Last year, the varsity softball head coach Amanda Stanton was struck and killed in a hit and run accident. Since her tragic death, the softball program has looked for ways to honor to their late coach on the field, but now they discovered ways to honor her memory off the field.
The program just finished selling T-shirts, which were constructed after Stanton’s mindset and approach to the sport she dearly loved.
“Me and the other coaches put together a design that we thought coach Stanton would like,” Sara Polensky, first-year head coach, said. “The logo on the front T-shirt has her signature, and the quote on the back is what she told all her players: ‘Hustle and heart will set you apart.’”
Stanton’s impact is still felt throughout the program, as seen in their shirt design. And through that design, her memory lives on.
“Selling the shirts is way to remember coach Stanton,” Polensky said. “She was so influential to the program and she really did turn the program around the three years she was the head coach.”
The funds from the T-shirts are going to both help support the softball program and start a memorial fund in Stanton’s name.
T-shirts aren’t the only effort being made towards Stanton’s cause. Players are still holding the coach close to their hearts, thanks to keychain medallions made by the program. The keychains once again have Stanton’s favorite quote, as well as the number she wore in college: 14.
The Panthers are planning a memorial day for Stanton and her family on April 7. On that day, coaches and captains will speak on her behalf, and the program will officially retire the number 14 by unveiling a sign in left field.
“It’s great to know that if anyone is hurting in the Oswego community, everyone is willing to help out in any way possible,” Polensky said.
Stanton left a large imprint on the program as a whole. The team will celebrate that impact at the memorial event on April 7.
“It is important for everyone to come to the field and just remember who she was and what she did for the program,” Polensky said.
This is my third year as a part of 42Fifty. I have served as Sports Editor and Managing Editor prior to this year. I am the play by play announcer for underclassmen sports here at OHS, and the color commentator for the varsity football and both varsity basketball teams. I also announce for the NFHS Network throughout the football and basketball playoffs.
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