Syd the Kid
SARVER — For years, Sydney Selker didn't know her real middle name.
Understandable. Her first name is a variation on a famous one in Pittsburgh.
“I actually thought my middle name was Crosby,” Sydney says, laughing. “Sydney Crosby Selker — sounds good, but that's not it.”
No, it's not. Her middle name is Alexis.
But that hasn't diminished this Syd's love for the other Sid.
Since the Freeport High School freshman can remember, Sydney has adored Sidney.She's gone to games — lots and lots of games as the family has season tickets. She's ardently rooted for the Penguins' center. She's lived and breathed black and gold.When Crosby was out of action several years ago, Sydney showed up to the arena with a homemade sign to support the star's recovery.“When Crosby got his teeth knocked out, I made him a sign a sign that said, 'I hope you get better soon. We miss you,'” Sydney said.Her love for Crosby extends all the way to her uniform.When it came time to pick out a jersey number for volleyball and softball at Freeport, Sydney's choice was simple.No. 87.“She had that number all through travel ball,” said Sydney's mother, Vicki, who is also an assistant coach for the Freeport softball team. “I can't remember the number she wanted when she started, but she could never get it because she always played up a couple of years and the older girls always got first pick. So, she just said forget it and picked 87.”It's a unique number for a unique talent.Sydney started as an outside hitter for the Yellowjackets' volleyball team last fall and is a starting pitcher for the Freeport softball team this spring.At the plate, Sydney is batting a gaudy .512 with seven home runs.In the circle, she has 93 strikeouts in just 77 innings.Those are dominant stats that would even make Sidney Crosby jealous.Sydney throws 60 mph — which equates to a 90 mph fastball in baseball — and bundles that heat with a changeup, drop ball, curveball and screwball.The curve is her out-pitch, and she's been working on it since she was 8.“It takes a lot of time,” Sydney said. “You have to have the proper form.”Sydney has had a love for softball since about the time Crosby won the first of his three Stanley Cups.“I just had a love of the game since I was 4,” Sydney said. “Watching other people play, like in the Olympics, it just kind of caught my eye and think this is something I actually think I might like. So, I went into travel softball and that just made me fall in love the with game.”Hockey, though, was never in the cards for Sydney, despite her love for that game, too.“I just like to watch it,” she says before letting out a chuckle. “Plus, I'm not very good at ice skating.”The love for all things black and gold extends to Sydney, now 15, her older sister, Jenna, 16, and younger sister Reese, who is in seventh grade, from Vicki and their father, Ed.The family's basement is an love poem to Pittsburgh.“We bleed black and gold in our house,” Ed said.Hanging on the walls in a row is Penguin and Steeler jerseys. The plush stools at the bar have Pens' logos on the cushions and even the Christmas Tree is black and gold.Sydney's favorite piece of memorabilia hangs front and center — an autographed Sidney Crosby jersey.What else?“We have a lot of stuff. A lot,” Sydney said. “The Crosby jersey is my favorite.”Growing up, Vicki was an avid Penguins fan and her favorite player was Jaromir Jagr.“Jagr is my all-time favorite,” Vicki said. “It wasn't until Sidney Crosby came that I purchased another jersey.”Of course, naming a child after Jagr was a non-starter.“Nothing good could come of that name,” Vicki said, laughing. “No girls named Jagr.”Sydney, though, was fair game.Ed wanted Alexis; Vicki wanted Sydney but with the Y in case “she ended up hating it later with an I. The Y made it more girly.”Sydney has no problem with the name. She's embraced it.Her wish is to someday pitch at the University of Pittsburgh.And, of course, meet Sidney Crosby.“Oh, yeah, I do,” Sydney said, gushing. “That would be so cool.”
