Randee Romero is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Red Mountain High School for AZPreps365.com

Red Mountain junior Taylor Trowbridge didn’t let an injury at the start of her high school softball career stop her from playing the game she loved. 

It was Trowbridge’s freshman year at Red Mountain High School and she was a starting varsity softball pitcher. She was one of only two freshmen to make the varsity squad for the 2019 season, but a wrong push off the mound changed the season for her. 

Trowbridge had felt the pain in her hip the moment she released the ball from her hand, but was carried to the end of the game by her adrenaline. After that game, and for the rest of her freshman season, Trowbridge battled with the constant pain in her hip every time she played.

The pain didn’t stop Trowbridge from competing. She insisted that she play the rest of the 2019 season, and helped carry her team to the state semifinals. Trowbridge was limited to only pitching that season. No hitting, base running, or other fielding positions. Her limitations had to be addressed, and a visit to the doctor after the season ended confirmed that she needed surgery to repair the damage that had been done to her hip. 

At the start of her sophomore year Trowbridge had an operation to repair ligament damage and a stretched hip capsule.

“It was really hard, and having to watch all my friends play after I got the surgery just made it 10 times harder,” Trowbridge said. 

Trowbridge leaned on her teammates for support after her surgery, but having to cheer them on from the dugout and not on the field made her itch to play even more.

“I was just thinking that there were other girls getting better and I was drifting back," she said. "I knew I wasn’t going to even be at the level I was when I stopped.”

To Trowbridge, softball is all she’d ever known. She began playing at the age of 6, and didn’t want to stop, especially during high school.

“My instant thought was I'm not gonna get recruited," Trowbridge said. "I'm not going to college. I would think if I missed certain tournaments I was going to miss an opportunity.” 

Slow wasn’t the pace Trowbridge wanted to take her recovery, but she knew it was necessary. She trusted her doctor, physical therapist, coaches and teammates to look out for her during her recovery.

Trowbridge was back on the mound six months after her operation. 

“I think she came back from the injury just fine," Red Mountain coach Rich Hamilton said.  "She did what the doctor told her, worked hard, finished rehab and did a great job with that. I'm really proud of her.”

Trowbridge thrived off the support from her coach.

“I know that he believes in me. Especially when I wasn’t at my best after the surgery, he knew that I could be better,” she said. “All of my team believed in me a lot and I felt it.” 

Fresh out of recovery, Trowbridge was yet again the starting pitcher for Red Mountain her sophomore season in 2020. “We didn’t see a drop off at all. She continued to get better the whole time in both her hip and her pitching,” Hamilton said. 

The family dynamic that Hamilton created within the team helped Trowbridge trust the recovery process.

“I like depending on my teammates," she said. "You can’t be selfish in softball. You have to learn to lean on other people, and trust other people, and support other people. Not just focus on yourself.” 

Trowbridge felt especially supported by her teammate, center fielder Echo Mattiello.

“She’s definitely a big support system for me," Trowbridge said. "I just know she always has my back and that she’s always supporting me both on and off the field.” 

Trowbridge counted on the cheers from her centerfielder to pull her through the harder games after her injury.

“If we’re not supporting our pitcher on the mound, and we’re not being loud then I will take responsibility for it. I’m supposed to look out for the people around me,” Mattiello said. 

After her recovery, Trowbridge had a lot to prove to herself and the team that supported her.

“My team knew what I could do and they wanted to see me succeed," she said. "It’s big to know that I had them there even though I wasn't playing and I feel like I've progressed a lot since then. Now it’s go time.” 

Trowbridge has continued to show her talent on the mound at the start of the 2021 season. She had 13 strikeouts in an 11-5 victory over Hamilton in the Mountain Lions' first win of the season.

The Mountain Lions are only three games into their 2021 season, but Trowbridge believes they have the power to surprise a lot of people this year.