Nokesville, Va. I caught every game and hit .500 on the season and we ended up taking third in state.

My pitcher and best friend Leah Shipp (who is committed to Michigan State University) and I were voted 1^st Team All State as a pitcher and catcher battery and we also earned 1st Team All Region and Conference honors.

I was truly blessed to play for great school ball coaches, represent a wonderful school, and play with great teammates, it was the first time in a long time our school did that well and we plan to win it all this year.

This fall, I had some interest from Division 1 schools going into Rising Stars, mainly from schools up North. My goal was to try to get an offer from a school in the Southeast—and to get as South as I could get!

I hate the cold and, in my opinion, softball should never be played in temperatures below 60 degrees!

Prior to going to Rising Stars, Coach Reese asked Coach (David) Deiros, the head coach at Florida Gulf Coast, to come watch me play and he was there at Rising Stars.

We played and beat Gold Coast Hurricanes-Cooper, lost a great game to Texas Firecrackers-May, and tied the Wichita Mustangs Gold in a great back and forth game.

I started as the catcher in all those games and caught the entire Mustang game and Coach Deiros watched me, from what I have been told. The Mustangs thankfully kept stealing and I kept throwing them out. I also had several hits in all three games including a stand-up double in the Mustang’s game that scored a run and tied the game.

After that Coach Deiros was interested but wanted to watch some more.

Thankfully, he and his assistants went to the Diamond 9 Sun Classic where I had a good showcase. I hit .500 with two over-the-fence home runs and caught well I thought.

Also, I think he and his coaches watched pretty much all our games there. After that showcase, I got offers from UNC-Charlotte and Mercer, and was waiting on a couple others when Coach Reese got the call from Coach Deiros wanting me to come see his campus.

It was a no-brainer—from the second the plane landed in Fort Myers, Florida Gulf Coast was absolutely everything I was looking for in a school and softball program, and when I got to meet the coaches and some of the freshman players, the ones that will be there when I go to school (some were also former Wags), it was a done deal for me.

When Coach Deiros made his offer I verbally committed on the spot even though my coaches and Dad asked me to call them first. Still, I thought, “When you find what you are looking for, what you dreamed about and pushed yourself so hard for, you don’t need to think about it!”

A special thanks to Coach Reese and all my coaches on Wagner’s 3N2 for helping me making this happen and believing in me, and Coach Deiros and his coaches for seeing my potential and giving me a chance!

—Riley McCarthy