Decision a load off her mind
ADAMS TWP — Monica Glomb could have waited to see how many more colleges would be interested in her pitching abilities, but why wait?
Glomb, a senior at Mars High School, signed a letter of intent on Wednesday to play softball at Kutztown University, an NCAA Division II school.
Now that she's signed, helping the Planets to defend their WPIALClass AA title might not be as great an ordeal.
"Yeah, it's a huge weight off my shoulders," said Glomb.
"(Glomb) was very excited," said Mars coach Michele Goodworth. "She had been very stressed out. It was a good offer for her. She feels it's the right decision and the best decision for her."
Glomb had up to 15 schools interested in her services, but Kutztown seemed like the right fit.
"The coach (Judy Lawes) has been watching me play since the beginning of the summer," said Glomb, who also played for the Pittsburgh Patriots softball team.
Last spring, Glomb rung up 120 strikeouts in 103 innings and had an ERAof 0.67. As a sophomore with the Planets, Glomb struck out 134 batters in 116 innings and had a 0.78 ERA.
With the Patriots, she struck out 200 in 206 innings and had a 0.99 ERA.
She has played for nine seasons on travel teams, which also includes the Pittsburgh Spirit, Pittsburgh Power and the Beaver County Hornets.
Glomb has been a three-year starter for Mars, helping pitch the team to three section titles, including last season's undefeated section run that culminated with the WPIAL crown.
Goodworth, who will be coaching her ninth season for the Planets, has seen first hand the Glomb's growth.
"She has a personal trainer, a pitching coach, her dad works with her, she plays on travel teams. It's awesome to see her develop as a pitcher," the coach said.
"She's worked so hard to develop. She's like a machine. You call a pitch and it's going over the plate,"Goodworth added.
Glomb has six pitches in her repertoire, fastball, changeup, drop, curve, rise and screwball, and she feels comfortable using any of them.
That will be important at the college level, where she won't have to be the only pitcher to be counted upon.
When Glomb arrives on the Kutztown campus next year, the Golden Bears will have one senior, two juniors, two sophomores and another incoming freshman.
Before that happens, she still has another varsity season and will follow that up by playing for the Pittsburgh Diamond Stars traveling team.
And all without the burden of making a decision during the season.
"Coach (Goodworth) wants us to win again," said Glomb. "To repeat, you have to want it, and we'll try."
