Taking a swing with Lake Orion’s Brooke Schoenberg
LAKE ORION, Mich. — For 17-year-old Brooke Schoenberg, starring on the Lake Orion High School Girls’ Varsity Softball team has been a dream of hers since she was a kid.
“When I got moved up (to varsity) my freshman year, I felt like I accomplished something huge and was so proud of myself,” Schoenberg said, who has been on the team the last four years.
“I love that there is always room for improvement,” She added. “Softball has a lot of failure in it but when you work to be your best it’s an amazing feeling to see it pay off on the field.”
In addition to playing for the Dragons, she has also played travel ball with the Oakland Edge, Motor City Hit Dogs, Oakland Cobras, Finesse and Outrage. She plays volleyball and does powerlifting.
“I like to work out and do yoga,” she said. “I also love being with my family and friends and just living my life with them.”
Schoenberg noted that one of her biggest challenges has been her size, compared to her teammates.
“I have always been the small kid on the team, and it was always hard to show that I am capable of doing what everyone else can do,” she added. “I began to work out a lot to improve my muscle and strength and it paid off my junior year when I hit my first home run.”
However, winning on the softball field isn’t just about physical toughness, but athletes need to be mentally tough as well.
“My coach from my 12u team has always been my motivational speaker and something short and simple he told me was ‘stay in your head you’re dead,’” Schoenberg said. “That statement has so much truth behind it, because softball is a huge mental game, and you can let your mind beat you up when something goes wrong.”
Part of her pregame ritual includes listening to “Hypnotize” by Biggie Smalls.
“It gives me a lot of adrenaline and gets me pumped before a game,” she said. “Another thing I do is before an at bat in the on-deck circle is squat down and take a deep breath and clear my head space.”
One of the great lessons that being a member of the team has taught her is about leadership and discipline.
“I have always strived to be someone that people look up to,” Schoenberg said. “I love showing younger people where respect and leadership can take you.”
Other lessons are learned through mistakes, which Schoenberg has also dealt with.
“I didn’t respect recovery and rest and much as I should have, and it led to a very painful arm injury, she said. “I always thought that I did enough for myself, but I never realized how much better care I needed to take of myself.”
Speaking of life lessons, Schoenberg recalls a life lesson quote from Buddha that her brother shared with her.
“’The biggest mistake is, you think you have time. Time is free but it’s priceless,’” she said. “That is something that has stuck with me and has always drove me to be the best person I can be and to live everyday like it’s my last.”
“I’d just like to say thank you to my Coaches for being the people I strive to be like every day and a huge thank you to Coach Joe Woityra for making my high school career something that I will never forget and would never want to change,” Schoenberg added. “Lake Orion Softball is my family and I have built relationships with these girls like no other.”
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