My name is Shannon Spellacy, and I am currently a junior at Walsh University. One of the reasons I chose to attend this school was for the education, but another factor was that I was going to be able to play softball for the Cavaliers. As a freshman I was competing with another player for the starting postion at second base. During our fall season, I fell short of achieving that goal when I was struck by a pitch on my knuckle. After about a week of recovering I was more determined than ever to earn the starting spot. It was not until returning from our annual spring break trip that I had earned the position I was going for. However, that too was cut short when during the 3rd game of the season I suffered from a broken collar bone taking me out for the entire season.
Sophmore year I returned in full health and again had to compete for the starting spot on the field. Things were going very well and it was not long before I was where I worked to be. Again, there ws another downfall. During a practice, before the season had even started, there was an incident where a teammate had stepped on my foot with her metal cleat. Initially I did not think much of it until my foot began to irritate me more and more as the season progressed. I did complete that season, and our team did make it to the national tournament, but the irritation in my foot increased to the point where I couldn't deal with it. All in all it resulted in me having to have surgery to repair a nerve that had been damaged.
Now, half way through my 3rd year at Walsh, I have decided to take a break from softball for this season. I am giving my body a chance to heal and am spending my time working and focusing on school. I hope that in the end I don't regret my decision!
