Emma Davids, starting catcher for the Los Lunas softball team, has committed to play for the Garden City Community College Broncbusters following her graduation from Los Lunas next spring.
Courtesy of Brandy Sanderson

Davids plans to study pre-med and hopes to have a career in medicine once she finishes her schooling.
Courtesy of Brandy Sanderson

A member of the Los Lunas softball team has made her college decision. Emma Davids, the catcher for the Tigers, has committed to play for Garden City Community College in Garden City, Kan.

Davids picked the Broncbusters over Arizona Christian University.

“What set Garden City apart is the coach,” Davids said. “She just started coaching there, and she doesn’t only want to help us with softball, but she wants us to learn lessons that we can use on and off the field.”

The leader of the Garden City program is Amy Schmeckpeper, who took over the program in May after a stint at Lamar Community College. She reached out to Davids over the summer and began recruiting the LLHS star, who immediately took to her.

“Coach Schmeckpeper had first called me during the summer,” Davids said. “She had wanted to get to know me more as a person and player which really stood out.

“After talking on the phone, I had decided I wanted to visit the campus. Right after the campus visit, I knew that I wanted to play for Coach Schmeckpeper.”

At present, Davids doesn’t know how the coaching staff envisions her role at GCCC yet, which she said was due to the extraordinary circumstances surrounding their upcoming season as they navigate the pandemic.

“I haven’t been told anything for next year, but I think trying to figure out what is going on this year, and even if there will be a season this year is the main focus for the coaches,” Davids said.

While she plays softball, she plans to study pre-med, with a career in the medical field her goal for after her college days, so her studies will be her primary focus at GCCC.

“I think my main goal is my studies. It’s a huge bonus that I still get to play the game I love,” she said. “My main goal is just to try and find the positive in every situation while I am there, and be not only a reliable player but also a student.”

She hasn’t yet decided if she wants to continue playing after her time in Garden City, but it’s already something she has put a lot of thought into as she looks ahead to her next step.

“I have thought a lot about it, I am not too sure yet,” Davids said. “I know it will be extremely hard to continue playing while trying to pursue a career in the medical field, but I haven’t made any decision yet.”

With one more year at Los Lunas still in front of her, Davids is focused on improving her defense behind the plate and improving her bat as well, while keeping in mind that nothing in the game happens without fundamentals.

“Hopefully with an upcoming high school season, I really want to focus on nothing getting past me behind the plate. I am also focusing on getting all the way through the ball when I am at-bat,” she said. “Focusing on fundamentals is super important to me because fundamentals are the base of any skill you have to use in the game.”

Davids is part of a five-player senior class, and likely won’t be the only one who continues on to the next level after their playing days at LLHS are done.

Last season under a different regime, the Broncbusters went 11-13 before the season was canceled in March.

In Schmeckpepers introductory press conference, she talked about the kind of athlete she was looking to bring to GCCC, a profile that Davids certainly fits.

“Our biggest thing is that we need to get the right recruits,” Schmeckpeper said in a release. “They need to be focused both on the field and in the classroom. A competitive mindset is very important. And we want to be out in the community.”

As she celebrates this accomplishment, Davids wanted to give credit to the people in her life who have helped her to achieve this milestone and reach this point

“I just wanna say that I couldn’t have done this without the support from my family, friends, and coaches,” she said. “I especially couldn’t have done this without my mom, Gabrielle Davids, pushing me to be the best possible version of myself.”

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