GREENFIELD — The big skies and wide open country outside Nevaeh Spurling’s Greenfield home make a perfect practice space for Hancock County’s youngest All-American.
Her father, Matt, stands outside the big red barn behind their house almost every evening with a shopping cart filled with softballs. He mixes up his throws, sending pitches Nevaeh’s way, knowing the extra hitting and throwing practice will develop her competitive edge.
The daily training paid off fast, her dad said.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]Click here to purchase photos from this gallery
Nevaeh — now a 4th-grader at Eastern Hancock Elementary School — tried out for USSSA All-American Softball last December; she will help to represent the Great Lakes region in the last week of July, playing at the space coast stadium in Florida. A few weeks after her tryout, the Spurlings received a message confirming Nevaeh as a direct select player — she was chosen instantly to become one of the team’s top starting players.
Nevaeh plays catcher and second base for the ‘07 Indiana Dreams, a travel team based in Lebanon, Indiana. Her family travels with her across the country throughout the year as Nevaeh’s team competes against teams in Florida, Illinois and Tennessee, Spurling said.
Spurling said he has little trouble motivating his daughter to get out and practice; she has a genuine love for the sport. The family drives 90 minutes to Martinsville every Monday night for batting practice, and she doesn’t complain, Spurling said.
Even at her young age, Nevaeh is beginning to notice aspects of her game that need work; and insists that they spend time training on those rather than areas that she’s good at, he said.
“That’s exactly why she sticks out,” Spurling said. “She’s already got a softball resume nine miles long at nine years old.”
The family is overjoyed that already Neveah is being rewarded for the extra training hours they log in the backyard by the barn, said Nevaeh’s mother, Crystal.
The family was on cloud nine all day after receiving the message, Crystal Spurling said, most of all Neveah. Nothing makes her prouder as a parent than watching her daughter chase after her passions without being told; Nevaeh truly just loves the sport, she said.
“She had a few tears in her eyes the night we got the news,” Matt Spurling said.
Nevaeh said she’ll need to get accustomed to playing in the hot Florida sun with full catcher’s gear on. She’s never played at a field as large as the one in space coast stadium, but she’s excited for the challenge, she said.
Nevaeh will compete from July 30 to August 5th, Spurling said. Her mother and father will accompany her, along with her best cheerleader: The family’s bulldog, Sadie.
After her adventure in Florida this summer comes to an end, Nevaeh said she will continue striving for her next goal; learning to hit as hard as New Palestine’s Ashley Prange, a three-time all-state selection, Gatorade State Player of the Year and Miss Softball finalist.
She hopes to end up playing varsity softball for Purdue University one day, too, Nevaeh said with a smile stretching from one ear to the other.
“It’s a huge honor for her,” her father said, beaming at his daughter’s eager grin. “You couldn’t have a harder working, more goal-driven kid.”
