The CT Softball Blog

FARMINGTON—How does she do it? Sophomore Ella Rembish is a premier two-sport athlete at Miss Porter’s School in Farmington.

Last year, she suffered an ACL and meniscus tear which had her on the sidelines for her freshman year. After an intense six-month recovery, she was able to return to the softball field in the spring.

Now, this fall, she is balancing varsity soccer and travel softball.

For soccer, she is a defender, positioned as an outside back or wing back. For softball, she is a shortstop and center fielder for the CT Lightning 16U Gold team.

Ella’s Day in the Life

As a two-sport athlete, Rembish has an extremely busy schedule. During the weekdays, she wakes up for a 6 a.m. soccer team lift. Following the lift, she attends her three classes for the day.

After school, she has a three-hour soccer practice from 3:30-6:30 p.m.. When the sun provides enough light, she heads straight to her softball practices/scrimmages.

When she can’t make it to practice due to games or late practices, she is still able to get some swings in at home. After that, she eats, showers and then does her homework.

At night, she tries her best to find some form of entertainment to ease up her stress before bed. She enjoys reading, watching tv or calling her friends.

Her weekends differ week to week.

For soccer, she always plays on Saturdays. Sundays are usually free but sometimes her coach hosts film sessions or team bonding activities.

For softball, some weekends she can make it to a game or two on Saturday and then go to soccer. On Sundays, she can play in all of the games. Since soccer is the priority in the fall, it’s hard for her to make it to softball when it’s out of state.

During the spring, it’s the opposite because softball takes priority over club soccer.

The ACL/Meniscus

In July, going into her freshman year, Rembish tore her ACL and meniscus at a preseason captain’s practice. Prior to this, she had always dealt with knee pain due to tendinitis from the amount of athletic activity she was participating in.

She was able to get surgery that September and began her rehab process by going to physical therapy. During this time, she was also trying to join a new high-school soccer team as an injured freshman, which was difficult.

“Watching my teammates play without me was the hardest thing,” Rembish said, “especially when my soccer team went on to win it all in all of our leagues, something that set records and hadn’t been done before.”

She learned that her life wasn’t defined by athletics, which was scary for her because she was someone who put all of her energy and soul into sports.

Normal ACL/meniscus tears require a 9-12 month recovery however, Rembish worked hard and was able to return to softball six months post-op.

“I wasn’t the same, and I never would be, plain and simple,” she said. “It didn’t mean I was worse, but I needed to become a new, different athlete.”

Benefits of being a Two-Sport Athlete

“The benefits of being a multi-sport athlete are plentiful,” Rembish said.

Her workouts and footwork helped her in both softball and soccer. Her soccer workouts helped her build strength for softball. It’s helped her learn time management, injury prevention, nutrition and creating healthy habits by playing two sports.

“What I enjoy most about these two sports is being a teammate,” Rembish says.

Playing on multiple teams has allowed her to make lifelong friendships and taught her how to compete on a team. Some of her fondest memories are the celebrations, hotel stays, postgame meals and just the feeling of support from her teammates. The moments that she will remember have nothing to do with performance.

Advice to Multi-Sport Athletes

Rembish says that it can be overwhelming to play many sports but making sure you have the correct support is important. She has great coaches who want what’s best for her and understand when she has conflicts, which is vital.

For her, she always checks in with herself and how she feels. Recently, she made the decision not to play basketball. It was a tough decision because she loved it, but it was for the better.

She says, “Multiple sports is a huge commitment and as an athlete, you need to give yourself some grace and room to breathe.”

Since she attends a high-academic preparatory school, schoolwork comes first when it didn’t in the past.

“Making sure your priorities are in the right order for you is important,” she said. “Also, make sure you prioritize yourself by allowing your body to rest and have social time.”

How Ella spends her Free Time

“Free time is definitely important to me, especially because I don’t have a lot of it,” Rembish said.

When Rembish was injured, she was able to discover what life was like outside of athletics. She loves the beach and has a beach house in Rhode Island where she likes to surf.

Additionally, Rembish loves to read and write. Poetry and writing her thoughts down were key to her recovery. She values social time and loves to see her friends and family when she gets the chance. Since she goes to a prep school, she doesn’t get lots of opportunities to see her hometown friends, so a lot of her time is spent with them.

Recovery & Fuel

“Recovery and fuel are so important,” she said.

That was a huge lesson she learned after her injury. Rembish checks in with her school’s athletic trainer and physical therapist a lot. She has lots of ways to recover and ice baths, stretching, and needling are just a few. For soccer, they have recovery practices after games which is crucial to her performance.

As for fuel, she always has pre-game and post-game meals that are optimal for her, but everyone is different. She makes sure she’s getting enough proteins, carbs and electrolytes. Her school dining hall has lots of options so she’s never hungry during games and practices.

Ella’s Future Goals

Rembish would love to play both soccer and softball in college. Her three siblings—Ali, Logan and Ethan—all played Division 1 athletics: Ali played softball at CCSU, Logan is currently pitching at University of Albany and Ethan pitched at Fairleigh Dickinson.

For Rembish, playing two sports at a Division 1 level is unrealistic and overwhelming. If she were to play both, she would look to attend a college at the D2 or D3 level.

Her ultimate goal is to attend a high-academic school in a conference like the Ivy League or the NESCAC.

A great education is her top priority, and sports follow after that.

As of now, she is undecided in what sport she wants to pursue in the future. She is in the recruiting process for both. One of her dream schools is Tufts University in Massachusetts.

“Playing soccer or softball there would be great, and it’s an amazing academic school,” she said.

Being a two-sport athlete can be challenging, but Rembish has proven that it can be done at a high level with the right mindset and approach to both soccer and softball.

(Abby Lockwood of Southington High School is the CT Softball Blog’s Fall Intern)

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