BROSELEY — Being part of a team requires commitment. There is a daily practice schedule, equipment maintenance, individual drills to improve certain areas, traveling to other locations for games as well as playing on the home field.
It’s a commitment that requires a lot of time and energy, but for the Twin Rivers Lady Royals Softball Team, it hasn’t distracted them from their academics.
The Lady Royals have the highest team GPA in their school classification in the state, according to information released by the Missouri High School Fastpitch Coaches Association. The team’s GPA is 3.94.
Twin Rivers High School Principal Mike Berry expressed pride over the recognition.
“These ladies stay very busy with softball, but they’re also busy in numerous other activities and organizations such as Beta,” Berry noted. “But they still make time for their academic performance to be at such a high level.”
The classification for the different schools receiving the acknowledgments from the MOHSFCA are determined by the number of enrolled students at each school. Being the size district that it is, Twin Rivers is classified in Class 2.
It should be noted, however, that directly compared to all schools listed in all the different classifications, the Lady Royals have the highest GPA of any team from any school, from any classification.
“All of these girls are just really motivated,” Lady Royals Softball Coach Casey Parsons explained. “Most of them are motivated to attend college after high school.
“If any of them ever have a conflict between the softball schedule and their schoolwork, they’re quick to come to me and let me know. They set a good example for the other students.”
Parsons said she felt delight when she saw her team was rated as the number one team academically. She noted the softball season has two different seasons, from August to October and from the end of February through May.
“They basically just get a winter break,” Parsons noted. “And all of these girls are involved in Beta Club and most of them compete in other sports as well. And we don’t have any kind of team study hall or anything like that.”
“I’m extremely proud of them, because they’re well-rounded kids,” Berry explained. “I happy and I’m proud that they were able to receive this recognition.”
The individual high-performing players are: Katie Acre, Reese Crismon, Addysen Elsworth, Kelis Miller, Anne Mittelstadt, Alexis Parson, Gracie Suiter, Layla Tompkins, Emma Vancil and Addysen Whitlow.