Signing Day spotlight:  Meet El Segundo softball player Rhianna Rich

What do you do when you are the youngest of four girls who all played sports, with an older sister who was an All-American softball player at Stanford?  Well, if you are El SegundoHigh’s Rhianna Rich, you commit to Harvard to play softball!

Rich plays soccer and softball at ESHS.
She played varsity softball since freshman year, playing shortstop
and second base, and in soccer she plays center mid and forward. She has been
playing both sports for 13 years.  At
ESHS she was the softball team
captain her junior and senior years; first-team All-League all three years
for softball; and All-Area two years for softball; she also led the softball
team in batting average all three years; in addition, she was the softball
team’s most dedicated; and the softball league’s most outstanding player junior
year. 

In soccer, Rich was MVP for JV soccer freshman year; played on the varsity soccer
team sophomore year through senior; MVP for soccer junior year; and All-Area
honorable mention; and also the soccer varsity captain senior year.  

Rich tells me what she is most proud
of athletically is “my accomplishments after sophomore year because I had a
serious injury in the beginning of the year which hurt not only my high school
seasons, but also my recruiting season. I came back from my injury stronger
than before because I pushed myself and became mentally stronger.”

She also has a favorite sports memory in high
school which was “the bus ride home after my softball team lost our CIF game my
sophomore year. Even though we lost, we all had a great time on the bus and we
all ate at In N Out.”

Rich tells me that she committed to play softball at Harvard
because “Harvard’s atmosphere appealed to me most because of the extremely
intelligent yet friendly people, as well as the location right next to Boston.  I wanted to attend a high academic university
because I learned from my older sisters that education is important and
valuable.” 

Rich went
on to tell me that “I was really excited on signing day because it signified
being one step closer to actually attending Harvard. It made me realize that
all my hard work in life made me the person I am today and excited to see what
the future has in store for me.”       

Rich is not sure what she will study at Harvard, but she is “looking
at biomedical engineering, economics, and majors dealing with science in
general.”  While she is determining a
major she is “looking forward to meeting a variety of new people and
experiencing a different part of the country, especially the seasons and new
cultures .”

Finally, Rich did tell me about her sports mentors which include
“my parents, sisters and coaches. My mom is my motivation and inspiration; she
trains me mentally. My dad helps me practice to become a better athlete. My
sisters taught me how to handle failure and take criticism. And my coaches,
taught me that sports teach you how to handle real life and that they contain a
lot of learning lessons that help you grow to become a better person.” 

Rich’s head softball Coach, Keith Cameron, provided a
great summary regarding Rich: “Rhianna is one of the hardest-working
athletes I have coached in my 19 years at El Segundo High School.  But on
top of her work ethic, she is a person of amazing character.  She is
humble, intelligent on and off the field.  She is a great teammate who
always puts others before herself.  She is all about the success of the
team.  Each time she steps on the field, she is looking to improve. 
She is the type of all-around athlete that a coach hopes he can have on his
team.  Our softball program has been blessed to have Rhianna be a part of
it for her four seasons as an El Segundo Eagle!  Harvard is lucky to have
a person of her caliber and ability become one of their student-athletes next
year.  She will be a great asset to their program!”

So, congratulations to El Segundo Eagle Rhianna Rich, we
look forward to watching you soar!

—Cece Jane