NORFOLK, VA (WTKR)- It's the first year of varsity softball for Norview sophomore Vivyanna Houck-Creekmore. As any student-athlete can tell you, that can take some adjusting.
"Definitely with the pressure that's coming on, because it is more advanced," she said of the transition to the high school varsity level. "It's a lot easier for me to control myself under pressure now rather than it was before."
"From day one in tryouts, she was all smiley," recalled Pilots' head coach Chico Quinones. "Once we got out there between the lines, it was all business."
Now the sophomore utility player is bursting onto the scene. Last week in a game against Booker T. Washington, she stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and belted the ball over the fence for a grand slam.
"Just relaxing and actually taking a breath and being like 'I'm not trying to hit a home run' and just doing your best," she said of her approach with the bases juiced.
That was just the beginning of her big day, however. Later in the contest, she stood in the batters box with the bags packed once again.
"I don't want anyone to think of me too highly," she chuckled about her thoughts at that moment. "It's probably not going to happen again. Let me calm down for a minute."
Happen it did. Vivyanna would once again deliver with her second grand slam of the afternoon. It was part of a three hit, 10 RBI showing that helped push Norview to victory. When any Pilot flies that high, the energy is contagious throughout the dugout, firing up her teammates.
"Their determination, it's already up here," the sophomore said of her teammates. "After I do something that makes them even happier, then that gets them all the way up here and I love seeing happy and more determined."
"Nothing phases her," Quinones added. "She knew that we needed some runs and we needed a big inning and she went out there and she did her thing, man. She's unbelievable."
Given that she's only in tenth grade, Vivyanna has plenty of time remaining on Norview's field, but she's also looking ahead, hopeful that the end of her high school career will not mark the end of her days in softball. She has her eyes on playing in college.
"I do want to go to college for softball," she noted of her future. "There's not much after that for softball, so I just want to see where that ends."
"She could achieve whatever she wants to achieve. The kid's got raw talent," her head coach commented. "The sky's the limit."
Vivyanna began playing softball when she was nine years old and said she started to love it after a couple years and knowing what she was doing. She's part of a Norview squad that does not have a single senior on its roster, so the future is bright.
If you have a nominee for Student-Athlete of the Week, email the information to marc.davis@wtkr.com.
