CHECKING IN WITH ... SAM CASTER
(Editor's note: The Day will be publishing a profile of a spring athlete for each day the high school athletic season is suspended.)
School: Wheeler High School
Class: Senior
Sport: Softball
Position: Outfield/catcher
College choice: UConn Avery Point
Chosen major: Psychology
Favorite sport besides softball: Basketball
Athlete you grew up admiring: Diana Taurasi
Checking in with Sam: "My mom is a teacher and every day before leaving for work she would say to me and my brother 'work hard, ask questions, and be an advocate for yourself.' Every day without fail she said this going out the door."
What you need to know about Sam: Caster is a threesport athlete at Wheeler, also competing in volleyball and basketball, and will continue her basketball career at UConn Avery Point, an offer which made it an easy choice, she said, as basketball is her No. 1 sport. Also at Wheeler, she is a part of student government and is a student liason to the North Stonington Education Foundation. "I also take pride in being a part of the rec program in North Stonington," Caster said. "I love working with kids from preschool to middle school and helping them with developing athletic skills." She remembers tripling against Montville as a junior as her best accomplishment in softball because her offense was something she had been working on. "I was looking forward to my final season wearing a Wheeler uniform, my last Senior Night (of the three sports) and having time with friends," she said of the spring season. "At Wheeler, you're given so much more than an education. You have the opportunity to create relationships with friends and teachers that will last a lifetime. Athletically, I never would have been able to have the experiences I have been so lucky to have if I had chosen to go anywhere else. The small-school atmosphere gave me the ability to grow as a person and a student. I will always be grateful for that." Caster has been playing basketball since kindergarten. She was Wheeler's ECC scholar-athlete recipient during the winter and has earned ECC sportsmanship awards in all three seasons. She would like to give a shout-out to her family for always coming to her games and for its "unwavering support in everything I do."
— Vickie Fulkerson