See the Ball, Hit the Ball

It’s a bright, sunny day in the spring. The opposing team covers the outfield, with teammates and fans cheering on while their star player walks up to bat.

It takes a certain type of person to plant their feet in the batter’s box, and stare down the pitcher while you prepare to see the upcoming pitch.

Harley See is this type of person. 

See is a senior at Lakeland high school, who plays Shortstop on the varsity softball team. 

See was born and raised in Kootenai county, growing up with four brothers, three being older and one being younger. All four of the brothers were wrestlers, so naturally, See was used as a wrestling dummy for the brothers. 

Although See plays at the top of her game in softball, it wasn’t always like this. See played baseball for most of her childhood, until she hit the age limit where girls had to play softball and boys played baseball. 

“I protested playing softball once I hit the age limit where you couldn’t play baseball anymore for girls…I thought it was a weak sport and that it was dumb, but one of my friends got me back into it,” See said. 

Ever since the change in sport, See hasn’t taken a second look back. The talented star made varsity her freshman year of high school, a feat only some athletes are able to achieve. 

See was able to get this success at high school for doing things other athletes wouldn’t, See was one of the kids who stay after and ask for extra swings, extra grounders, and popups. Anything to help improve her game and the team. 

In her four years of playing varsity softball at Lakeland, See has been impacted a lot by the sport. 

“Helped me be able to have a more fixed mindset, the entire game is more mental, when you go up to bat, it’s basically a one vs. nine. If you make it on base then it’s like, ‘ha, losers,’” See said. 

Former softball head coach Colleen Bevacqua, who coached for 17 years at Lakeland, got the chance to coach See for three years. 

“She was really focused and dedicated, always wanting to learn and question a lot, what’s the why? It’s awesome, an awesome attribute,” Bevacqua said. 

See’s favorite moments during softball come before the season starts, when the teams go down south in Boise and compete in a Tournament. 

In her freshman year, she went down to Boise with the team that was full of seniors. 

“It was super fun with all the seniors,” See said. 

See talents got her a scholarship to Blue Mountain community college and will play for them for two years. 

See encourages people to go out and try softball.

“Softball is fun and everyone should try it out,” See said.