the making of three

BY HEATHER LAMBIE Canterbury’s Varsity Softball team has been on a notable rise since Canterbury’s Director of Technology Jody Moore came on as Head Coach in 2006. She and her assistant coaches have turned the program into a powerhouse, churning out six student athletes in the last eight years who have gone on to play collegiate softball. Moore--who played ball herself at Rollins College and later on a semi-pro team that played against the U.S. Olympic team and the Puerto Rican National Team--has led her girls to three state championships in 2011, 2013 and 2014. Softball is the only team sport in Canterbury history to win a state title, let alone three. Moore is so passionate about the game that in the off-season she coaches her 2nd and 3rd grade daughters’ little league softball teams and offers softball summer camps to students in grades 2-8 hoping

ON STARTING YOUNG LORI ROMANELLO, DANIELLE’S MOTHER:

When both of our children were little we exposed them to many sports including swimming, gymnastics, karate and baseball. Danielle started in baseball at age 4 and didn’t switch to softball until she was 8. She continued with karate too and is a first degree black belt. She only left karate when she no longer had time to devote to it because of her rigorous softball schedule.

JEANNINE CHERRY, TAYLOR BUMP’S MOTHER: Taylor started playing t-ball

when she was 4 years old. She had a natural talent and love for the sport. She has played other sports, but softball is her passion

RICH WOODALL, KAMA’S FATHER: Orig-

inally Kama (pronounced KAY-ma) was in cheerleading at age seven, and it was just by chance that the cheerleading instructor quit. We were looking for something for [the kids] to do to keep

14 | FALL 2014

Kama Woodall, Class of 2017, pitcher Committed to play at North Carolina State University to instill a love of the sport in them at a young age, “so they will continue to play as they grow older with an emphasis on fundamentals, sportsmanship and leadership,” she says. This year, Canterbury’s softball team boasts not one, not two, but three sophomores--Taylor Bump, Kama Woodall and Danielle Romanello--who have already committed to play collegiate softball at NCAA Division 1 schools. One wonders if this anomaly of three such successful young student athletes is one that resulted from a lifetime of playing, dedicated parents and coaches, naturally-driven girls, physical athletic prowess or a rare combination of it all. Here, their parents and coaches weigh in with the details.

them busy and get exercise, so I said ‘Hey, let’s throw ‘em in softball.’ She started at age 8. At first she wanted to be a catcher until she saw someone pitch, and she looked at me and said, ‘I can do that.’ That opened my eyes. When I saw her pitch, it snowballed from there, we started putting the emphasis on it and she started getting better and better.

ON ATHLETICISM AND FOCUS

L. ROMANELLO: Danielle has always been athletic. She has always been big for her age and very strong.

J. CHERRY: [Taylor] has always been very

athletic, and a very focused, determined, and competitive child. Those attributes have helped her succeed as an athlete. And she knew at a young age that she wanted to play softball at a Division I level. She has dedicated herself completely and put in a lot of hard work. We just helped her along the way by providing all the resources necessary to help her reach her goal and we continue

to do that. We are so very proud of her and her efforts and always knew that she would and could accomplishment anything she set her mind to do. We admire her drive as well as the humbleness she carries along with her on this journey.

R. WOODALL: [Kama] certainly is driven

like no other that I know. She’s very determined to be better than the batter at the plate and any other pitcher she’s competing against whether it be on the other team or it’s someone she’s competing against for a starting role. She’s very driven. She’s also very cerebral. She puts a lot of thought into pitching and into every pitch. She’s very mature for her age to be able to adapt to every batter. She understands it’s a chess match when she’s on the mound. She has to try to fool them or be better than them at every at bat.

ON COLLEGIATE DREAMS

L. ROMANELLO: Danielle has wanted to

play softball for the University of Florida