By Chris Cox
Tecumseh softball senior Serenity Jacoway has been around softball the majority of her life. Her sister Destanie, who is nine years older, played softball meaning Serenity was around the game from a very young age.
“My older sister played softball and I was always at the ballpark growing up,” she says. “When I was about three or four, I started wee ball. Mainly because I thought she was cool.”
While she might have started playing to be like her sister, Serenity has clearly carved out her own path on the diamond starring for Tecumseh and helping lead them to back-to-back 4A state championship games. As good of an achievement as that is, Jacoway is looking to lead her team to the promise and win that elusive state title.
“That’s been our main goal for four years now and it’s probably mentioned at least once a day,” she says. “This year, we really have full trust in one another and believe in the work that we’ve put in throughout the year. We also have to make sure our offense and our defense is firing at the right time. But most of all, we have to just have fun let loose this year.”
Jacoway knows for Tecumseh to win state she won’t have to just be great on the diamond, but she will have to work hard, and push her teammates to hard, every day in practice. “I try to work as hard as I can to be a good example,” she says. “If anyone is lacking, for any reason, I just try to pick them up, give them words of encouragement, and let them have fun.”
That leadership she tries to show is something she said she and her coach, Chad Trahan, talked about prior to the season. “We had a really long talk one time when I was hitting with him,” she says. “He told me that I had to realize the younger classes, the freshmen and the sophomores, really looked up to me because of the positions I play and where I’m going to college. He told me that I am on more of a higher podium and that means I have to make sure my attitude is in check, my effort is in check, and that we let them know it’s ok to fail and mess up as long as we try to get better on the next pitch.”
Jacoway has committed to play softball at University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). Being 11 hours from home wasn’t what she, or her parents, expected but she said she felt at home once she stepped on campus.
“I went to visit in October of last year, right before we played in Regionals,” she says. “I had talked to other coaches, but it felt like the staff at El Paso really wanted me. They wanted everything about the way I play, and their philosophy is how I grew up playing. After state, I told my parents that El Paso was the place for me to go. It’s the place I think I can have the best college experience as a softball player and really enjoy it.”
While Serenity is excited for the future holds, she says she is really focused on her senior year and enjoying this final run with her teammates.
“I just want to make sure everyone enjoys it this year, that we push ourselves to the fullest, and win at the same time.”