D’Anna Devine will be boarding a plane on Thursday for the trip of her young lifetime.
The Pennsbury junior will be flying to Chula Vista, Calif., where she – along with 41 of the nation’s best young softball players - will attend the 2010 USA Softball Junior Women’s National Team selection camp at the Olympic Training Center.
“This means everything,” Devine said. “At first, honestly, I didn’t believe it. I thought it was too good to be true because I knew it was all California girls, West Coast girls, who would make the team because that’s usually how it is.
“I was very surprised, I was shocked, but I was so happy. I feel honored.”
Devine is one of just five players from the entire East Coast on a prestigious list that includes 22 California players. Seventeen athletes will be selected for the 2010 USA Softball Junior Women’s National Team that will compete later this year at the Pan American Softball championship (18-and-under) in Bogota, Colombia.
Whatever the outcome, simply being invited to try out for this elite squad is a tremendous honor only a handful of athletes ever receive.
“When my coach told me, I couldn’t stop smiling for a week straight,” Devine said. “I was so happy about it. This is the highest you can play as a high school player.”
Devine caught the eye of scouts at a tournament that her Newtown Rock Gold travel squad competed in last fall. She received word of her selection in May.
“I was actually sleeping when my coach (Rick Waye) called me,” she said. “He woke me up and said, ‘You’re going to be getting a surprise soon.’ At first, he didn’t tell me what it was.
“The next day I was hitting with him, and he told me the whole thing. After he told me, it was like, ‘Mom, check the mail. Did you check the mail? Check my e-mail.’ I just couldn’t wait to get it because when I got it, it was official.”
Way, the coach of Devine’s Newtown Rock Gold squad, has been working with Devine since she was in eighth grade.
“I think it’s pretty special,” Waye said of her selection to try out. “It’s a very small group that is selected, and ‘D’ is in that small group.
“She has all the talent, and she has speed, and just her overall appearance sends the message that ‘I’m a good player.’ She’ll be going against the very best. It’s very prestigious, and just trying out is an honor.”
Pennsbury coach Frank McSherry echoed that sentiment.
“It’s a huge honor, there’s no doubt about it,” the Falcons’ coach said. “There are only two kids from our state selected.”
Devine’s selection is hardly surprising. The Falcon junior has always stood out in a crowd, and McSherry admits he had heard about her long before she set foot on the diamond at Pennsbury.
“The two Bristol teams she played on in seventh and eighth grades – they just pounded us,” he said. “Traditionally, we beat them, but they just pummeled all three of our middle school teams, and she was the best player on the team.”
Devine is a gold glove defensive player, and she played second base for the Falcons this spring.
“Second base is the most important position in our infield just because you’re involved in so much,” McSherry said. “Normally, you think shortstop is the key position, and it certainly is an important position, but second base – there are so many balls hit to second.
“Your second baseman has to be athletic enough to get to the bag to cover on bunts. There are various pickoff plays the second baseman is involved in, and she has done a great job. She’s got great range and a great arm. She’s just so solid.”
After playing outfield in her travel career, the Falcons’ junior will be playing some second base for her Newtown Rock squad as well this summer.
“What makes her so good besides her athletic ability is she’s a smart player,” Way said. “We had a workout the other day, and we moved her to a new position. She stays focused. Young players of today – if I move them around, it takes them a while, but she just picks it up.
“Her biggest asset besides her athleticism is she really understands the game. She could play second, short, or she could catch. She understands the game and takes advantage of her god-given abilities. She can do it all. She has a gift.”
When Devine steps to the plate, she keeps defenses guessing, thanks to her ability to both bunt and drive the ball.
“Offensively what she brings is the element of where do you play her defensively because she’s so quick,” McSherry said. “She can lay a bunt down if you’re playing back, and she’s so strong.
“It’s a scary thing to see kids playing her way up because of how strong she is and how hard she can hit the ball. She can do it all, and on top of that, she’s a humble kid.”
Devine has already made a verbal commitment to accept a softball scholarship from South Florida University. She chose the Big East school from an impressive list that also included Tennessee, LSU, Auburn and Alabama.
The decision was an easy one.
South Florida, it turns out, had been interested in Devine since she turned in a standout effort as a ninth grader at the Rising Stars Tournament in Plantation, Fla.
“Coach (Ken) Eriksen was there,” Devine recalled. “He wrote me a hand-written letter and gave it to my coach to give to me.”
In the end, it was Eriksen that gave South Florida the decided edge in the recruiting war for Devine’s talents.
“Ever since eighth grade, he’s been following me,” she said. “If we’re down in Florida, I’ll e-mail him and tell him to come to my games.
“It was an easy decision only because I love my coach. I wouldn’t want to play for anyone else. I know when I get there he’ll take care of me. I just feel good about my decision.”
So does coach Rick Waye.
“Kenny and I are dear friends,” he said. “The best part about Kenny is he takes care of his kids, and from the outset, that was the right school for ‘D.’ It’s a perfect fit for her.”
As gifted as she is on the diamond, Devine – according to McSherry – is also a pleasure to coach.
“She’s really such an enjoyable kid,” the Falcons’ coach said. “She’s never talked about a preference about where she’d like to play. She would play wherever we wanted her to play.
“She’s just been great. She’s really coachable. She has a great sense of humor. She keeps us laughing, but at the same time, she certainly knows when to be serious. She’s just a great kid.”
On Thursday, Devine will have the opportunity of a lifetime when she begins competing for one of 17 spots on the nation’s top junior squad.
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