Lake County captain: Lake Zurich's Megan Mattera
This isn't exactly accessorizing, but a girl's got to do what a girl's got to do.
Megan Mattera is so fashion conscious that she even remembers to bring her black eyes stickers - the ones athletes wear under their eyes on sunny days - for a softball photo shoot. She's not wearing her "Monday" or "Tuesday" shoes, nor is she sporting her softball spikes that feature, well, duct tape.
Yes, duct tape. Make that 100-and-whatever uses for the super-sticky, downright-durable tape.
The Lake Zurich junior has been honing her pitching skills for years in the front of her house. She explains that her dad, Mark, spray-paints a pitching rubber on the street every other year or so, and she wheels and deals, her toe dragging on the pavement. The duct tape protects her shoes.
"I've gone through a lot of shoes," said Mattera, the oldest of two children, both girls, of Mark and Lisa.
When Mattera's shoes are ratty beyond ratty, they get tossed. Or maybe not. Like so many females of all ages all around the world, Mattera collects shoes.
"I'm a girl. That's what girls do," she said with a laugh.
The girl is also one heck of a softball player. And, no, it's not the shoes. Not even those white ones she likes to wear during games.
"Her numbers speak for themselves," Lake Zurich coach Michaela Towne said. "She was just clutch. She wanted the bat in her hands in big games and when there were runners on base. She embraced the opportunity to be a star this year."
Mattera shone brightly, in the circle and in the batter's box.
Her statistics, particularly her offensive numbers, blinded.
The captain of the Daily Herald's Lake County All-Area team, Mattera belted 14 home runs, drove in 63 and batted .496 with a .557 on-base percentage. She also slugged at a 1.053 clip and racked up 15 doubles and 3 triples.
"She approached every at-bat with a smile on her face." Towne said. "If she didn't get a hit, she'd be like, 'OK, I'll get it the next time.' "
Mattera's mental approach to the game can't be underestimated.
She made varsity as a sophomore and was an all-area player, but she wasn't satisfied.
"I actually had to change my whole hitting approach," said Mattera, who's smart. She sports a 3.5 GPA (4.0 scale). "It's taken some time (to adjust), probably a little longer than a year."
She started altering her approach at the plate last spring and says that's when she hit the majority of her 6 home runs.
Her success at the plate carried into this season.
"It's helped me to be able to attack all pitches in all the different zones in the strike zone," Mattera said. "It was just starting to kick in last year. This year, it definitely kicked in."
When she wasn't hitting home runs, like the solo blast that lifted the Bears to victory in eight innings over Barrington in the sectional semifinals, she was pitching. She won 21 games, striking out 229 batters and registering a 2.65 ERA.
She threw almost every single game for the Bears. Last season, she was the Bears' ace as well, but didn't throw as many innings.
"When I pitch, my arm takes a little time to warm up," the right-hander said. "But the ball actually gains speed as the game goes on. It's probably one of the greatest feelings - having that ball control and being that loose when the ball comes off your fingertips."
The extra workload this season didn't bother her.
"The team counts on me, and I count on them," Mattera said. "That's what a team does."
Good teams, like Lake Zurich, which won 24 games in its first season under Towne, bond.
That's what the Bears did at a ropes course in early spring. The coaching staff had players perform skits, and one player did a hilarious imitation of Mattera, who's known to have "Monday" and "Tuesday" shoes.
"She's made fun of - in a joking way - about all her shoes," Towne said. "It's a running joke on the team."
And it's not just all the shoes.
"She has the biggest bag on the team," Towne said. "I have no idea what she has in there. I'm like, 'Megan, what's in there? A small child.' She has a lot of equipment, a lot of stuff."
Mattera has a lot of passion. And a lot of softball talent.
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<h1>More Coverage</h1>
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<h2>Related documents</h2>
<ul class="morePdf">
<li><a href="/pdf/lakesoftballfront10.pdf">Lake Co. all-area team Page 1</a></li>
<li><a href="/pdf/lakesoftballteam110.pdf">Lake Co. all-area team Page 2</a></li>
<li><a href="/pdf/lakesoftballteam210.pdf">Lake Co. all-area team Page 3</a></li>
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