Amanda King upped her velocity and added a pitch to her repertoire, but those weren’t the only reasons why she had such an excellent year on the softball field. It also took an extra boost of confidence for Amanda to perform so well in both the circle and the batter’s box, while helping Guilford have a breakout season in 2017.

Amanda, who recently completed her junior year, plays volleyball, basketball, and softball for the Indians. As a captain for the softball squad this spring, Amanda garnered All-SCC First Team and All-State honors, as well as the Indians’ Most Valuable Player Award, by pitching her team to 17 victories with 206 strikeouts in 158 innings pitched. She also batted .471 with five homers and 28 RBI, while guiding Guilford to a record of 17-7 and their first SCC Tournament final in program history.

“I definitely buckled down more this year with pitching. I took some lessons and redid my dynamics. I got stronger and worked harder. There were certain things I needed to fix to increase my speed, and I incorporated a drop ball,” says Amanda, who was also selected to the Connecticut High School Coaches Association Junior Select All-Star Game. “The entire game is staying strong mentally and having a lot of confidence. You have to keep your head in it and be strong. You have to be thinking of the next pitch and how you’ll get the batter out.”

On the other side of the equation, Amanda also kept her confidence rolling with the bat this season by always thinking that she was going to get the better of the opposing pitcher every time she stepped to the plate.

“I just went up there with a bunch of confidence in each at-bat. You have to wait for your pitch to hit and be in control up there,” says Amanda. “You have to be smart with what you swing at. You have to think that you are better than the pitcher. And when you’re the pitcher, you have to think you’re better than the hitter.”

Amanda was the winning pitcher in all 17 of the Indians’ victories in the recent season. However, spoken like a true leader, she tosses out a ton of credit to her teammates for helping the young, upstart Indians become a force in the Southern Connecticut Conference.

“Winning those 17 games as a pitcher and as a team were huge, because we were a young team this year, but we always made it a ton of fun when we won games. It was also great, because we had a couple of tough seasons the last few years,” she says. “Our talent, especially with the younger players, got better. We worked hard, and it made the year enjoyable.”

Head Coach Steve Zajac says that Amanda not only provided an iron arm for the Indians this year, but also displayed the utmost desire and dedication to lead the team as one of its captains.

“Last offseason, Amanda made some great strides in her game. She had a great summer on the softball fields and continued working throughout the offseason with batting and pitching lessons. She has dedicated herself to becoming the best pitcher and player that she can. Her dedication paid off this year, being more consistent and dominating when pitching. She pitched every inning for us this year, including a stretch of four games in four days,” says Zajac. “Amanda has been an effective captain the last two years for us, because she has such a great knowledge of the game. I think her teammates really respect what she has to say about each game and how we can improve. She will be the first three-time captain of our program. I really enjoy working with Amanda, because she really wants to win and puts everything she has into each game.”

The youth is certainly on the rise for the Indians going forward as they feature a collection of sophomores and juniors who emerged as impact players this spring. Amanda says that it means a lot to be a leader among such a talented group of athletes, especially since it gives her a chance to make a positive impact on each one of them.

“Being captain was an honor, because I love being able to make differences with the younger kids and be a leader. I like to show them what is right and give them directions,” Amanda says. “I like being involved with everyone and helping them get better.”

Amanda says that the fun-loving attitude among the Indians played a major role in them reaching new heights this spring. For next season, though, Amanda is aspiring to lead Guilford on an even deeper playoff run.

“We were there to have fun. Other teams went into games on a mission, but like with the SCC final, we were happy to be there. We had fun and stayed positive, which helped out a lot,” says Amanda, who thanks her family, friends, coaches, and teammates. “We are losing only one senior, so we will have much of the same team next year. We want to return to the SCC final and go a little deeper in states.”