Barring injury, Emma Bobey is going to graduate from Medina with eight varsity letters. Four in basketball, four in softball.
Being one of the state’s biggest schools, and with more and more athletes specializing, Bobey is definitely the exception. Focusing on one sport over the other, though, is something she never really considered.
“I love both so much,” Bobey said. “I couldn’t picture myself not playing both. Having that little break of not playing basketball all the time or not playing softball all the time has made me a better athlete all-around.”
That day will come soon, as Bobey has verbally committed to play softball at Walsh University. She’ll give up basketball then. Until that day, though, she’s forging ahead.
Bobey’s athletic year started in winter with girls basketball. The Bees finished 11-15 overall, but a stunning postseason run landed them in the Parma Division I District championship game.
As the starting first baseman on Medina’s softball team, Bobey hit a team-leading .537 with three home runs, 11 doubles, 31 RBI and 27 runs. The helped the Bees finished 19-8 overall, 10-3 in the Greater Cleveland Conference, second only to state champion Elyria.
Bobey earned All-GCC honors in both sports and is The Post‘s Medina Female Athlete of the Year for 2016-17.
“Emma is competitive and determined as a player and definitely enjoys being part of a team,” Medina girls basketball coach Karen Kase said. “She’s a powerful athlete who has already been quite successful at Medina but is ready to put forth an even stronger senior year in basketball and softball.”
Bobey attributed much of her high school sports success to a pair of coaches – Kase and softball coach Jess Toocheck – who emphasize the importance of playing multiple sports. Both are among the greatest athletes in Medina history and each played three sports before choosing one at the college level.
In a time when coaches – both high school and club – seem to play tug-o-war with athletes, demanding time from them and that their sport take precedence, Bobey has enjoyed the opposite.
“It’s definitely taken a lot of practice with time management and knowing how to set up things,” Bobey said. “Tooch and Kase are so accepting of a two-sport athlete. They know if I can’t make it to one thing, I’ll be at the next one. If you’re playing both, they don’t try to turn you away from the other sport. They’re so accepting with where you’re coming from.”
Kase went so far as to say being a multi-sport athlete has actually helped Bobey be better in each sport.
“Something else that makes Emma stand out is her willingness to coach younger players and set an example,” Kase said. “She is looked up to by our youth basketball players and spends time helping out at their practices, camps and clinics. She enjoys working with the younger players and giving back.”
Bobey also is successful in the classroom. She will take a 3.6 GPA into her senior year and plans on majoring in physical therapy at Walsh, which is among the reasons she was happy to get an offer from the Stark County school.
“It’s really cool,” she said. “I always watch college sports on TV and always wanted to play at that level. Now I’ll actually be able to play on a college team.”
The scholarship offer is confirmation of something Bobey never really sees: She’s better than most at her sport.
“I’ve never really realized I was better than anybody else,” she said. “I don’t like all the attention. I’m kind of humble about it.”