TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – Amanda Thompson has always been a dreamer.
“I remember freshman year, we had to beg girls to come be on the team.”
She had a dream to build the softball program up at St. John Paul II, and the grind to see it through.
“I think she set a goal and she hasn’t let anything distract her from that goal,” said head softball coach Terrence Brown.
Her determination has resulted in back-to-back District Championships for the Panthers.
“There’s only a handful of players in this area that have that work ethic, desire, passion for the sport,” said Brown.
That work ethic can be seen in everything Thompson does.
“During middle school, I was a C and B student. My grades weren’t that well.”
Now a straight A-student, she has a 4.39 GPA, and is Valedictorian of her senior class.
“From tutoring, to after school, extra work, extra meetings with teachers trying to get grades up, making sure she got things right,” said Brown.
“If you would have asked me freshman year, 8th grade, even sophomore year that I would have been Valedictorian, I would have said, you are joking! There’s no way!” laughed Thompson.
Her work in the classroom and on the field attracted the attention of Harvard, where’s she’ll suit up in college, and she’s got big goals for them too.
“Freshman year, Harvard is going to the World Series.”
As her track record shows, Thompson’s reality always starts with a dream. Her next big dream? To qualify for the Olympics. She’s on the U.S. Virgin Islands National team, and they’re trying to qualify for the Pan American Games, the first step in getting to the Olympics.
At Harvard, Thompson said she wants to study law with goal of getting into politics, and ultimately one becoming President of the United States.
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