High school softball: MVPs are talented, but best quality is their leadership ability

It is one thing to have athletic talent.

It's a completely different skill to use that talent to help those around you. This year's Deseret News Most Valuable Players dealt with disappointment, adversity and the difficulty of uniting two dozen girls for one purpose.

The softball MVPs include three pitchers and a catcher, and while they each boast impressive athletic ability, almost more importantly, they each displayed the ability to lead their teammates to success.

5A MVP: Macauley Flint, Roy

Combine talent, confidence and mental toughness and what do you get? Roy pitcher Macauley Flint. The junior led Roy to a No. 1 ranking and the 5A state championship game with some of the best pitching in the state.

"She was eager to pitch every game," said Roy head coach and Flint's aunt, Mandy Koford. "After the success of last year, she wanted to build on that. Going to 5A (after winning the 4A state title with five straight shutouts in 2009) was a new challenge for her."

The junior finished with a 23-1 record and was almost as impressive from the plate with 11 extra-base hits.

Rather than just rest on her accomplishments, Flint tried to help her teammates.

"I think this year she really kind of focused on the team working hard," said Koford. "Not only did she put in a ton of extra time outside the two-hour practice, she made sure she was helping the younger girls get as many reps as they could."

Flint went into the 5A title game without a loss as a pitcher. She left the game in the late innings after breaking her thumb, but Bingham had already taken the lead. Rather than pout or feel sorry for herself, Koford said Flint cheered for her teammates as they tried to defeat Bingham.

"This is the first tiem she's been an underclassman," said Koford. "Her all-around leadership was different. She wanted to lead the team. One of the things I was most proud of her for was that after she got hurt, she was on the fence yelling with her teammates. She could have sat back and been upset, but she wanted them to know she was behind them."

4A MVP: Mattie Snow, Tooele

Not even a broken index finger on her pitching hand could slow senior pitcher Mattie Snow in her quest to take the Buffalo back to the state championship game.