Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Making time for a ballgame
Amid ‘Never Again’ activism, roasting politicians on Twitter, Sarah Chadwick says softball gives her a chance to relax
PARKLAND — Sal Vacirca says there are two versions of Sarah Chadwick.
One of the most prominent faces of the Never Again movement, the 16-year-old Marjory Stoneman Douglas student has quickly emerged as a national figure in the fight for gun control. Utilizing her intelligence, sharp wit and scathing comebacks on Twitter, Chadwick has developed a major platform with over 326,000 followers.
On the other side, there’s Chadwick the high school student-athsoftball lete who, despite the whirlwind surrounding her, can still be found cracking one-liners on the softball field in her black catcher’s gear and gray No. 2 Eagles jersey.
“When she’s out saving the world, she’s Super Sarah,” said Vacirca, the Stoneman Douglas JV coach. “When she’s here, she’s just part of a great group of girls. They laugh, they have fun.”
Tucked away in the southwest corner of campus — away from the throng of transparent backpacks
and substantial police presence due to the February shooting that claimed 17 lives and wounded 17 others — the softball diamond provides a loose atmosphere for Chadwick and her teammates, where they can field grounders or sing along to B.o.B’s “Airplanes.”
“Softball is like a break for all of us,” Chadwick said. “I always make sure I’m here for softball games. If someone’s like, ‘I need you to go here on this day,’ I’m like ‘Sorry, have a softball game.’ It’s been tough juggling [all of my responsibilities], but I feel I’m figuring it out as I go.”
Chadwick began playing in fifth grade and says she loves watching college softball, particularly Washington and Florida. The junior said, with a laugh, that she rates her softball skills as “a cool five — not college level, but not horrible.”
For just 16, Chadwick carries herself with an extremely mature confidence. From giving national speeches to spoofing notable figures like NRA spokesperson Dana Loesch, nothing seems to faze the junior. Her humor translates to the field, where her “jokester” personality shines.
“I don’t want to speak for the team, but I think I’m pretty funny,” Chadwick says in a joking manner. “Maybe one of the funniest on the team, I have to say. I think it’s important to make sure we’re all having a good time and getting a break from everything, so I think it’s good to crack jokes and have humor out here.”
Junior Fabiola Resto said they’re always messing around and laughing on the field and describes Chadwick as someone she could hang out with all the time.
“She’s so funny,” Resto said. “She’ll yell out things just to mess around with teammates. Say I’m at shortstop, she’ll be like, ‘Bend your knees! Or come on, get down bae!’”
On social media, she’s used her quick wit to critique politicians and pundits. She once said of Senator Marco Rubio: “We should change the names of AR-15s to “Marco Rubio” because they are so easy to buy.”
Chadwick, who said she’s always been vocal with her views, isn’t one to back down. When people call her out on Twitter — such as Fox News host Laura Ingraham — Chadwick doesn’t hesitate to dunk on them when given the opportunity.
Ingraham — in response to the Rubio tweet — posted “How teens speak to and abt adults” and added the Rubio line, but attributed Chadwick as a sophomore. The Douglas student deftly replied, “I’m a junior.”
“Sometimes I’ll be on Twitter and I’ll see a tweet and it’s just too easy not to snap back at it,” Chadwick said. “It’s such an opportunity and it’s right there and it’s like ‘I can write such a good comeback’ for this, so then I’ll do it, sometimes I won’t.”
“I think it’s important for people to remember — especially people trolling us — we are still high school students. You may not agree with us, but we’re students. You look bad if you’re the one trolling a high school student.”
While she’s proven adept at fending off Twitter trolls on her own, Chadwick always has her fellow Eagles by her side.
“I love her so much,” Resto said. “She’s such a good person and I can’t explain how nice she is. It’s so shocking what she’s done and I’m always there rooting for her. I see her doing this movement that’s so powerful and I’m so proud of her.”