Prep Softball: Childhood decision leads to scholarship for Stafford

Caitlin Stafford never thought a conversation she had some seven years ago would prove to be as beneficial as it has turned out to be.

When Stafford was 10, she had a conversation with her 10-U Dirt Dawgs head coach Brian Schulman, who steered the youngster towards the catcher position.

For Stafford, it was a life changing moment that ultimately allowed her to continue her playing career as the Eldorado High School senior recently signed a National Letter of Intent to attend Rend Lake College next fall.

The decision to attend RLC came down to what Stafford called a steady persuit by Warrior head coach Dave Ellis.

"Coach Ellis has been following me since I was a freshman and I love that Rend Lake is not too far from home. I went to a camp and that's where he talked to me and showed interest and progressively all through my high school career followed me and kept in contact.

"This is a huge weight off my chest, being able to sign prior to my senior season and I'm really happy about that."

While Stafford's primary position is that behind the plate, she figures to be used in more of a utility role while at RLC.

She also feels like she needs to get a little bit stronger to compete at the next level and might use some of that as motivation heading into her senior season at Eldorado.

"I'm going to work on what needs to be done and getting stronger is certainly one of those things."

Stafford was named Black Diamond All-Conference as a junior and garnered honorable mention as a sophomore.

Stafford finished last season playing in just 12 games, missing the first part of the year sitting out with a broken arm. She finished with a .467 average and a slugging percentage of .633 with an on-base percentage of .500.

Michael Dann covers prep and college sports for the Harrisburg Daily Register. Follow him on Twitter: @spydieshooter.