North Cedar’s Anna Peterson calls it a career

CLARENCE - Anna Peterson recently finished her junior season on the North Cedar softball team.

It will be her last.

Peterson graduated a year early and will attend Loras College in Dubuque this fall, majoring in law and minoring in journalism.

'I decided to graduate early for a lot of reasons,” Peterson wrote in an email. 'The main reason I graduated early though was because it was the right decision for me. There were people who disagreed or didn't understand, but I was just ready to move on to a new adventure.”

Peterson is not giving up on softball, however. She is planning on trying out for team at Loras.

'Softball will continue to be part of my life,” she said. 'I hope to play in college and occasionally I play slow-pitch softball.

'And when I stop playing, I'll still love to watch others play the game.”

Peterson also ran cross country and track at North Cedar, along with playing basketball and softball. She was part of yearbook, National Honor Society and Quill and Scroll.

Softball was a big part of her career.

'My sophomore year I tried out for the Cedar Rapids Blue Devils, an ASA softball team,” she said. 'Most of the girls that played had been playing for the same team since they were young, maybe 10 years old. When I went to tryouts, the coaches accepted me, even though I lacked some skills.

'Being on a team of such amazing athletes and even better people gave me a passion for the game I hadn't always had. The coaches taught me so much and made it so easy to get better. The girls on that team became some of my closest friends and inspirations. Playing for the Cedar Rapids Blue Devils changed the game for me and I did my best to bring everything I had learned into school ball.”

The Knights finished 5-21 this past season.

'My favorite part of softball is the feeling of giving everything you have,” she said. 'Whether it's making a throw to save a run from scoring or hitting a ball as hard as you can or laying out for a fly ball. Because even if everything you have isn't enough, your teammates are always there to pick you up.”