Published on July 2, 2025 10:08 am
Last Updated on July 9, 2025 8:05 am
By MILLIE LANGE
Support from parents, from coaches and from the community.
Samantha Hayes completed four years at Stewardson-Strasburg High School where she played softball, basketball and volleyball and she is grateful for her parents, siblings, teammates, coaches and the community. Now it’s time to head on to Jefferson College in Hillsboro, Missouri.
Her journey will take her out into the world and on to play college softball.
Hayes, the daughter of Kenneth and Sara Hayes, says her parents have been there for her throughout her high school career.
“They both have helped me a ton in different ways,” said Hayes. “My dad has a lot of tough love, hard work ethic. You need to work hard for what you want. If you’re not the best, you can always work harder because there’s always something you can improve. We practiced softball the most and I played that the most. It’s just a better sport for me. I think I’m better at it than the other sports.
“Dad’s not harsh but you learn. It’s made me what I am today and I couldn’t have gotten here without him. I’m very thankful. We practiced a lot. I remember one summer, we went on vacation two weeks and we brought our ball gloves. We came home and practiced every single day for two weeks. Practice makes perfect and there’s always something you can improve.
“My mom is very supportive. She wants us to do well but she’s proud of us no matter what we do. I have the most temper out of my sisters. I was pitching and I couldn’t hit the strike zone and I threw my glove down. My mom yelled at me not to act that way. She doesn’t yell. I noticed how people responded and I knew I wanted to be like that person, who kept a cool composure. Those people are impressive. She helped me a lot with my mind set. It’s just a game but you can’t take it too seriously, it’s not what life is all about. Relax and have fun.
“Trust that you practiced and prepared and just do your best. My parents have come to support all of our games. They are awesome parents.”
Hayes ended her softball career at Stew-Stras by being named to the Illinois Coaches Association Class 1A First Team and she was named the WCIA Player of the Year, earning a $1,000 scholarship.
Although softball is her best sport, she also competed in volleyball and basketball.
“We went right from volleyball into basketball and then into softball,” said Hayes. “We usually made it pretty far in volleyball. I lettered in volleyball my junior year and in basketball and in softball my freshman year.”
She was named as a sophomore in softball to the National Trail Conference Second Team and to the First Team her junior and senior years. She was named the Co-Most Valuable Player in the NTC and First Team All-State.
In softball, her team won regionals all four years and won the sectional her junior season. They won the NTC championshlp her senior year.
In volleyball, her team won sectional championships in her junior and senior years and claimed four regional titles.
In basketball, her sophomore year she was named to the Cowden-Herrick/Beecher City All Tournament Team. Her junior and senior years she got named to the All-Tournament Team at the Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond Christmas Tournament and earned National Trail All-Conference her senior year.
Her career started in sixth grade as she played softball and basketball. From that point on she played all four sports and with the same girls.
Hayes grew up in a supportive community and when asked what she will remember most her answer was . . .”Probably the people I’ve met. I have been very blessed. Especially my softball coaches. They all have been very high energy and listen to us and relate to us.
“The Stew-Stras community, the fans that came out and supported us. When I walked in the school after I had a game, teachers asked me what’s it look like and the students asked us how the game went. Everybody is linked into sports and we talked about it a lot. Our volleyball games, the fans showed up the most. It’s very nice that they wanted to come support us. In volleyball, the energy is so loud.
“It’s fun at school the next day. My history teacher would ask us how we did. Our sectional championship, there were so many people there, people coming up and congratulating us and that’s the community supporting our teams.”
How were practices at school?
“During school, it’s so much easier to get in a routine,” said Hayes. “Volleyball I would go to practice which was about 2 1/2 hours. Repetitive is good. On my off-time I didn’t think about volleyball. I was just kind of worn out. I’ve done this enough. I would give myself a break. We played big teams and good competition. Games are more fun than practices.
“Basketball, I would sometimes stay after practice for 10 minutes to shoot free throws. But with basketball, I didn’t play very consistently. I would play with cousins at my grandma’s house. I just needed to stay longer at practice and shoot free throws then go home.
“In softball, the same thing, school, practice, more games, We might play catch but we don’t do a ton of things. Just knowing you need to take a break. Sometimes it’s stepping away if you’re not doing good, reset and come back. Makes a huge difference. In the off-season of softball I play travel softball. I might pitch at my house once a week.
“With softball, I just work on my mechanics once in a while. My sophomore season I was the only pitcher. Just have to keep it fresh. That’s why I’m better at softball.”
When asked about superstitions, Hayes laughed.
“It’s so funny, a player on our team was superstitious, wearing her hair the same way, etc. I used to do that when I was younger. When I would walk into the front door, we have rock piles and I would step on certain ones and not step on others. I grew out of that. I just want to have fun so instead of superstitions, I pray about it because I hate to be anxious. Now I just relax and change my mindset. That’s 50 percent of your success. Positive outlooks bring positive rewards.
“It’s not the end of the world if we lose this game. Just do the best you can and relax. What is going to happen is going to happen. I’m still trying to work on that.”
Hayes has three sisters, Hannah is in college at Maryville where she is going to be a therapist, Natalie is in her fourth year of college where she is going to be an ultrasound tech. And, Kendra is the youngest and will be a junior at Stew-Stras.
“Just have fun with what you’re dealt with,” said Hayes. “See where it goes.”
Hayes is undecided yet about her major and will be taking general ed classes at Jefferson College.
“College is too expensive to pay for if you do not know what you want to major in,” said Hayes. “Softball is helping me pay for school while I try to figure out what I want to do.”