On February 4th, Sydney Mott signed her National Letter of Intent to continue her journey playing softball at Shepherd University (SU) in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. She will enter as a member of the class of 2030 in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II Softball,
Mott has been a part of Linganore High School (LHS) varsity softball program for four years. However, this year marks eleven years of playing softball, since she started the sport at the age of seven.
Since freshman year, Mott has been visiting Shepherd University and loved the community.
“I loved the small town feel there,” Mott said. “It was a really warm feeling and it really felt like home.”
It was at this moment Mott decided that the next four years of her life were going to be spent at SU. Both the people and the experience of being there since freshman year drove her passion to get into SU.
Mott will major in Health Promotion and Exercise Science once she gets to college. Afterwards, she plans to get her doctorate in physical therapy, which is her dream career.
Mott’s mother, Jamie Mott, was there for her daughter each step of the way, encouraging her and making sure her daughter knew she was more than just a softball player.
She would tell her daughter, “You play softball but you’re not just a softball player, ” Jamie Mott said “After bad games, they are already feeling down. They don’t want to hear it [lectures about what they could have done better] from you either. Just let the coaches do the coaching.”
Throughout each year, she made sure that Sydney Mott knew that she was more than just her sport and her health and thoughts mattered, too.
For Sydney Mott, her love of softball extended beyond the game. She credited the community as a major part of becoming who she is now.
When asked about her favorite part about the sport, she talked about the connections she made and about the community. “Just putting yourself out there for not just team chemistry.” Mott said. “Softball was more than just the sport but the connections you make in and outside of the game.”
While the connections she has made through softball have come easy, Mott discovered sports and academics were hard to balance and some sacrifices had to be made.
“Getting things done and time management are definitely important, [to balancing sports and academics]” Mott said. “Although, it sacrifices social life.”
Mott is prepared to spend the next 4 years of her life playing for SU and making herself a part of the new community.
To watch some of Mott’s best highlights, click here.
