Sun, Nov 22 2009
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Mack attack Former Edgewood standout headed to Edinboro BOB ETTINGERStar Beacon Having played other positions throughout her high school career will be a help to Mackey in college.
“It’s a good thing,” Mackey said. “Anyone can play one position. Somebody that can play every position is very valuable. The coaches said that would help me a lot. If somebody gets hurt, I can go play there until they come back. It’s a good thing.” “I always focused on pitching,” Mackey said. “I didn’t realize it would be important to be versatile.” Playing for Monas gave Mackey the focus she’ll need to play at the collegiate level. “She’s a very outspoken person,” Mackey said. “It’s tough to play for her. My other coaches are more laid back. They like to have fun and win, too. (Monas) gets the best out of people. She brought the best out of us. She knew what was needed for us to play at the top of our game. She kept us in the game and focused. That helped a lot.” Edinboro is a school known for developing teachers and Mackey will make good use of that resource. She will major in special education. “I know it’s a different major,” Mackey said. “I knew I always wanted to go into teaching. It’s something I enjoy doing. I didn’t want to be with older kids, so I was looking at kindergarten, first grade and second grade or somewhere around there. I did a job shadow, and my mom said I should go to Happy Hearts to do it. I was with a preschool group and an older group. I fell in love with the preschoolers. It’s what I want to do. It just kind of clicked.” A number of teachers along the way inspired Mackey to pursue a career in education, but one made her decide to make the commitment to the field. “I had a lot of great teachers that inspired me to go into teaching,” Mackey said. “Going into special education was kind of a coincidence. I didn’t know that’s what I wanted to do until I went on the job shadow. I had (Jim) Sanchez for a lot of classes. He opened my eyes to that career. He made all his classes fun. He really kept us awake and our eyes open. He’s probably one of my best teachers.” Mackey knows it will be tough to play softball and give the needed attention her major, one which the school takes very seriously. “It’s going to be tough,” Mackey said. “They have high standards, especially in the teaching college. You can’t have under a 3.0. You have to stay on top of your classes. If you don’t, they’ll tell you that you’re not doing well and that you should switch majors. You have to study hard and stay focused.” But softball will not get in the way of Mackey’s chosen career. She vows to keep her academic career in the forefront. “My education means more to me than softball does,” Mackey said. “I’d never let my grades drop because of softball or any other sport. My education will be my career. Softball is just something I’ll do to get me through college.” 
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