Photo of Rowan Thompson in front of trophy case. Photo taken by Stephanie Romeo.
On December 12, 2023, Rowan Thompson, a senior at South Salem High School, formally signed to the University of Oregon’s D1 softball team. Thompson shares how her life growing up has been playing softball, what this sport means to her and why she chose UO.
During the recruitment process, Thompson looked at colleges across the west coast, looking to stay closer to home. Her main wants in a school was for it to feel like a family, to have strong positive connections with the coaches and to find people on her team to drive her to be her best.
For me, it was really exciting. I like meeting new people, so going out and meeting new coaches was an amazing experience for me. I loved going and seeing places and touring them. Meeting all the coaches and staff to see what it was like was really fun to do that. It was a little stressful, but at the end of the day, it was more fun and I tried to take it light-heartedly. Having people that I love playing with makes me want to play,
Thompson said
When Thompson visited the University of Oregon, she immediately fell in love.
A Home Away From Home
“When I got there I just felt at home the second I stepped in the door. I loved their morals as a team. They all have the same goal in mind and they all push each other to get there in a very family manner. They are able to hold each other accountable as people, and in line, so it’s not everyone doing their own thing, but a team mentality like ‘let’s do this together,’ not just as individuals,” Thompson said.
Thompson has been playing softball for about 13 years, and is planning to play all four years of college. Over the course of her career, she has many stories on growing up in the softball community. She has been in softball programs since her mom started her in T-ball.
“My mom had played softball, so she put me into the high school softball program,” Thompson said.
Thompson made a majority of her friends through leagues growing up, and many of these friendships have stuck with her throughout the years, even some she would consider lifelong friends.
“I started in T-ball since It was always a fun environment for me. I’ve always had teams that I was close to and had really good friends on the team, so it’s been nice to grow up like that and make lifelong friends from it,” Thompson said.
Thompson has played on numerous teams and has special memories and thoughtful comments connected to many of her experiences on each one of them.
Teammates Enhance the Sports Experience
“I’d like to honestly thank all of my teammates throughout the years. Especially last year, Dez Hatfield, Mackenzie Scott, Halley Olson, they are my girls. I’ve known them since 7th grade. McCormick, my coach, all my club coaches, they’re all amazing in helping me over the years,” Thompson said.
Being an athlete can be hard, and sometimes it feels like it is too hard to keep going.
I did at one point have a burn out. I think what truly made me overcome it was that I had other people that I cared about more. I had a teammate and one coach that burnt me out, but in the end I had more people that made me keep going. I knew that it would get better and it did because I was supported by some other amazing girls on my team,
Thompson said
In high school, Thompson played softball in the spring and volleyball in the fall. Being a multi-sport athlete was something that was really important to Thompson these past four years.
“Through being a multi-sport athlete, I love meeting new people and two sports keeps the fun for sports for me. It makes me not as stressed and it doesn’t feel like a job I have to do, which is how softball has felt for me. With volleyball, I can be a lot more carefree and really enjoy what I’m doing,” said Thompson.
Words of Advice From Rowan Thompson
In her last year of high school, Rowan has expressed how much growth she has had over her four years at South, so she has a few encouraging words for students-athletes at South who are striving to play sports in college.
Work hard, be the first person there and the last person to leave the gym. get lifts in. Don’t skip reps. Work your tail off. If you think you’re working hard enough there is always someone working harder than you. Give it your all, don’t hold back because it is all worth it in the end,
Thompson said
As Thompson is entering her next few years as a duck, she appreciates all that South has done for her. Once a Saxon, always a Saxon.
