Athlete of the Month: Joliet Central's Eichholzer a Diamond Gem

Joliet Central’s Emily Eichholzer boasts a 3.98 grade-point average and plans to study pre-med in college.

She’s so smart she can talk in sign language—and, no, I’m not talking about the kind of sign language used by her softball coach to communicate whether to swing away or bunt on the ball diamond.

She opted to study sign language instead of, say, French or Spanish. So, she enrolled in summer school courses at Wabaunsee Community College to pick up on what she first started with her mother when she was in first grade.

She plays center field for the Steelmen. She has a knack for picking up the flight of a batted ball quickly and has enough giddy-up to run down shots hit into the gaps. Oh, and did I mention she’s hitting .419 with four home runs and 29 RBIs?

Or that the thing her coach—Erin Douglas—likes the best about Eichholzer is that she’s a junior? She’ll be back for an encore performance next spring and, by then, she might be toting a scholarship around in her pocket.

Douglas moved Eichholzer straight to the varsity ranks back when she was a freshman. She’s been a starter from Day 1 and a team leader, too.

“One of things that always stuck out with me—and still does—is her work ethic,” Douglas said. “I think that’s something that had to be instilled in her at a young age by her parents.

“She came in never questioning anything, always going, ‘What can I do to improve? Can we do more drills?’ She’s one of the only girls who will ask me to stay after practice. ‘I want more groundballs. I want more flyballs.’ Anything she can do to better herself and help the team out, she’s always willing to do.”

3 Hits, 7 RBIs: A Breakout Moment

Eichholzer was named Joliet Patch’s Athlete of the Week after going 3-for-5 with seven RBIs in Joliet Central’s 19-1 thumping of Thornwood. She hasn’t skipped a beat heading into the Southwest Suburban Blue Conference’s stretch run.

She is featured today as Joliet Patch’s Athlete of the Month for April.

Her batting average has jumped nearly 100 points since her sophomore season, due in no small part to the work she put in during the off-season.

Eichholzer missed playing summer-ball because of a shoulder injury. When she returned to the fold with the Lincoln-Way Storm in a warehouse affectionately dubbed as the “Power Plant,” she returned with vengeance, albeit indoors, in the cages.

“This past winter I did a lot—it wasn’t really anything different,” Eichholzer said. “And last year I had a pretty good average, too. It’s just this year I feel a lot more comfortable. I have a lot more experience.”

Eichholzer puts that experience to work as the leadoff hitter and catalyst for Joliet Central. She smacked a home run to start the Steelmen off on the right foot in a recent game vs. Lincoln-Way East. She doesn’t always knock down the fences.

She does put the ball in play and she does keep opposing defenders on their toes. She also has gained the trust of Douglas, transforming from a know-it-all wunderkind to a sponge looking to absorb knowledge, on and off the field.

“You know, I sometimes think I see a little bit of myself in Emily, especially when she was younger,” Douglas said. “I think that’s just a freshman trait—to think you know it all. But you grow, you mature, you go, ‘OK, I do need to work on this skill.’ And I think she’s definitely come around.”

Eichholzer credits Douglas for much of her recent development surge.

“Yeah, Coach Douglas has been my right-hand man since my freshman year,” Eichholzer said. “She’s always had my back with everything. The thing I love about her is she loves to hear what I have to say.

“I think when I was younger I used to think I knew everything. She stepped in and made me realize I didn’t know everything. And, now that I’m getting older, I’ve learned from her. I’ve learned how to talk to her and how to approach her.

“She knows how to approach me. We get along really well. She comes to me for team advice. I’m not a captain this year. That’s OK. But she comes to me as a team leader and I really appreciate it—the fact that she appreciates my effort and my ability. She believes in me.”

To think, Douglas doesn’t need a sign for that.

Previous Athlete of the Month Winners

SEPTEMBER: JT Central's Singletary is Patch Athlete of the Month

OCTOBER: JCA's Blotnik Charges to Head of the Pack

NOVEMBER: Ivlow Rushes To JCA Football Rescue

DECEMBER: JCA's Lumpkin Has Game to Go with Nickname(s)

JANUARY: Joliet West's Dunnigan a King on His Own Court

FEBRUARY: Joliet Central's Zabala Doesn't Know Meaning of Word Quit

MARCH: Joliet West's Ames Knocking Down the Fences