APRIL

2021

Stepping up to the plate

Mercado preparing for Olympic softball tryouts
To r i e P e c k er Dafne Mercado’s happy place. Sur- Prairie,” Mercado said. “The first time while not an easy feat, would be to go
STAFF WRITER rounded by her closest friends and an I tried out, I wanted to quit because I Division I of the NCAA in college. But
@torielpeck intense game easily diminishes the didn’t like it at all; everyone had been that is not what Dafne did.
stress of the outside world. On the field, playing for a long

A “She’s hitting the

quick signal to the pitcher. there is only one thing to worry about: time, and I was super
The whizz of an incoming the next pitch. behind, and my skills
neon-yellow softball. The But Mercado’s love for softball didn’t weren’t [up to par].”

ball well and really

snap of a leather glove. come as naturally as one may think. No matter how
Strike! “I started playing softball when I was much she wanted
Softball is Coppell senior catch- 8, after moving to Coppell from Grand to quit when she
first started playing,

standing out, [and]

Dafne’s parents, Ma-
ribel and Jose Merca-
do, encouraged her to

she’s got a cannon of

give it a shot. With
help from Sparks
coach Landon Wil-

an arm.”
son, the game
started to come
more naturally.
“I [told Dafne]
to keep trying until
she gets it,” Mrs. Mer- MIKE DYSON
cado said. “Sometimes COPPELL SOFTBALL COACH
when the game didn’t
go her way, she’d get discouraged and During Dafne’s junior year, her friend
want to quit. I just told her to keep Ralls High School junior Jazzlyn Vaquera
working and she’d get it.” made the Mexican Olympic team. After
As her skills grew, so did her matu- Vaquera made the team, Dafne’s interest
rity and confidence. Now, Dafne knows spiked. Trying out was a no-brainer.
her errors do not define her. “The reason I get to try out is because
“There’s s o m e d ay s w h e r e I don’t most people who are already on the team
want to do stuff after I’ve had a bad are on [Division I] softball and some people
game,” Dafne said. “But I always have couldn’t play due to COVID-19,” Dafne said.
my mom and coaches there who believe “I get to go in the summer and try out.”
in me. If I make an error, I know they’ll Dafne expects to try out for Team
be behind me and keep pushing me.” Mexico in the 2024 Olympics around
Her hard work paid off. Dafne con- July or August of this year.
tinued to improve over the years and “People are seeing what Mercado can
began to feel at home on the field. really do,” Coppell coach Mike Dyson
Now, she shines as Coppell’s start- said. “She’s hitting the ball well and re-
ing catcher on the varsity team. ally standing out, [and] she’s got a cannon
Once Dafne got comfort- of an arm.”
able on the field, she started
to focus on her future. A TORIE ‘23 can be reached at
common goal, vlp0601@g.coppellisd.com

Coppell senior Dafne Mercardo is the starting catcher for the Coppell softball team.
Mercado has played softball since she was 8 and is trying out for the Mexican Olympic
team over the summer. Photos by Precious Onalaja and Sally Parampottil