Oak Forest junior pitcher Emily Norton has accomplished a lot in her young career.
She is already a state champion after leading her team to the Class 3A softball title last season. She was a two-time all-conference player, a Tribune all-state special mention and the 2009 Gatorade Illinois Player of the Year. For her playing accomplishments, she has received plenty of press.
One of her most cherished softball memories doesn’t involve a game-time achievement. It is about giving back to kids her age who don’t have the opportunities she has had to develop their skills, such as playing on a travel team, which can take a lot of money and parental support.
For the second year in a row, Oak Forest invited Juarez, of the Chicago Public League, to its campus for a softball clinic. The Bengals took a rare Saturday off and made some new friends while sharing their softball knowledge with kids their own age who are just starting to play.
“It has helped me because sometimes you forget about the basics and that’s what they need most,” Norton said. “It’s made me a lot better. My fastball has been coming on more, and it’s because I’m going back to the basics and got reminded of that while trying to teach it.”
“At the clinic, Emily and our other pitcher (Colleen Sherwood) took Juarez’s pitcher out to the bullpen and worked with her for about 45 minutes,” Oak Forest coach Paige Stryczek said. “Emily was really excited at the end of the clinic because she said she was able to teach the girl how to locate an inside and outside fastball and she also helped her learn how to throw a changeup.”
Through Thursday, Norton has helped her team continue its dominance. She is 18-3 and has the No. 7 Bengals 12-0 in the South Suburban Blue and 20-3 overall. Playing with a bull’s-eye on its back hasn’t fazed the defending state champion.
“We are just looking at this like a new year,” Norton said. “I think other teams take us more seriously because they know what we are capable of. I know they want to get us.”
The Bengals might be circled on a lot of team’s schedules for obvious reasons, but Juarez got to see another side of the team everybody wants to beat.
Emily Norton file
High school:
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Oak Forest.
Class:
Junior.
Position:
Pitcher.
College:
Radford University in Virginia.