Blue Hill—It has long been the understanding that male athletes participate in baseball, while female athletes take to the softball field during the spring sports season. A junior from George Stevens Academy has been shaking that up since her elementary school days.
Vanessa Sherwood, who plays catcher and in the outfield, is a member of the Eagle varsity baseball team this season, after playing her first two years of high school on the junior varsity squad.
“I never wanted to play softball,” said Sherwood before a game on April 25. “I played once because they needed people, but it’s always been baseball.”
Sherwood has come up through the junior league programs in the area, and has been playing beside most of her teammates since those early days. Because of that, she said she has not felt any negativity during practices or games from them.
“Sometimes I’ll hear stuff from guys on the other teams, though,” she said. “But it’s never loud enough for anyone to hear. I just try not to let it get to me.”
Sherwood is not a starter for the program; however, head coach Dan Kane put her in to pinch run in the first game of the season. She stole home from third base, something that is difficult to do in a baseball game.
“That was kind of cool,” she said. “I think sometimes other teams underestimate me.”
Sherwood said she started playing in the area farm leagues as “something to do,” before she was able to play at the elementary school level. The hobby developed into a passion, and she has been playing ever since.
“My mom is super supportive,” she said. “And none of my coaches ever treated me any differently.”
During a home win against Orono on April 25, the first of the season for the team, Sherwood, who wears number 4, took batting and field practice, just like her male teammates did. When she stood in the dugout, her cheers were among those of the guys around her. In those moments, the idea of being male or female seemed irrelevant.
Vanessa Sherwood is a member of the George Stevens Academy varsity baseball team this year. Photo by Monique Labbe