Watching senior shortstop Jordan Matthews, who is headed to play for softball powerhouse University of Florida next season, is like watching someone two steps ahead of everybody else.
When she’s running full-speed ahead, she seems to float.
“Everything she does is so effortless,” said Jill Merriweather, El Dorado High School softball’s head coach. “We’re amazed. Some of the plays she makes, we’re like, ‘How does she do that?’ Everything about her, she just has a natural athletic ability that most kids just don’t have.”
“There’s just a presence about her that everybody’s drawn to,” Merriweather said. “When Jordan does it, everybody else wants to do it. She’s set the bar so high.”
Matthews is coming off a stellar 2016 season for the Golden Hawks (7-2-1) where she batted a whopping .542 and tallied 20 runs scored, 20 RBI and 39 hits.
“She’s the backbone of our team,” said Makenna Calderon, junior catcher. “After games, before game, during games, at school, she’s just a natural leader for us. Her presence just makes you want to do better.”
Matthews started playing softball at age 5, but played up in the 8U Division, She wasn’t fazed by the competition. In fact, that was her favorite part about it, she said.
She would watch NCAA women’s softball and imitate the moves she saw, pretending she was out on the field, in the actual games, sprinting and hustling. Her favorite squad was UCLA. She’d practice whenever she had a spare moment, determined to get better.
Her eighth-grade year, she took a break and played volleyball. She enjoyed it, but the sport wasn’t the same. Something was missing.
“I missed softball really bad,” Matthews said. “I had to come back and play.”
She’d challenge herself on the softball club circuit, and over the past few seasons, has consistently ranked among the nation’s top 100 recruits.
When Florida came calling early on in her high school career, she couldn’t turn down the offer.
“I went to the campus and fell in love with everything about it,” Matthews said.
For now, she’s focused on pushing El Dorado farther in her final season. The team has been ripping through its opponents, standing now at 11-3-1.
As much attention as Matthews brings when she steps onto the field, she usually blends into the huddle. You can find her telling jokes to teammates in the dugout, even smiling when she’s on the field – even as she makes impressive plays.
“She’s not only playing for herself,” said Emily Klee, senior pitcher/first baseman. “She makes sure everyone around her is staying positive.”