Naperville North outfielder Sara Rossi and her siblings come from a family of talented athletes.
That doesn’t mean they can shirk responsibilities at home.
“My parents make us do our own laundry,” Rossi said.
It’s not only a necessary skill. It also saved her parents, well, loads of work.
“I like getting dirty,” Rossi said. “When I make a diving catch, it’s super cool. When you’re all dirty sliding into home, I think it shows a lot of passion and enthusiasm for the game, and I just love it. It’s so fun to do that kind of stuff and show my love for the game.”
There is a lot to love about Rossi’s game. As a sophomore this past season, she batted .394 with 25 RBIs, 27 runs scored and 17 stolen bases in 17 attempts to earn unanimous all-conference honors in the DuPage Valley.
Naperville North coach Jerry Kedziora calls Rossi a five-tool player, a crafty hitter who has great range and a strong arm defensively.
“I can’t believe the improvement she made from her freshman year to her sophomore year,” Kedziora said. “She was leading the team in hitting for seven-eighths of the season.
“Her best attribute is her knowledge of the game on the base paths. She was pretty clutch too. That’s a good start for a sophomore, and we’re hoping for better things to come in the next two years.”
Rossi’s mother, Amy, was a softball player and gymnast at Wheaton Warrenville South. But her father Tom’s side of the family includes four brothers who starred for the Huskies.
Tom Rossi and his brother Rich played on the football team that won the Class 6A state title in 1992. Another brother, Tony, was on a wrestling team that was the Class AA state runner-up, and the youngest brother, Rob, was a captain for the baseball team and later played at Loras and North Central.
Tom and Amy Rossi passed down their love of sports to their four children — Laine, Liz, Sara and Charlie — but never nudged them in a certain direction.
“My wife Amy is a total doer, and she is a not-sit-still type of woman,” Tom Rossi said. “Both of us are like that. She had a philosophy when they were little to expose them to as many things as possible and then let them choose their passions.”
The results have been impressive yet varied. Laine Rossi played basketball at Naperville North and is a nursing student at Marquette. Liz Rossi started for the girls volleyball team and will play beach volleyball at Oregon.
Sara Rossi was a varsity swimmer during her first two years at Naperville North but dropped that to focus on softball. She was a relative latecomer to the diamond, having begun playing in fifth grade.
“I did literally everything growing up, and it was really cool to experience those different types of sports,” Sara Rossi said. “I’d be at the pool, and then the next day I’d be playing tennis, then basketball, soccer, golf.
“Every sport has something special about it, and every opportunity teaches you something.”
Tom Rossi was the public address announcer for Naperville North’s football games for 20 years and fills the same role at softball games. He enjoys watching his kids play, including following Charlie, an eighth grader who plays football, basketball and baseball.
“Obviously, it gives me a lot of pride,” Tom Rossi said of his kids’ achievements. “I feel like they represent our family name so well with their academics and their athletics, but more importantly how they are as teammates. That really makes us proud.
“We like to feel that they’re all creating their own individual paths with the different sports that they’ve chosen. It’s kind of unique to have all these athletes that choose different sports.”
Softball has bonded Sara Rossi with her dad, who coached her first travel team and still helps her.
“Often Sarah will miss out on being with her friends and go to the batting cages with Tom,” Amy Rossi said. “She will come home from work or school, and she will ask her dad to go hit. She’s just a tenacious kid with a lot of drive and determination.”
Sara Rossi is determined to continue playing.
“I really want to play softball in college,” she said. “I do intensely identify as an athlete. I feel like I’ve been an athlete as long as I can remember, and I want to keep that going for as long as I can.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.
