Jodi Norton sealed her fate at age two. It was then that Jodi first picked up a baseball lying in the back yard of her home in Mesa, Ariz., and revealed she was one toddler who was capable of throwing more than a temper tantrum.
"We were all out in the yard tossing the ball around," said Russ Norton, Jodi's dad. "She took the ball and threw it quite a ways. We were surprised because she could actually throw the ball as far as her brother who is two years older."
Witnessing their daughter's feat of strength prompted Russ and his wife, Jani, to sign Jodi up for T-ball as soon as she was old enough. That time came three years later when Jodi was five years old.
"It was interesting because no one wanted girls on their teams," Russ recalled, "until Jodi came along. Then we had coaches calling us to some way finagle it to get her on their teams."
While Norton loved throwing the ball in her backyard, she loved competitive Little League even more.
"I've always been competitive, even when I was little," Norton says. "I got into T-ball and really loved it. I couldn't wait to go to practices."
Norton continued to hone her talent throughout her childhood playing baseball in city leagues. At 14 years old, her coaches started telling her that she was good enough to play collegiate ball and even earn a scholarship. But, she would have to switch to softball.
"I didn't know much about softball at the time," the shortstop admitted. "But, I was always one to love practice. Especially switching over to softball, there were new things that I needed to learn about the game. I always looked forward to learning those things."
Anyone who's been to Gail Miller Field in the past three years can attest Norton has got this softball thing down. Growing up playing baseball against mostly boys, Jodi noticed the biggest difference was in playing against girls.
"That was the biggest change for me," Norton said. "The girls didn't play as rough, and they didn't seem as competitive [as the boys]."
"I think it taught her patience," her father added, "because the girls played at such a slower pace. She wasn't used to that at all."
However, that's not to imply Jodi changed her style of play to fit in.
"Even today people will still say she plays softball like she's playing baseball," Russ says. "So the things she's learned in baseball have only helped her in softball."
The toughness Jodi learned from playing baseball was put on display last year when she tore her MCL during the season. Although, to hear Norton tell the story you'd think all she suffered was a paper cut.
"I hurt my knee a little bit this year," Norton said nonchalantly. "It was painful, but I didn't have to have surgery or anything. I just slapped a brace on it and continued to play."
Continued to play she did. The injury caused Norton to miss exactly zero games.
"I just can't handle not being on the field," she says.
The years of hard work and hours put into practice began to pay off for Norton during the summers between her junior and senior years of high school. That's when she played for the Phoenix Storm, an Amateur Softball Association 18-and-under Gold team. The travel and intense tournaments gave Norton valuable experience and helped her improve her game. It also gave college coaches and scouts a glimpse of what she could do.
"I started getting tons of letters in the mail from different coaches from numerous schools," Norton recalled.
With all of her options in front of her, Norton narrowed her decision to either staying close to home at the University of Arizona or coming to BYU, something that appealed to Norton as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
"I really liked Arizona," she explained. "They were the top program, and the coach was awesome. Then there was BYU. Being LDS, I felt so good about [coming to BYU]."
Leaving home was hard, but Norton says the fatherly and sisterly relationships she has with her coaches have made being away from familiar surroundings easier to deal with. She believes she made the right decision to come to BYU.
"One thing that I loved [when being recruited] is that my coaches hold the priesthood," Norton added. "That's huge. I've been a witness to different times when they've had to use the priesthood. You can't go anywhere else and find that. It's been awesome."
It's worked out pretty well for BYU, too. The two-time All-MWC honoree has 133 career hits as a Cougar along with 114 RBI and 26 home runs. Norton's career .307 average and .566 slugging percentage have been instrumental in BYU's 122 wins, one Mountain West Conference regular season and tournament title, and two NCAA Regional appearances in her three seasons with the team.
Among her greatest personal softball achievements, Norton counts last season's second-place MWC finish in home runs (15) and RBI (54). Alongside that accomplishment is the single season double play record she and Kate Walker set for BYU in 2004, Norton's freshman year. The two combined to turn 19 double plays that season.
"That's what I work for," Norton said. "It's fun to put all that practice and hard work into your play."
While Norton says her hitting has come a long way with BYU head coach Gordon Eakin's help, her defense is the aspect of her game that she is most proud of. However, ask Norton if she'd rather hit a home run or turn a double play and she doesn't hesitate.
"Oh, I'd definitely rather hit a home run," she laughed. "Hitting a home run puts one up on the board for your team."
The Cougars are going to need Norton to swing a big bat this season as they've lost five seniors to graduation, including power-hitters Ianeta Le'i and Ashlyn Russell.
"I know I need to step it up," Norton said. "I need to be that senior leader this year and contribute everything I can to the team."
Norton hopes that leadership will go a long way toward building on last season's success, in which the team had its second consecutive 40-win season and hosted the NCAA Regional for the first time in the program's seven-year history. Norton has even bigger aspirations for the 2007 season.
"We won the conference two years ago, and that was awesome," she said. "This season we want to be consistent and win the conference again. We've been to the regionals two years in a row, but haven't gotten past them. It's the farthest BYU has gone, so it would be awesome to get to super regionals if not the World Series. "
Norton goes into her senior year having started 170 of a possible 173 games in her career at BYU, so she'll most likely have a hand in whatever does happen on the field this season. Cougar fans can rest assured Norton will bring the same fierce competitiveness she's brought since day one at BYU. Her final remarks make it clear she wouldn't have it any other way.
"I want to go out with a bang," she said.