Hali Norris is on a mission. With the support of her father and mentor, Brian, and mother, Yole Barrera, Norris is on a quest to master the game of softball. She began playing the sport at the age of eight and has quickly blossomed into one of the top young prospects in her age group in the surrounding area. The 12-year-old Norris now has her sights set on becoming a collegiate softball player and eventually playing in the Women’s College World Series.
This past spring she participated on two softball teams. The Middle Sharks went undefeated (11-0) as Norris batted close to .800 with four home runs; as a pitcher she held opposing teams to fewer than one run per game. Her rapid success earned Norris an invite to play simultaneously for Pete Anthony’s U-14 team in the Amateur Softball Association, going up against older girls from surrounding cities such as Westlake, Agoura Hills and Thousand Oaks.
“Softball is really exciting and intense,” Norris said. “Playing for both teams was hard at first, but I got through it by the end of the day. I liked it a lot and I met some players who I got really close with and it just made the game even better.”
A typical spring weekend for Norris consisted of doubleheaders on Saturdays while competing for both teams during their six-week seasons. Her free time included working with her dad on the fundamentals of softball either at the Bluffs Park in Malibu or Marine Park in Santa Monica. This was common after her games.
But the work did not stop after the season. Norris trained with her dad after school each day for close to three hours. She meets with her pitching coach every two weeks. When her family took a trip this summer to go thresher shark fishing, Norris said she only wanted to go back to Bluffs Park afterward to work on her game. Norris estimates that she practices between 20 and 25 hours per week on her softball mechanics.
“I love softball,” Norris stated. “It’s not a problem practicing every day. Working with my dad has definitely been my key to success. If I didn’t practice, I wouldn’t be where I am now.”
“She’s non-stop,” her father, Brian, said. “Her passion to be the best is incredible. She will literally play all day long, come home and sit for two seconds, and say ‘Dad, I want to go work on that pitch.’ That is what is most impressive to me.”
Whether it is pitching, fielding (Norris plays second base) or hitting, Norris possesses a rare inner drive to master all aspects of softball. A familiar sight at Bluffs Park is seeing more than 50 softballs or tennis balls sprayed all over the field as she works on switching from being a power right-handed batter to a consistent slap-hitter from the left side. After hitting for an hour, Norris moves to the mound to fine-tune her pitching.
“Hali has evolved into such an amazing person and the strides she has made in softball both with her skills and leadership have made all of us very proud,” her mother, Yole, said.
This fall, Norris intends on joining a club travel team either in Santa Monica or the San Fernando Valley to play against the best competition. While she has a busy schedule in softball, Norris has kept good grades in school, achieving As and Bs in all her classes. Norris has also been chosen to take part in Pepperdine University’s upcoming 9/11 remembrance ceremony by reading the names of 100 of the victims who died in the 2001 tragedy.