Switching sports in the middle of your high school career can be difficult. But junior Jenna Trent made the hard decision to switch from football to softball so she could push herself as an athlete.

“The reason I switched was because I realized I plateaued in the sport, I wouldn’t get any better and I would just kind of stay the same. I realized I couldn’t get to the level that varsity high school football is, and so I decided to use my skills in softball instead,” Trent said.

Softball isn’t a totally new sport for Trent, as she has played select in the summer for nine years.

“My parents and I decided to put me in select and I wasn’t bad at it, so I just kept playing,” Trent said. “I liked the competition. It was a lot different than high school sports but also similar in ways because you would play the same ages, especially once you get up to 16 and 18 (age divisions). I also liked all the people I got to know through the sport.”

She also played football from the age of 7 to 16.

“I really liked the intensity and how intense and physical the sport is,” Trent said.

Even though Trent had experience with both football and softball, going into high school she chose football.

“I originally chose it because it was such a big part of my life growing up, and it was always so much more important to me, more important to me than softball was,” Trent said.

However, Trent’s feelings changed after her sophomore season of football and she was encouraged by a friend to play softball instead.

“I realized I plateaued towards the end or the middle of sophomore year,” Trent said. 

She was also influenced by a friend.

“Jordyn Campbell told me how fun softball was and I wanted to play a sport with her during my high school career,” Trent said.

Although Trent says making the switch was a good choice, it didn’t come without challenges.

“The biggest challenge was having to get used to it and it becoming my new norm. Softball and football are very different, so I had to adjust to the differences,” Trent said.

Trent has realized that the two sports require different physical versus mental strengths.

“I think the main difference is the intensity almost because football is such a big contact sport, and you have to be able to get hit and then just get back up again, while softball is more of a mental sport. And you have to be able to have a very good mentality or you won’t succeed as well,” Trent said.

Even though the sports are very different, Trent has been able to use her football skills on the softball field. 

“Jenna has brought very high intensity and an aggressive mindset from football to softball,” junior Jordyn Campbell said. “This benefits the team because she had to fill a role at the catching position and having these traits helps her succeed.”

Not only has this switch benefited Trent as an athlete, but it has also helped her build friendships.

“My favorite thing about softball is the team’s chemistry and bond. We’re all really close, and I’ve made so many close friends from it,” Trent said.

Because of the positives, Trent is happy with her decision.

“I think I made the right decision switching in the middle of my high school career because I knew I wouldn’t get any better (at football), so it was difficult to enjoy it when I knew I was on a lower level than all my teammates were,” Trent said. “Now I am succeeding a lot more than I ever could, and it makes the sport so much more fun.”