36 SportsUnion | MAY 2019
From Page 23
Raymond isn’t any good to
Niagara if she is sitting on
the bench nursing and inju-
ry and not playing the game
she loves so much.
“It is not easy keeping
your body fresh and ready
to go, but there are many
things I do to ensure the
best recovery with my body.
Ice is my go to. After prac-
tices or lifts, I always try to
ice my body,” stated Ray-
mond. “With eating, I stay
away from unhealthy foods
as well. Also, whenever I
am hurting I immediately
go to the trainer. Our train-
er, Diana, is a life saver. She
knows everything and is al-
ways ready to help. As my
dad says though, chocolate
milk. He emphasizes choc-
olate milk after my work-
outs. He swears it is why he
is never sick, but I’ve yet to
jump on that bandwagon.”
Raymond just isn’t known
as being solid behind the
plate, the Orchard Park na-
tive also has some pop in
her bat. She played on an
Orchard Park squad that
was very dangerous in the
spring, and she was one of
the many reason why.
Raymond has never shied
away from being in the spot-
light. If it was a big moment
at the plate, Raymond want-
ed to be in the spot. She has
worked on her offensive of
the game just as much as
the defensive side.
And, it has paid off.
“I am always trying to
work on my offensive side
of my game and trying to
get better. I was always told
as a younger player and cur-
rently that if i can hit, they
will find a place on the field
for you. I have always took
that to heart and really fo-
cused on my hitting,” stated
Raymond. “My senior year, I
really exploded at the plate
with hitting and it carried
into the fall for me at Niaga-
ra U as well. That was one of
the positive remarks I got in
my post fall season meeting
with coach that he loved my
hitting and to keep work-
ing hard with it. Hard work
goes into being a good of-
fensive player. Stepping in
when pitchers are pitching
and stating what pitch they
threw is a big part of our
practices. Being able to rec-
ognize pitches off the hip of
a pitcher is crucial and helps
with the offensive side im-
mensely.”
So does constant work.
Raymond is a student of
the game and she works at
her craft during the season
and especially in the off-
season. After committing
to Niagara back during her
sophomore season, it would
have been easy for Raymond
to just sit back and relax for
the next couple of years.
Instead, Raymond made
sure she worked on the lit-
tle things every offseason to
get better. Wether that was
at the plate or behind the
dish, Raymond was always
doing something. She used
her summer ball to work on
her game, and not to just go
through the motions.
This is one of the reasons
why when she stepped on
campus in the fall she was
ready to go from the start.
“My offseason consisted
of the gym and working on
the little things. I knew the
talent was there, the drive
was there, the motivation
was there. It now was the
little things that mattered. I
have always wanted a quick-
er transfer from glove to
hand with the ball, so that
was and is a big part of the
game I was working on and
still am working on,” stat-
ed Raymond. “I worked on
my mental game as well. I
knew there was going to be
a lot more pressure starting
off back on the bottom as a
freshman and I was going
to have to prove myself. So,
I knew that it was going to
take a lot of grit and heart
from deep within to be able
to step into Niagara U ready
to go.”
Now that she is on campus,
Raymond is ready to go. She
doesn’t care if she is pinch
hitting, catching or carrying
water out to the team she is
ready to do anything that
she can to help this ball club
win games.
That includes working on
her game even more behind
the plate.
While the sexy stats are
driving in runs and hitting
home runs, Raymond wants
to be known as a great de-
fensive catcher. She takes a
lot of pride in being behind
the plate and have her pitch-
er throw a shutout, or mak-
ing a great play to cut down
a run.
That is her game. Even
with all the hard work she
has put in behind the dish
there is still room for im-
provement.
“I take a lot of pride in
being a solid defensive
catcher. I have worked and
worked on becoming the
best catcher that I can be
and I still believe I have not
touched my potential. I still
have so much to learn and
build upon,” stated Ray-
mond. “Where I am now,
I am not satisfied. I know
I can be stronger, quick-
er, faster, more agile, etc. I
have so much more in me.
It is just about having the
confidence and working
on my craft. It is not going
to come in one day. It takes
days, weeks, months, some-
times years to perfect your
craft and be where you want
to be.”