Not many athletes may get the opportunity to play on the varsity team, and certainly not as a freshman. To be so young and to be counted as one of the best players takes a lot of natural talent and hard work. For freshman Jonee Villanueva, these are two things she has mastered on the softball field. This season, her hard work paid off and landed her on the roster of the Lady Bear Softball team.

“It’s something I’ve worked hard for,” Villanueva said. “Because I play year-round select softball, there really is no off-season for me.”

Because softball is such a big part of her life, she knew that she needed to set some individual goals for herself not only at the beginning of the season, but at the beginning of the school year. Villanueva, who plays second base and outfield, knew what she wanted to accomplish long before this season even began.

“My primary goal was to make varsity with my sister,” Villanueva said. “That and just keeping up the hard work.”

Villanueva’s older sister, Angel, recently signed for a softball scholarship with Galveston College, and is one of the strongest leaders on the Lady Bear team.

“It’s been an awesome experience,” Villanueva said about playing with her older sister. “Angel is a great leader on the field and gives her absolute best and it drives me to do the same.”

Villanueva has held a passion for softball since she was five years old and loves it more every year that she plays. As a 15-year old playing against mostly upperclassmen, she said one of the major challenges she faces on a daily basis is having to keep up with the intense game play of everyone else.

“I have to step up my game to play on the same level as upperclassmen and to work hard to prove myself to my coach and everyone else,” Villanueva said.

Her love of softball has helped motivate her on and off the field and is something she will always carry with her in future years.

“It’s my outlet and it’s my stress reliever,”  she said. “I tend to keep things bottled up but when I’m on the field nothing else matters.”