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Former Live Oak High School standout Mercedez Duenas has made the softball squad at Division I University of California Riverside, and I recently sat down and spoke with her about her new life outside the mid-valley, what the life of a college athlete is like, and what she is working towards in the future.
I was fortunate enough to watch Mercedez play as a youngster back in her days at Peach Bowl Little League, and even had the great honor to have her on teams I coached back in the day. Through the years Mercedez moved up to local traveling teams, and eventually made the jump to serious ASA softball when she joined the California Breeze 16U. After two seasons with the Breeze, Duenas moved to the Strike Zone out of San Jose, where she traveled to college preview tournaments in hopes of landing a scholarship.
While the scholarships never fully materialized, Duenas continued to work on her game, and became known throughout the Mid-Valley as one of the top middle infielders around. Gifted with speed and soft hands as well as a strong arm, Mercedez constantly worked on her game, and by the time she reached high school, she was a player capable of taking over a game by herself.
Whether stealing a base, making the tough defensive chances look easy, or pounding out a key hit, Mercedez proved to be more than just your typical high school softball player. I was disappointed she wasn't able to catch the eye of the right program for her needs, but knew she would succeed whatever path she chose to take.
Duenas chose UC Riverside for her school because of the Political Science program the school offered, (she hopes to enter law school after completing her undergraduate studies) plus the opportunity to live closer to her mother Yesenia Rios, who lives in Arizona. Mercedez' father, Mario, lives in Live Oak, and while it isn't easy being so far away from her parents, she is enjoying the college lifestyle.
Mercedez didn't plan on playing softball at Riverside, and was going to just concentrate on school, despite me bugging her about calling the coaches, and finding out when walk-on tryouts would be held. I told her she would miss the game, and would kick herself later on if she didn't at least give it a chance. Mercedez wasn't real sure, and despite the assurances of friends, family, and coaches that she could indeed play at the college level, she hadn't made up her mind to join the team when she moved into the dorms.
As fate would have it however, just as Mercedez was moving into the dorms to begin her first semester this summer, she saw a flier for tryouts for the team. Mercedez had left her equipment in her dad's car, but knew she wanted to play, so she called the coach, explained her situation, and who she was, and told her she wished to tryout, but all she had in her possession was her glove. The rest of her equipment, cleats, bats, etc., were still here in Live Oak. For the rest of this story please pick up a 12/23/11 edition of TheGridley Herald.
Former Live Oak High School standout Mercedez Duenas has made the softball squad at Division I University of California Riverside, and I recently sat down and spoke with her about her new life outside the mid-valley, what the life of a college athlete is like, and what she is working towards in the future.
I was fortunate enough to watch Mercedez play as a youngster back in her days at Peach Bowl Little League, and even had the great honor to have her on teams I coached back in the day. Through the years Mercedez moved up to local traveling teams, and eventually made the jump to serious ASA softball when she joined the California Breeze 16U. After two seasons with the Breeze, Duenas moved to the Strike Zone out of San Jose, where she traveled to college preview tournaments in hopes of landing a scholarship.
While the scholarships never fully materialized, Duenas continued to work on her game, and became known throughout the Mid-Valley as one of the top middle infielders around. Gifted with speed and soft hands as well as a strong arm, Mercedez constantly worked on her game, and by the time she reached high school, she was a player capable of taking over a game by herself.
Whether stealing a base, making the tough defensive chances look easy, or pounding out a key hit, Mercedez proved to be more than just your typical high school softball player. I was disappointed she wasn't able to catch the eye of the right program for her needs, but knew she would succeed whatever path she chose to take.
Duenas chose UC Riverside for her school because of the Political Science program the school offered, (she hopes to enter law school after completing her undergraduate studies) plus the opportunity to live closer to her mother Yesenia Rios, who lives in Arizona. Mercedez' father, Mario, lives in Live Oak, and while it isn't easy being so far away from her parents, she is enjoying the college lifestyle.
Mercedez didn't plan on playing softball at Riverside, and was going to just concentrate on school, despite me bugging her about calling the coaches, and finding out when walk-on tryouts would be held. I told her she would miss the game, and would kick herself later on if she didn't at least give it a chance. Mercedez wasn't real sure, and despite the assurances of friends, family, and coaches that she could indeed play at the college level, she hadn't made up her mind to join the team when she moved into the dorms.
As fate would have it however, just as Mercedez was moving into the dorms to begin her first semester this summer, she saw a flier for tryouts for the team. Mercedez had left her equipment in her dad's car, but knew she wanted to play, so she called the coach, explained her situation, and who she was, and told her she wished to tryout, but all she had in her possession was her glove. The rest of her equipment, cleats, bats, etc., were still here in Live Oak. For the rest of this story please pick up a 12/23/11 edition of TheGridley Herald.
