Due to the current coronavirus situation and all sports being shut down, there are a lot of athletes who have had their senior seasons cut short. ENC Sports Review thought it would be nice to highlight some of these seniors as a small way to celebrate their senior year, since so much has been taken from them already. Today, we will highlight Southern Nash High School Senior Carrigan Ewers. We thank Carrigan for taking the time to sit down with ENC Sports Review and answer these questions for us. We had fun learning more about her and hope you will too!
How long have you been playing sports?
I’ve been playing sports since I was 4 years old. So collectively 14 years.
What teams have you been on? (This can be rec ball, middle school and high school)
I played rec ball for eight years(I don’t remember all the teams. Travel teams: Lady Rippers, Lady Nationals, Carolina Cardinals(Goss), Carolina Cardinals (Bowling), Carolina Cardinals (Moose). School: Southern Nash Middle and Southern Nash High.
Who has been your favorite coach and what did he or she teach you that you carry with you through today?
My favorite coach was Nella Chamblee. She played travel with my older sister and went to play softball at UNCW. After college she came to help with my last Carolina Cardinals team. She was a catcher during her career so she was our pitch caller, she was very close with all her pitchers and catchers. She taught me to be confident in my pitching and also to hold myself to a standard.
What is your favorite memory and least favorite memory of playing sports?
My favorite memory from my softball career was the summer before last when my travel ball team went to Nationals in Virginia. That week we bonded a lot and had a lot of fun playing together and got 3rd overall in nationals. My least favorite memory was this past summer at Nationals in Alabama when my travel coaches announced that they were retiring and the team was going to be split between different sister teams in the Cardinals Organization.
What is one thing or event that if you could do over again you would change?
I think if I could change one thing it would be taking on the leadership role sooner than my senior year.
Who is someone you look up to and why?
I’ve always looked up to Keilani Ricketts. She was a left handed pitcher and power hitter for the University of Oklahoma. She is the Sooners career leader of wins and strikeouts, and is high ranked for her 50 home runs. I grew up watching her play for Oklahoma.
If you could go back 5 years and tell yourself something then that you know now what would it be?
I would tell myself to make the most of every game, every school event and to never ever talk bad about school again because the second half of your senior year will be cut short and it will hit you hard.
What is something you would tell someone trying to follow in your footsteps?
I would tell them not to take everything too seriously, it’s good to be serious but you need to also make the most out of it. Set goals and hold yourself to a standard, once you reach that goal set more, you can always get better. Make the most of everything and do your best, leave it all on the field. And cherish all the friends and memories you will make on and off the field.
If you have played your last high school game, what is something that you will remember for the rest of your life?
I’m trying not to tell myself that I’ve played my last game, I’m holding out hope. But if I had to share my favorite memory from a southerner softball career, it would be the game at Fike from last year. We were down 1-0 and I was leading off and I hit a home run on the first pitch. If you know anything about me you know that I hate to lead off and I hate to swing at the first pitch haha. But my favorite thing was how we rallied after that, everybody was so hype. Kierstin came up after me and got on and then Ricki came up and smacked a triple to score Kierstin. I can see it like it was yesterday, Ricki diving into third everyone going crazy and me and Ricki just yelling at each other. It was amazing.
Feel free to add anything that I might not have asked that people would like to know about your time playing sports or your future plans.
I want to thank all of my coaches in my life for helping me and keeping my head up. And I hope that I have the same influence on girls I coach as you have had on me. This game is a game of failure but it’s when you keep pushing through and getting better that matters. I will be attending Louisburg College in the fall continuing my softball career.
Be sure to check out Elisabeth Collie’s Senior Spotlight as she is the catcher for the Southern Nash Firebirds.
Thank you again, Carrigan Ewers , for taking the time to be one of our 2020 senior spotlights. We wish you well on all of your future endeavors.
Attention 2020 Seniors: If you are interested in possibly being our next spotlight, please inbox us with a picture of you (head shot or action shot, or multiple pictures), your name, school, sports/positions played and answers to some or all of the questions above.
Note: All photographs have been contributed to this post from the senior’s family and special thanks to The Nashville Graphic for use of cover photo.
ENC Sports Review 