Miss NSA Noe a special mascot

Former world heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali is renowned for many quotes, but one in particular is a favorite of softball player Megan Noe: “Don’t count the days. Make the days count.”

Noe personifies the message.

She plays for the Hoosier Havoc, based in Southern Indiana. The team is competing this week at the Summit of Softball Complex in the National Softball Association World Series Class A 18-under youth fastpitch tournament.

Noe was chosen Miss NSA in her class’s age group by a selection committee. Nominees are chosen based on athletic and academic achievements and civic contributions.

“Softball, after family, is pretty much it for me,” Noe said Wednesday after pitching a three-hitter with five strikeouts in a 6-1 victory over the Oak Lawn Ice from Illinois.

She must mean in order from the top. With her Boonville High School softball career completed, she will be playing for NAIA member Lindenwood University near St. Louis, but that will occupy only part of her time.

Noe has participated in Hoosiers Girls State, where she received the Outstanding County Official award. She’s been her high school’s Key Club president and secretary of the Student Council, which enabled her to work closely with the local Special Olympics.

“We do a lot of community service,” said Havoc coach Kevin Miller, who said he’s had the same group of girls for the most part since they were 8 years old. “They play the Special Olympics softball team in our county every year. That’s always a lot of fun. The girls all participate.”

Noe has been a class officer, a lifeguard and an archery team member, but her favorite activity away from softball was getting to dress up as Pioneer Pete — Boonville High’s mascot. The NSA award gives her an additional $3,000 in scholarship money, to go with what she’s already receiving athletically and academically, to dress up as Lindenville’s mascot.

“I’ll be a Lion,” Noe said. “I’ll get to go to all the basketball and football games. The football team is good, too.”

Noe plans to major in elementary education with the hope of some day becoming a coach. But she wants to study oceanography at the University of Miami after getting her bachelor’s degree.

She thanked pitching coach Jimmy Rae in Boonville, Denny Thornburg about three hours away in Illinois — whom she used to work with — and her father and personal catcher, Allan, for helping her develop as a pitcher. Then there’s her mother, Kellie, to thank for so much else.

Megan and her mom each recently had the word “Faith” tattooed on the top of one of their feet. That allowed Megan to offer a quotation of her own.

“It stands for a step in life,” Noe said, “for both of us.”