March 6, 2023
Mount Dora Christian Academy’s Sammi Thomas Receives $750 College Scholarship
By Kyle Coppola
Mount Dora Christian Academy’s Sammi Thomas Receives $750 College Scholarship
Character Is Everything
It’s one thing to be honored for your play on the field. Sammi Thomas has already been awarded plenty for that. Accolades include a commitment to play for Lake Sumter State College and a host of other offensive awards including a .326 batting average. She is an outstanding athlete on the field, but her character on & off the softball diamond has also gained attention.
(Sammi Thomas right is one of the most genuine and respectful players in the game.)
During the Lady Bulldogs victory against Countryside 7-1 in St. Petersburg Thomas was awarded a special scholarship. The event was part of the 1st Coach K. Bayly Memorial tournament and the scholarship honored Thomas for her character on the field. It’s well known that MDCA has a deep faith based way of teaching their athletes.
Thomas is one of those athletes that just beams with pride and happiness no matter if it’s on the field or off the field. She holds herself to a very high standard and it’s the reason people notice that. From the moment she walks out onto the field she shows what true sportsmanship is about. No matter if it’s encouraging her teammates, going over to consolidate a losing team or just playing some amazing softball, Thomas is one of the backbones of the Bulldog team.
(Members of MDCA, Canerbury School and Cougar players all congregated together before and after the event for food and fellowship.)
It was so nice to see her honored this way especially considering the three teams who were a part of this tournament congregate together before and after the event for food and fellowship. This is not something foreign to christian programs. Many schools which are faith based do this. It reminds the players that although they play for different schools, congregation and fellowship are some of the most important values in life.
MDCA Softball Off To Amazing Start!
The MDCA softball team is off to an incredible start as we knew they would be. The Bulldogs are already off to a 6-1 start and are the clear favorites to win the district championship this season. Emma Bowman is a new hot shot freshman who has been absolutely crushing it this year. She has an incredible .542 batting average through 7 games this season. Meanwhile Sami Thomas leads the team in Runs and stolen bases, while Freshman Lily Bryant leads the team in RBIs.
(Sammi Thomas and Wynter Craft stand together with athletic director Megan Ziegelhofer who absolutely loves these young athletes.)
Wynter craft has had a very good start to the year as well. Katie Bayly might be the biggest surprise though as the Freshman has taken the league by storm with her pitching. Bayly has pitched 21 innings so far this season and has just a 2.33 ERA which is terrific for a Freshman. Bayly also leads the team in strikeouts with 12 so far.
Photos Provided By:
MDCA Facebook
Kyle Coppola was born in Newton, Massachusetts and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communications from Curry College in 2016. After traveling to Florida on a family vacation, he decided he could not get enough of the warm weather and made the move from snowy Massachusetts to central Florida 8 years ago.
For the last decade Kyle has gained valuable experience in social media content creation, marketing and sales, writing, video production, sports announcing and even broadcasting for local radio stations, such as FM 102.9 in The Villages and FM 91.5 in Massachusetts. Every year he volunteers at The Villages Charter High School as a play-by-play sports announcer for the football games as well as a public address announcer for the basketball games, including the annual Battle at The Villages Tournament.
Outside the office Kyle is a husband and father to two beautiful girls along with their cat. In his spare time he likes to spend time with his family, travel, play golf and swim. He is also a huge sports junkie and even bigger motorsports fan and loves to attend racing events when he can.
