by Julia Cuttone
Jenna Laird, East Meadow High School senior shortstop, was named in Newsday’s top 100 players of the decade. She led with a batting average of .667 with 59 hits as a sophomore in high school for the Jets in 2018. That same year she was also named Nassau County Player of the Year and playoff most valuable player, which Laird considers her biggest accomplishment. “To be named both of those things in Nassau County especially where softball is such highly populated sport really means a lot and it is a very big accomplishment”. Throughout Laird’s high school career, her and her team also received a state championship title in 2017 and were two-time state semi-finalists for two consecutive years in both 2018 and 2019.
Laird committed to Mizzou in 2018 on scholarship, “I had the dream of playing for a big-time division one school ever since I was a little girl. Growing up watching my two older sisters play softball made me really fall in love with the game and have a desire to play it for a long time at a big level”. Laird continues to practice four to five times a week for about three hours which consists of hitting for about an hour and then fielding for two hours.
Laird would love to play professionally one day but said she must take it one day at a time. “I can’t play professionally unless I work hard every single day for that goal and just go with the flow with everything that happens along the way.” Throughout her softball career she has learned the importance of consistent practicing, “I’ve always been told the minute I take a break there is someone out there who wants my spot, working to beat me.” She said, “My advice to other players is to just keep going on day at a time and never give up. Always keep your head up because you ever know who is watching. Set a goal and go achieve it.”
