Warren catcher Katie Monroe’s patience has been rewarded on the softball field.
Monroe has learned the importance of that quality off the field too. She said she wants to be a teacher like her mother, who works in special education at Woodland Elementary School. Monroe has assisted her mother in the classroom.
“It’s taught me patience,” she said. “It’s a tough job. So just seeing any improvements, even if they’re small or big, are important. It’s fun to see the kids doing better academically and socially.”
Monroe played on the junior varsity team for two seasons while Ally Badgley was the Blue Devils’ starting catcher.
“It was hard, but I know I had a great catcher in front of me,” Monroe said. “I just did my time. I hit the weight room at home and in class and really put the time in to get better and be ready.
“I was pretty excited to get to start catching. I learned a lot and think I did well.”
Indeed, Monroe was an All-North Suburban Conference selection last season, her first as the varsity starter, and the Wisconsin-Stout recruit has continued to backstop the Blue Devils (17-8, 9-4) with grit in her senior season.
Monroe, who is batting .338 with a 1.044 OPS, three home runs and 22 RBIs, has thrown out five runners trying to steal and picked off four others. Not reflected in the scorebook, Monroe is also adept at blocking.
“Katie is such a good catcher because of the way she will sell out for everything behind the plate,” Warren junior outfielder Annalise Stich said. “The way she will block anything in the dirt and throw a girl out at any base are things that make her stand out. She’s a competitive and dedicated player.”
Warren coach Jenna Charbonneau said Monroe does everything she can to help the pitcher succeed.
“Katie does a great job of being a partner for her pitcher,” Charbonneau said. “She knows when she should go out and have a talk and manage the pace of the game. Katie has improved the most on receiving the ball. I know she has put a lot of time and effort in the offseason, and it really shows. She works really hard behind the plate for her pitchers.”
Warren junior pitcher Camryn Guldberg knows that well.
“What makes Katie such an amazing catcher is the way she talks to her pitchers,” Guldberg said. “She competes every pitch that’s thrown to her, takes charge of the field and keeps everything honest in any situation with feedback.
“Katie’s work ethic inspires others on the team, and she shows true leadership by keeping people in the game mentally.”
Stich agreed that Monroe’s impact is widespread.
“Katie is such a good teammate,” Stich said. “She’s there every time to help out a teammate.”
Monroe said she spent most of the offseason working on her defense but also wanted to improve as a leader.
“Being an older person on the team, I try to help out the younger teammates,” she said.
Monroe has helped Warren at the plate too. In April, she had three hits and three RBIs in a win against Antioch and three hits and five RBIs in a win against Mundelein, two teams that reached the state semifinals last year.
With the playoffs approaching, Monroe hit .643 with a 1.524 OPS and four RBIs during a recent stretch. The second-seeded Blue Devils will play either 15th-seeded Wheeling or 18th-seeded Waukegan in the Class 4A New Trier Regional semifinals on Tuesday.
“We have a lot of potential,” she said, “and are still getting better and learning.”
Bobby Narang is a freelance reporter.
