ConEd Athlete of the Week: Mamaroneck softball’s Jen Gottfried

In case you missed this yesterday, my colleague Mike Zacchio wrote this story on Mamaroneck softball’s  Jen Gottfried:

Most young children have career aspirations and Mamaroneck softball pitcher Jen Gottfried was no different. By the age of 9, Gottfried not only knew she wanted to be a doctor, she knew what field she wanted to study.

“It was always neuroscience,” said the senior, this week’s Con Edison Scholar-Athlete of the Week. Every Thursday, Gottfried would jump into her mother’s bed at 9 p.m. to watch the TV show “Grey’s Anatomy” because she was “fascinated” by the show’s content.

“I guess that’s not normal for a 9-year-old,” she said lightheartedly. “My mom never really had a problem with it. She was just happy to have me there. She saw that I was interested in it and that I was fine with (the graphic scenes).”

Gottfried said that instead of her mother covering her eyes during operating scenes, she was asked to cover her mother’s eyes until the scene concluded.

While interning at New York University’s Langone Medical Center, Gottfried held a human brain, allowing her to see exactly what she had been studying for weeks. Unfazed, Gottfried was more than content in the situation.

“It was so natural,” she said. “It was like holding a softball.”

A standout pitcher and hitter, Gottfried said that neuroscience and softball require similar traits in order to be successful. “Being a pitcher takes an extreme amount of focus,” said Gottfried, who is also the team’s captain. “Both really taught me that hard work never stops and that you have to be working even when nobody else is.”

It’s their ace starter’s dedication that has helped put the Tigers in position to claim their first league title since 1993. The only senior on the roster, Gottfried said she was surprised at how well her young teammates responded to constructive criticism.

“They wanted to be part of this team, no matter what their roles were,” said Gottfried, who was named MVP of the Beacon tournament last weekend. “We tell each other, ‘Pick yourself up and pick your teammates up as well.’ They’ve showed that they have resilience.”

The senior said she was “very proud” to win the Con Edison award, the same honor Tigers coach Allison Bedosky won as a softball player in 1995.

Gottfried, who is in the top 10 in her class with a 95 average and a 2,150 SAT score, plans to attend Michigan next year, her mother’s alma mater and where her sister Becky currently studies as a junior. The pre-med major was wait-listed by her top choice, Vanderbilt, but said she knows she will be happy at either school.

Twitter: @Zacchio_LoHud

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