Student Athlete of the Week Zoe Cameron

The stage is set for both Zoe Cameron and her Niwot High School softball team to make some noise on the diamond this fall.

Now entering her fourth varsity season, Cameron is one of multiple seniors eyeing a big final year, including power-hitting pitcher Anne Booth and shortstop-centerfielder Autumn Rutherford. Niwot certainly boasts a few accomplished bats and Cameron hopes to provide another steady thump in an already dangerous Cougars' lineup.

"This season, I really want to look at my swing," Cameron said. "Not like in a mechanics way, but more staying consistent through my swing through the season. That was a struggle for me last season, staying consistent with it, so I think I'm going to be focusing on that."

As she admitted, hitting hasn't always come easy for Cameron, but she has shown improvement throughout her career. After batting .146 as a freshman, she raised her average to .210 the following season and then made another leap to .228 as a junior. Cameron also flashed some power last year with four doubles and a triple.

Defensively, Cameron said that she's now more comfortable at first base after being moved there from the outfield last season.

Softball, however, is far from the only thing on Cameron's plate. In addition to working a pair of part-time jobs this summer, she's also busy managing college applications.

"With school coming up, I've really been thinking about how I'm going to like work on balancing the first part of senior year with applying to colleges and schoolwork and actual work, and then softball," Cameron said. "I think that one of the biggest things I'm going to focus on is making sure I'm managing that good... (I'd) like to be ready, I don't want to be dragging through it."

While she's doing her best to stay locked in, Cameron isn't void of experiencing the emotions that come with being a senior. Softball has been a major part of her life since sixth grade, but that chapter will soon come to a close.

"It's weird to feel like I'm the oldest in the school and it's weird to think that such a big part of my life is coming to an end. Softball is not something I'm going to probably do in college," Cameron said.

Cameron added that she'll miss the routine of softball, her enjoyment of the game and the relationships that she has built with her teammates, including her fellow seniors.

"We're all super close because we've been together since freshman year," Cameron said of her senior softball class. "Because of COVID, we were kind of each other's only friends for a while, so that was really nice to have. We've all been so close together throughout all of high school. I feel like it's a really good bond."

Cameron and the Cougars host Frederick on Tuesday, Aug. 15 to open the 2023 season.

"I'm really excited for this year, we have a bunch of new talent coming in," Cameron said. "We have a couple of transfers and freshmen, as well as our (seniors) with us being at our strongest positioning. I think it's going to be a really good season for us and I think we all have really high hopes of getting into the postseason."