Thomasian signs on to play at Clark College

Witter called for a sacrifice bunt to move the runner over.

Garrett overruled, however, and let the kid swing away.

Thomasian answered with an RBI triple to right centerfield.

As she slid into third base, Garrett said, ‘nice job,’ and Thomasian responded with, ‘yeah, I had to show Witter.’

That’s the way she was as a freshman and that’s the way she has played through her entire high school career.

“I think it is that little bit of fire and little bit of spirit that she has that sets her apart. She doesn’t take no stuff from anybody,” Garrett said. “She comes out determined and with a sense of purpose, which is her greatest strength. She gets that determined going, where nobody is going to stop her. Being able to channel that and use it for good has made her a better player.”

Thomasian will use the relentless drive and passion at Clark Community College in Vancouver, Wash., where she accepted scholarships to play both softball and basketball for the Penguins.

It has been quite the transformation for Thomasian, who admitted to crying before practice as a young girl, not wanting to play sports.

Over time, that changed.

“I think it is my maturity that has definitely changed to wanting to get better and wanting the extra practice to be the best,” Thomasian said. “To get here, you have to put in so much work. Sometimes you just want to quit and just want to be done. For the first two years of high school that’s kind of how I was feeling with almost every sport, but now I feel on top of the world, which is obviously kind of hard to feel at some points. Once you get through the hard points, you can get to a higher level in sports, so this is definitely a high.”

Thomasian was accepted to several private colleges in Oregon, and even as far away as College of Charleston and Hawaii.

Those schools offered partial academic scholarships, but she chose Clark as a way to continue her sports career, while taking a few years to decide on a major.

Thomasian joins a Clark College squad that posted a 17-20 record and clinched its first-ever trip to the NWAC Tournament last season under head coach Meghan Crouse.

Craig Thomasian, Jodi’s father, called his daughter’s journey inspirational in that naysayers say The Dalles is such a small school that nobody is going to move on to play collegiate sports.

To see Jodi fight through the negativity, overcoming adversity and sticking with her goals and aspirations of competing at the highest level is all due to her refusal to lose.

“She has done a great job of sticking with it and not allowing herself to be held down,” Craig said. “And if she is being held down, my advice to her is to just carry on. As you keep carrying on and keep working hard, eventually, it will show. I think you can find that through life with work, my work even, you just keep going, you keep working, you keep doing the right things. It may not pay off this year, it may not pay off next year, but eventually, it pays off.”

Thomasian earned second-team all-league status as a freshman softball player, and last season, she picked up second-team honors for her play on the basketball court.

While the Clark softball team experienced a breakout season, the women’s basketball team struggled to a 1-22 record and was outscored by an 84.2 to 57.6 margin in NWAC action.

Craig Compton, Jodi’s former coach, knew at first glance that she had a strong family base and was a hard worker.

The Riverhawk senior started out as a point guard and is on her way to grabbing first-team status as a post presence with standout play this winter.

“She brings a solid base of being able to rebound well and of playing team basketball,” Compton said. “She looks for her teammates and she looks to score when her opportunities are there. I like those features for her the best. She has made some adjustments to the game, from playing guard to post, and she has taken it like a champ. She is willing to do whatever it takes to help the team be successful any way she can. She is a leader and is unselfish as a player. When you have that, it is going to help any team.”

In his more than 30 years as a coach, Duane Witter has seen many of his former athletes vault to the college ranks, ranging from Division I to community college.

The speed of the game is a big adjustment, as is playing against athletes that are just as good or even better.

Then there’s academics, sticking with a workout regimen, acclimating to the new lifestyle and balancing it all out.

Many student-athletes drop out, can’t make the grades or are discouraged by a lack of immediate results.

Witter knows Jodi is going to be just fine.

“That’s the good thing about Jodi. She has one component of the college game under wraps. She is a good student,” Witter said. “Most college coaches are looking for that good student. That is just going to benefit her down the road as she goes into her professional career, because she can balance both her sport and her profession, which is the softball side of it that teaches her those things. She’s got a good handle on that. She understands the grades, the level of commitment and what it will take to get the most out of herself.”

Childhood dreams were realized when Jodi signed her letter of intent.

It is her story that she hopes breaks down the barriers, erases the doubts, gives young girls another role model to emulate and gives further credence to person’s relentless drive paving the way to great things.

“If you want to continue doing what you love in college, then they just need to go all-out for it, set goals for themselves and know there is a life past high school,” Jodi said.

“The doors are there to be opened. Young girls should strive to want more for themselves and stop at nothing to attain that. Having kids and getting married and all that, can wait. I think education should come first for sure.”