For Victoria Addis, a schedule filled with softball doubleheaders isn’t enough; the freshman from Canton, Ohio, has decided to double up on Division II sports.
Addis plays right field for the softball team and swims the breaststroke for the swim team, a feat that head softball coach Joe Abraham said is rare at the Division II level.
“Softball is my priority here, but I really wanted to get to know the swimming team and be part of another team,” Addis said. “I didn’t want to give up swimming like I thought I could. I couldn’t physically do that. It was the best decision I ever made to do both.”
Abraham said Addis is the first full-time two-sport athlete he’s coached in his six years as Hillsdale’s softball coach.
“It’s not like Division III, where they encourage athletes to dip their toes in the water here and there,” Abraham said. “Division II sports are a huge commitment, and many players are on scholarship, so we expect a lot from them.”
Addis’s reasons for playing both sports look a lot like the people standing next to her on the field and on the blocks.
“With teams, you never know how everyone will relate to each other, but with both of my teams, it’s a perfect fit,” Addis said. “The college did a great job in selecting the athletes. Both teams are great.”
Though Addis has loved softball since playing T-ball in kindergarten, she said she owes her team-oriented mindset to a senior year of swimming where her personal victories came from her leadership.
“I just had a great mentality that entire year,” Addis said. “Every year the district meet used to ruin me. I did horrible. This year, because I focused on helping others, it made me a better swimmer because I had a better mentality.”
At her senior-year district meet, Addis, who described herself as a “decent” high school swimmer, broke her high school’s record and the Stark County record for the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:04.52. This performance gained the attention of Hillsdale’s head swim coach Kurt Kirner, who asked her to help out on the swim team as much as she could, Addis said.
Addis has been practicing with both the softball and swimming teams for the fall softball pre-season and the beginning of winter swimming season. She will focus on softball during the spring.
In the fall portion of her first softball season, Addis has already proven herself a strong player, Abraham said.
“It became clear this fall that she will get playing time in the spring,” Abraham said. “She was one of our top hitters. She has good power, good speed, and a high batting average. She’s a Division I level hitter, one of the best hitters on our team.”
Though he said he worries about overuse injuries, he allowed her to join the swim team because of her love for both sports.
There has already been some overlap between the two schedules — during one week she had a softball doubleheader on Thursday, a swim meet on Saturday, and three softball games Sunday.
But Addis said sports fuel her motivation for schoolwork in her off time.
“My style of studying and doing work, I find it easier to be busy because then I really hone in and focus on the blocks of time that I do have to really give it my all for my studies,” Addis said.
Addis spends her free time working toward a biochemistry degree, including organic chemistry homework for a class that’s usually closed to freshmen.
“Everyone’s going to think I’m weird if I say this, but organic chemistry is my favorite class this semester,” Addis said. “I’ve always been one for chemistry. I love thinking on the micro scale. What goes on that we can’t see is so cool, that everything just works.”
Sophomore Katie Kish, a fellow softball outfielder and organic chemistry classmate, said she admires Addis’s love for both sports.
“I have never been in that position where I love two sports enough to do them both,” Kish said. “If I loved something else as much as I love softball, I could totally see why she does what she does. But yeah, she’s crazy.”
To show her support for Addis as a swimmer, Kish adopted Addis through the Adopt-a-Charger program, which means that Addis stays supplied with sweet snacks, fans at her meets, and encouraging text messages.
“The girls on both teams are supportive of my decision to do both,” Addis said. “I made it clear that I’m going to try to be on each team as much as I can, and I’ve already made such great friends.”
When stressed about sports or studies, Addis dreams about playing the violin she left at home.
“I didn’t bring it with me, but I might bring it next year,” Addis said. “I just haven’t found time to be able to play.”
She also said her Monday night Bible study with her softball teammates allows her to connect with her team in a deeper way than she has with any other team.
Addis said she plans to play both sports throughout college.
“It would be one thing if I didn’t love the sport,” Addis said. “But I love both sports so much that I think that love will get me through, even when the school gets harder and time seems to get shorter. I definitely think I can play both all four years just because of the love of the sports and the love of my teammates.”