Every other week this softball season, Archbishop Molloy senior shortshop/pitcher Maria Palmeri has given us an inside look at her team’s quest for a second straight CHSAA state title. In her exclusive diary for NYPost.com, the four-year varsity player chronicled the completion of her high school career before heading to C.W. Post to play softball next fall.
So it’s officially over.
I’m ecstatic to say that I can look back on my four years of Molloy varsity softball and say that I have accomplished something. I’m honestly proud to call myself a Stanner.
This school has been my second home over the last four years of my life and playing on the softball team has given me one of the biggest senses of family that this school has to offer. I’ve felt at home here, welcomed, and accepted. I’ve never felt such a strong sense of belonging before I attended Molloy, and the team itself was a big part of that belonging feeling. My softball team has played the role of my second family each year I was on the team, and I’m happy to say that I was part of that family all four years of high school.
Reminiscing about my years at Molloy, I realize now that I have a lot to be happy about. My team over the years has won four Brooklyn/Queens championships, two CHSAA city titles, and one CHSAA state title (even four state playoff appearances).
Even though we fell short of expectations this year, there’s nothing to be ashamed of. I take a lot of pride in our team’s accomplishments this year (First place in our league, Brooklyn/Queens champions, city champions, and state finalists). Our team this year really fell together perfectly. We worked hard, pushed through obstacles and really overcame a lot to accomplish what we did. We advanced as far as we could this year and achieved our goal that seemed to be just a dream at one point; that’s definitely something I’m thrilled to be able to say.
I really owe a lot of my successes over the years to my teammates (both past and present), my coaches (and every assistant coach I’ve had), my family and friends, and all of the supporters from my school. I’ve had a great and successful four years on this team with coach [Maureen] Rosenbaum, and I can’t thank her enough for all the opportunities she has given me to succeed and for believing in me when I was only a freshman.
Lastly, though, I have to acknowledge and thank my father who has been the biggest coach I’ve ever had year after year. I wouldn’t be where I am today if it weren’t for him. I may have not even attended Molloy either if it weren’t for him. At one point, I didn’t even consider Molloy, but my father helped to convince me otherwise. Looking back now, I’m so glad and ever grateful that he did.
My academic and athletic experiences at Molloy have been astounding. It really is a one-of-a-kind school. It seems like only yesterday I was walking in these doors as a freshman with wide eyes and high hopes for my future.
Pretty soon, I’ll be that same freshman in college. It’s unbelievable. It also seems like only yesterday I was trying out for the softball team, and again, pretty soon I’ll be doing the same in college. I don’t know if C.W. Post will be quite like Molloy, and I don’t think anything ever will be. All I know now is that I will cherish all of my experiences I’ve had here, remember my sense of belonging and friendship and take all of the knowledge I’ve learned and shared here with me as I move onto college. “Non Scholae sed Vitae: Not for School, but for Life.”
Thank you, Archbishop Molloy High School, for making these last four years a memory that will last a lifetime.
This is Maria Palmeri’s final diary