Norman softball player spotlight: Sloan Shotton – presented by Investment Counseling Services

Sloan Shotton’s father played high-level high school baseball, and her uncle played in college at Murray State. She started playing softball at three years old, and she was probably going to stick on the diamond for a while.

She’s preparing for her junior year at Norman after spending this summer at an UnderArmor camp amongst players from across the country. She was awarded for her defensive ability. Despite just two years of high school experience and amongst players she hadn’t met, Shotton had to raise her voice from behind a plate.

“The coaches really pushed me out of my comfort zone and the competitiveness pushed me to be a better player,” Shotton said. “I really learned a lot about how to be a stronger leader on the field, whether it’s behind the plate or in the outfield because I had to step up as a leader in an unfamiliar situation playing with girls I had just met.”

Shotton is coming back to Norman now, hoping to lead the Tigers to a winning record and the state tournament. She’ll bat out of the middle of the order, where her burst power will help clear the base paths.

“She’s built like a brick house,” Norman coach Courtne St. Clair said. “She has a presence at the plate. When she gets ahold of it, it goes.”

St. Clair said Shotton is the first player at practice and the last to leave, and that she “literally eats, breathes and sleeps softball.”

All that leadership and success has come from a deep place for Shotton. She is a citizen of the Otoe-Missouria Tribe and is also descendent of the Wichita, Cheyenne, Iowa and Kiowa Tribes. Learning how to work hard and be kind to other people is a lesson that Shotton said she learned from her heritage.

She participates in cultural events and ceremonial dances consistently.

“My culture is really important to me,” Shotton said. “I feel like my parents have played a big role in it for me. They both played an important role in the community of my tribe. It gives me a lot of strength to do things. It’s almost like church for me. We worship in a different way than anyone else. … It’s a big part of who I am.”