SOFTBALL NOTEBOOK: PLAYERS PRESSURED TO MAKE EARLY COMMITMENTS.Byline: Ramona Shelburne Ramona Shelburne is an American sports journalist currently writing for the Los Angeles Daily News. Shelburne was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. She attended El Camino Real High School in Woodland Hills, California where she was a class valedictorian. Staff Writer Megan Miller isn't yet a senior at El Camino Real El Camino Real (Spanish for The Royal Road or The King's Highway) was the name of a series of pre-automobile highways linking the various New World colonies of Spain:
Without taking an official recruiting trip, Miller, who pitched the Conquistadores to the City Section softball softball, variant of baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Invented (1888) in Chicago as an indoor game, it was at various times called indoor baseball, mush ball, playground ball, kitten ball, and, because it was also played by women, ladies' championship last spring, said she'd like to make a verbal commitment by August. Why the rush? ``A lot of 2006 (seniors) are verballing early,'' Miller said. ``I think sometimes people are worried other people will take their scholarship by committing earlier than they do. It feels like I'm late and I'm behind everyone, but I'm not even a senior yet.'' Miller said she's narrowed her list to five schools: Georgia, Penn State, Texas, Ohio State and DePaul. She plans to take an unofficial un·of·fi·cial adj. Of or being a drug that is not listed in the United States Pharmacopeia or the National Formulary. trip to at least four of the schools before making a commitment. Of course, she must pay for unofficial visits. An official recruiting trip, usually taken in the fall, is funded by the school. Calabasas High catcher Samantha Marder, Miller's teammate on the 18-under Valley Breeze Gold, also is feeling the pressure to commit early. Marder and Miller are planning to take an unofficial trip to Georgia and Ohio State together in the next few weeks. Marder already has taken an unofficial trip to Kansas. ``I'm not too worried, because the schools I'm talking I'm Talking was a 1980s Australian funk-pop rock band, noted for launching vocalist Kate Ceberano. History After the break-up of the Melbourne-based experimental funk band Essendon Airport in 1983, members Robert Goodge (guitar), Ian Cox (saxophone) and Barbara Hogarth to have said that I'm their No. 1 pick,'' said Marder, who is being recruited by Georgia, Ohio State, Kansas and North Carolina North Carolina, state in the SE United States. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean (E), South Carolina and Georgia (S), Tennessee (W), and Virginia (N). Facts and Figures Area, 52,586 sq mi (136,198 sq km). Pop. . ``But it's definitely in the back of your mind that you don't want to wait too long.'' El Camino Real's Bianca Mejia was the first area softball player in the Class of 2006 to commit. Mejia, regarded as one of the top shortstops in her class, verbally committed to UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX last spring. The Bruins also received an early commitment from Whitney Baker, a pitcher from Skyview High in Vancouver, Wash. Ramona Shelburne, (818) 713-3617 ramona.shelburne(at)dailynews.com |
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