Alyssa Lavdis and Mikaela Fording soon will give back to the communities that helped them to develop into two of Northeast Ohio’s top high school softball players.
Lavdis, a Madison graduate and the 2021 News-Herald Player of the Year, just completed her freshman year at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga and Fording, an Eastlake North graduate, just finished her career at Notre Dame College.
They’ll team up to host the Alyssa Lavdis Pitching Clinic and the Mikaela Fording Catching Clinic at Kirtland Recreation Park on June 29 from 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
“I feel like it’s important to give back to the softball community because of all the opportunities the sport has to offer,” Lavdis said. “I would love for younger girls to fall in love with the sport and get the same experience I did. It is also special to me because I am able to give back to younger girls that live in the same area as me. “
At Madison, Lavdis was 28-17 with a career earned run average under 1.50. She struck out 415 batters in her two seasons.
She was 3-2 as a freshman at UT-Chattanooga, a Division I college program.
She’s now ready to share her knowledge of the game with the youth players who attend the clinic.
“I am very excited to work with younger kids,” she said. “I love teaching and having them pick my brain. It’s always a blast giving lessons to younger girls and I am excited to meet the new ones that attend.”
Fording, an Eastlake North graduate, quickly transitioned from the high school game to the Division II collegiate level as she started 55 games as a freshman at Notre Dame College.
That year, she threw out nine would-be base stealers, which ranked sixth in NDC program history, and she also recorded 261 putouts, which tied her for fifth in school history.
She went on to start 66 more games over the next three seasons, although her 2020 campaign was cut short due to COVID.
Registration is now open for both clinics.
- Click here to register for the Alyssa Lavdis Pitching Clinic.
- Click here to register for the Mikaela Fording Catching Clinic.
