North Iowa Faces: Megan Peterson

We’ve all heard her name; Megan Pedersen.  She’s that girl that just threw her thousandth strikeout, you know, on that little known team from Lake Mills?  This month, Megan is our featured “North Iowa Face.”  I was fortunate enough to have a chance to talk to Megan recently and was able to ask her about her softball beginnings, where she has been, and most importantly, where she’s going.  The first question I had for Megan was of course, “When did you start playing?”  Megan recalls throwing her first pitch in the 4^th grade.  She admits that at that time, they had the girls throwing in the gym, and “only to the wall….it was probably only 20 feet, so we could get it there, but we were probably all over then.”

Over the years, Megan hasn’t played on travel teams like many of her opponents.  “I did pee-wees and then high school, and that’s about it.”  No lessons?  “No, I mean I never really took lessons.  I did pitch a lot…..worked on it a lot myself, but I never took lessons.”  So, if not tons of play and countless hours of lessons, where did she learn the basic fundamentals that have made her such a great pitcher?  It started with a pitching clinic taught by her most recent head coach, Mr. Boehmer, and a previous coach, Mr. Ball.  “They did the clinics…..they showed us fundamental videos.  Then, in high school, I went up to Mankato and I worked with their pitching coach for the past few years so I’ve had extra work in high school besides him.”

Megan stepped up to varsity softball as an eighth grader, but was not yet the first string pitcher.  At that time, there was a junior on the team who happened to be an all-state pitcher; Megan’s job was to step in if she was in trouble, or to pitch during tournament games so Mindy didn’t have to go all day long.   Her freshman year, she attended a pitching camp in Mankato and the lessons started soon after Megan and her family spoke to the coach in Mankato and were told they could get a private lesson.  “It helped me a lot,” she says.  “I went up once a year, at the beginning of the year, just to get back on track.” During that year, she also began to pitch for her team a little more.  “By then, we were different speeds…..she was a left speed and I was a right hander.  The other team would know what was coming, so he’d switch us up.”  Looking back on her time on the team with Mindy, Megan regards her as a mentor of sorts and says, “She helped me out a lot I think.”

As a sophomore, Megan was the only pitcher on her team and the pressure was on.  She handled herself like a pro and by her junior year she was 2^nd Team Class II A All-State Selection, 1^st Team All-Conference and All-District.  She helped carry her team to both the Conference and District Championships and they had “high hopes” to go to State, “but we didn’t make it.” Megan laughs at herself as she talks of having a “fun year” but admits to not being able to remember what exactly their record was because “the years all seem to mesh together…..I don’t even remember what it was.”

A game of phone tag kept her from getting her refresher lesson this past season. “I was kind of worried about it this year, because I didn’t have a lesson, but it’s been going alright this year, so far I think.”

Alright? I think that’s an understatement; 1000 strikeouts and 100 wins are more than just “alright.”  When I note her success this year, Megan is noticeably self-effacing about her milestones saying, “Yeah, those two were my goal at the beginning of the year…..I knew what I’d been on pace with for the last couple of years, so I knew I should.”  The Lake Mills team as a whole is at 15-4 for the season so they’re off to a great start.  When asked about her team’s goals Megan notes that conference play is first on their mind and they’ll deal with thoughts of state championships later, “We just want to take it one thing at a time.”  Although they are currently holding the top spot in their conference, they are in for a fight with the ranked Forest City close at their heels

Many would tout Megan’s finest pitching asset as her speed; however, I tend to disagree.  What makes Megan an exceptional pitcher is her ability to place the ball wherever she wants it to go.  This is a skill that only comes with time and practice.  “I remember when I was in 8^th and 9^th grade, Mr. Boehmer would always tell us to place it, but I would just throw it as hard as I could,” she says “but I think over the years as I’ve pitched so many games…..I’ve just learned accuracy.”

Looking in to the future, it’s nothing but bright. Sad to leave behind her friends, but happy to be rid of the “high school drama” Megan will head to the University of Iowa as a Nursing Major, after finishing out this season. Surprisingly, the only sports she’ll be playing are intramural.  “I’ve had offers, more for volleyball…..but I decided that I just wanted to relax and focus on classes next year.”  It doesn’t mean she’ll be slowing down though as she already has her sights set on getting her Master’s or a Ph.D.  After the kind of goals Megan Pedersen has set and achieved throughout her high school sports career, I have no doubt that we’ll be seeing Dr. Megan Pedersen, Ph.D. somewhere in the future.