Softball
Favorite athlete: Kobe Bryant
Favorite team: Phillies or Eagles
Favorite memory competing in sports: Throwing down to third in a close rival game that made the coach fall to her knees
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: Pants splitting in the middle of a game
Music on playlist: Throwbacks and Country
Future plans: Become a Special Education teacher.
Words to live by: “When you focus on the good, the good gets better.”
One goal before turning 30: I want to be happy, financially stable and travel the world
One thing people don’t know about me: I can’t stand when people chew or make weird noises. It makes me freak.
By Mary Jane Souder
Transitioning to a new coach is never easy.
Unless, that is, you happen to be Grace Stepp. The Council Rock South senior and her senior softball teammates are playing for their third coach in four years, and while that could have been the recipe for disaster, the transition has been something close to seamless.
Listening to Scott Molle tell it, Stepp has played a major role in making sure that happened.
“Coming in, we needed to build the culture I wanted to see with this team, and Grace was key with that,” the Golden Hawks’ first-year coach said. “The first time I met them – I could tell the girls gravitate towards her.
“It seemed to me as though if we were going to get them to buy in – she was going to be a big part of getting the rest of the girls to be on board also, knowing that we have something special here and we could do some damage. She was a key part in accepting that, and all the other girls saw that and are going with it. It’s just amazing how everyone is bought in, and she was key.”
Stepp has earned her status as a leader of the Golden Hawks. A four-year all-league honoree, she was the first team All-SOL Patriot Division catcher last year, and while Molle has not named captains, Stepp is an undisputed leader.
“If you had to pick one leader on your team, she’s it,” the Rock South coach said. “She’s amazing. Beyond the player, she’s a leader. She’s a senior, so she’s keeping the underclassmen under her wings. Overall, she takes the lead on things. If I need something done, she’s already on it. She’s an incredible person.”
Leadership qualities are a requirement for anyone aspiring to play behind the plate, and Stepp has them.
“Playing catcher really matches my personality,” she said. “I’m really loud on the field. That’s one thing I can be – I’m loud.
“I like to be able to control certain things and be able to see different areas, and (as the catcher), I see things in a different perspective.”
Stepp’s willingness to readily accept yet another change in coaches for her final high school season was significant.
“It was hard mentally for a little bit because it’s just a lot continuing to change coaches, but it wasn’t ever a bad thing for me,” Stepp said. “I never was really upset or angry about it.
“You have to make sure everybody is on board and everyone will agree and go along with everything, so I feel that was my main role.
“With my personality, I can get everybody’s energy up. It’s just been good. There have never been any problems. I’ve loved every single coach I’ve had.”
The fact that the players share a special camaraderie has undoubtedly eased the transition.
“Personally, I don’t think there was any big adjustment,” she said. “Over the years, we’ve bonded as a team and gotten closer so that no matter what coach came in – we know how to play our game and we know how to play with each other.”
Was it perhaps just a matter of staying positive?
“Not even just positive because we are all going to feel a certain way about things, and we’re going to have our moments,” Stepp said. “But it’s about trying to leave that in the past, stay positive and move on with things in the right direction.”
The softball journey
From the outset, softball was the sport of choice for Stepp.
“It was just softball,” she said. “I did gymnastics for a little bit, but it was just softball. I started when I think I was four. My mom coached me.”
There was a very short introduction to soccer around the same time she started softball.
“I think my mom signed me up and put me on the field, and I just stood in the middle of the field and didn’t do anything,” Stepp said with a laugh. “I don’t think I ran or went either way. I think I just stood there and cried. One practice and never again. I never saw the soccer field again.”
The softball diamond was a different story entirely.
“I loved sports, I loved softball,” Stepp said. “I started catching in 12U when our other catcher hurt her fingers.
“It was not something I ever did before. I was thrown into the position. I played first and third, and I still play first. I loved being able to control the field and see everything. I thought it was a challenge at first, but then I just went with it. It was a perfect fit. It was so much fun.”
Fun, it’s safe to say, is still not in short supply when Stepp is on the softball diamond. Have a conversation about softball with the senior catcher, and it’s impossible to miss her energy and contagious enthusiasm.
Stepp has gone through the softball ranks, initially playing intramural and in-house.
“Then my in-house all went to travel,” she said. “I started at Northampton, went to Langhorne and ended up at (Pennsbury) Gems. I know people from almost every school.”
She is still playing for the Gems 18U on the travel circuit, and she has been a fixture in Rock South’s starting lineup since she was a freshman, initially playing first base.
Stepp’s freshman year – the 2020-21 school year – was anything but routine in the post-COVID era.
“It was a hard adjustment coming in not know the upperclassmen, especially during a COVID year,” she said. “We weren’t in school, we couldn’t have breakouts, so we were kind of blindsided.”
One other freshman – Avery Tumolo - was also part of the varsity.
“It was a little bit intimidating, and there were only a couple upperclassmen that were supporting and welcoming to us, but we quickly became a part of the team and it’s been amazing since,” Stepp said.
Stepp possesses all the tools to play her position.
“As a catcher, she commands the game,” Molle said. “She’ll throw at a base no matter if the game is on the line or not. She’ll snap throw it. It’s hard to steal on her.
“Not many balls get by her. I’ve never seen an arm on a catcher like her either, but it’s the way she leads.
Looking ahead
Playing at the collegiate level was a natural progression for Stepp, who played up an age group on the travel circuit.
“When I was 16U, all the older kids started doing college things, so then I started looking into it,” she said. “We went to a (college) game, and I just knew I never wanted to stop playing.”
She looked at Widener, Haverford, Kutztown and Monmouth, but when the University of Massachusetts Lowell entered the picture, it was an easy choice for Stepp.
“One of my best friends is playing for them right now,” she said of UMass Lowell. “I went up to see the school, and I just loved it. I loved the coaches – they’re all so fun, they’re good people, and I liked the school as well.
“I really liked the campus, and then I went up for my (official) visit, and I loved the people.”
An excellent student, Stepp is a member of the English National Honor Society. She is involved in the school’s Buddy Club that works with special needs students and plans to major in psychology or special education.
“I really love working with special needs children,” she said. “This year I did unified gym, and I think I really want to be a special ed teacher and, if not, some psych major or go into psychology.”
For now, Stepp is focusing on her final softball season with a Golden Hawks squad that is off to a fast start.
“I’m trying to enjoy each game because who knows when it will end,” she said. “I’ve been waiting for this year. Last year, we were good, and we started it, but this year we are really going for it. We all get along, we all pick each other up, we’re all positive, we all work together and hold each other accountable. It’s exactly what a team is.”
Softball, according to Stepp, has added so much to her life.
“It’s brought so many friendships. I’ve met so many people,” she said. “It just creates a family and adds so much excitement to the spring season. It gives me excitement to go to school.”
Stepp’s upbeat approach to softball and life has helped make taking over the helm of a new program easier than Molle might have anticipated.
“I’m just blessed that I have her,” the Rock South coach said. “I talked to my seniors and said, ‘I’m sorry you’re going through your third coaching staff, but I’m telling you – ‘Buy into what we’re doing, and it’s going to be good.’
“Grace spearheaded that. It’s beyond words what they’ve been doing. She’s made an impact on me as a coach, and I’ve been doing this for 20-some years. Few players can do that. She’s amazing.
