There was a time when Luca Seeling wasn’t sure she would ever be the ace for Naperville Central.
Beginning in her freshman year, she gradually worked her way through the program until the opportunity came.
“I kind of hoped it would happen that I would pitch on varsity, but I also knew what was coming up in front of me, and I wasn’t sure if I could perform at that level,” Seeling said. “There were a number of pitchers ahead of me.
“At the time, I wasn’t a great pitcher. It was more of a goal of mine to pitch varsity, but I thought it was a goal I could achieve.”
Count longtime Naperville Central coach Andy Nussbaum among those surprised by Seeling’s rise to No. 1.
“Usually when a kid is a varsity pitcher, they’ve been a varsity pitcher since their freshman year, maybe even were on JV or just pitched varsity from the get-go,” Nussbaum said. “Luca started on the frosh/sophomore level. We really weren’t sure about her until the end of her sophomore year.
“It’s one of those things where she kept working at it and working at it. She’s now got the respect of her peers.”
Nussbaum said Seeling seized her opportunity during her junior season a year ago, when then-senior Tela Meech suffered “a dead arm” that limited her to four innings.
Seeling immediately showed she belonged, striking out 10 batters in the second game of the season. She helped keep the Redhawks afloat, compiling an 11-11 record with a 4.30 ERA while striking out 91 in 145 innings. She threw two shutouts.
“I was pretty excited, but I knew making that jump from JV to varsity definitely wasn’t going to be easy,” Seeling said. “I knew the competition is a lot tougher and hitters are a lot better. I just tried to make adjustments when I needed and improve in ways I needed to. That was probably my biggest achievement that year — being promoted to the varsity.”
Seeling, who also swims for Naperville Central, experienced a setback when she dislocated her right kneecap playing basketball in gym class in November. It was the fourth time she suffered the injury.
With her senior season in jeopardy, Seeling said she experienced several emotions.
“The biggest thing was if I would be able to play and what I needed to do to play,” she said. “At first, I was pretty emotional. It had happened before. I wasn’t sure if I would need surgery. Just knowing that surgery was a possibility, it was hard knowing I might not play at all this season.”
Seeling received good news when she was told by a doctor that she could avoid surgery. She went to rehabilitation sessions twice a week and targeted a mid-April return.
In typical fashion, Seeling beat the odds and returned for the season opener March 21. A captain, she is 2-1 with a 3.57 ERA in 17 ⅔ innings for the Redhawks (3-2).
The 5-foot-4 Seeling said she has managed to succeed on the varsity level by relying on her toughness, determination and guile.
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“I’m not the biggest person, so I focused more on getting my spins down, really focused on my movement pitches, the drop curve and rise ball, and making sure they worked,” she said.
Seeling said she feels empowered by her ability to overcome obstacles.
“I kind of learned that it’s all going to work out,” she said. “At the beginning of my injury, I didn’t know if anything would work out for me. But right now, I think everything is working out well for me.”
Nussbaum said Seeling’s story is inspirational.
“You have to have a lot of determination and perseverance to get to where Luca is at,” he said. “Tela had arm trouble last year, so that gave Luca an opportunity. When she got that opportunity, she has looked pretty good.
“She went from one of the lowest levels to varsity. Then she had a different type of perseverance with her dislocating her knee. She’s done everything we’ve asked her to do. She’s pretty resilient.”
Bobby Narang is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.
