THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 31, 1994 TAG: 9407290270
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 26 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Sports
SOURCE: BY XIAOHONG ZHANG SWAIN, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 81 lines
PLAYING CATCHER was difficult for Marni Magyar of Great Bridge High School.
``I made a lot of mistakes,'' said the 17-year-old rising senior, wearing an embarrassed smile. ``I had a hard time dealing with the mistakes.''
But Magyar turned it around in her sophomore year and made it to the All-District first team. At the end of her junior year, Magyar harvested four honors by being named first team All-District, first team All-Tidewater, first team All-Region and first team All-State. Her batting average increased from under .400 to .500.
``I didn't want to keep messing up,'' Magyar said, recalling her turning point. ``By sophomore year, I got more solid and understood all the rules.''
Magyar credits her drastic improvement to her coach, Nobel Palmer, who conducted many one-on-one practice sessions with her.
``He worked me a lot,'' Magyar said. ``He's the one who made me a good catcher.''
When Magyar made the Wildcats' roster, Palmer switched her from an outfielder to a catcher.
``Something intuitively told me that she can be a catcher,'' Palmer remembered. ``She got better every year.''
Palmer has been especially impressed by Magyar's demeanor on the field.
``She doesn't get frustrated,'' he said. ``Even when we are losing, she is hanging in there. She always has this beautiful smile and composure.''
Magyar also is very patient in helping younger teammates, and has a steadying influence on them, according to Palmer.
Besides her coach, Magyar passes some of the credit for her success to her former teammate, pitcher Stacey Adamson, who graduated in June.
``Stacey and I got along very well,'' Magyar said. ``She's the main reason I did so well last season. She made it easier for me.''
Magyar's life has been filled with competitive sports since the age of 8. She played on the Great Bridge Recreational Softball Team until she turned 12. Then she played four seasons on the Chesapeake Firecrackers.
Since 8th grade, Magyar has been competing in softball and volleyball throughout the year. But she dedicates the spring season solely to the Wildcats's softball team. During the summer, she travels to Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C., with the Tidewater Lady Tides softball tournament team. In the fall, Magyar becomes a setter on Great Bridge's volleyball team. When winter arrives, she warms up with the Hampton Roads Junior Volleyball Team.
Magyar's mother, Sharon, and father, David, believe team sports have definitely been a positive influence not only on their daughter, but also on teenagers in general.
``It's good for them to be busy,'' said Sharon, a fourth-grade teacher at Greenbrier Intermediate School. ``Team sports teach them self-confidence and cooperative learning.''
David, who is retired from the Navy and working on a master's degree in education at Old Dominion University, supported his wife's effort to get both of their daughters (Marnie has an older sister, Christine) involved in softball at early ages. From the very beginning, David taught the girls to throw and catch in their front yard.
``I played baseball all day when I was a kid. But I was never good enough to play in high school,'' he recalled. But he was good enough to teach Magyar to throw a ball back and forth 100 times without dropping it.
Today, David and Sharon are thrilled that their daughter has advanced much further in softball then her initial interest would have warranted.
``She's more successful than we expected her to be,'' Sharon said.
Magyar is surprised at her accomplishment, too.
``I didn't expect to get all the honors I have,'' she said.
But now, she has a tough act to follow. Magyar's senior softball season will begin in March 1995, and although she hopes she can play at the same level as last year, she knows there are areas of her game that need a little work.
``I'd like to improve my hitting, some throws and some catching,'' she said. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by STEVE EARLEY
Great Bridge catcher Marni Magyar raised her batting average to
.500.
by CNB