When Sophia Pardo was growing up, she spent a lot of time watching and admiring her older brother, Jorge, who was a standout catcher for the Memorial High School baseball team during his heyday.
“I always looked up to my brother,” Sophia Pardo said. “When I was a little kid, I would go to all his games with my mother and father. I knew that I someday wanted to play like that.”
“I always tried to help her as much as possible,” said Jorge Pardo, who graduated from Memorial in 2005, then went on to have a fine career as a catcher at New Jersey City University, earning All-New Jersey Athletic Conference honors his senior year.
“I’m nine years older than her, so any time I had a chance to work with her, I did,” Jorge Pardo said. “I would take her to batting practice with me. I knew she grew up watching me. I was trying to be a positive role model.”
Sophia Pardo began playing softball at a young age, but then lost all chance to play the sport competitively when the town discontinued the girls’ softball program.
“I remember being in middle school and not having a chance to really play,” Sophia Pardo said. “I remember asking my brother, ‘Can you teach me how to play?’ He’s always been there for me, always been by my side.”
Fast forward to a little more than three years ago, when Sophia entered Memorial as a freshman. Jorge Pardo was already an assistant coach with the Memorial softball program, so it was only natural that the Pardo family, brother and sister, should be together with the Tigers.
“I didn’t play as much before high school,” Sophia Pardo said. “But I knew I wanted to play. I just had to fix things up when I got to high school. Jorge knew how to play the game, so he fixed my mechanics, my swing, the way I throw.”
One thing had to change. Sophia was first a catcher like her brother when she first started playing, but she sprouted up to 5-foot-10 – even taller than her brother – and that eliminated all chances of being a backstop in high school.
“I wanted to be a catcher like my brother, but I couldn’t block the ball well,” Sophia Pardo said. “So I became a first baseman.”
“She became a good first baseman,” Jorge Pardo said.
Sophia Pardo was a mainstay on the Memorial softball team for the first three years of her career, but she really never captured the essence of being a top softball player.
“The last couple of years, she really didn’t have the confidence she needed,” Jorge Pardo said.
Maybe all she needed was to have her brother as her head coach.
Jorge Pardo was elevated to the position of head coach before the 2015 season began.
At first, Sophia didn’t know how to handle her brother being the head coach.
“First, there was a little more pressure because my brother was the coach,” Sophia Pardo said. “At first, it was a little hard. I knew that he couldn’t show favoritism because I was his sister. So he was a little on top of me and I was a little worried about that. But he told me that I could play good and I’d be fine.”
“I knew I had to speak to her on the field in a coach/player relationship,” Jorge Pardo said. “I tried to be tougher on her. She knows how to differentiate me being her brother, then me being her coach.”
Sophia Pardo struggled somewhat over her first 11 games. She had only three multi-hit games and was batting a little better than .300 during that stretch.
Then, something clicked in.
“I realized it was my senior year and I only had a few games to go in my career,” Sophia Pardo said. “It was basically go big or go home. My time was coming to an end. I had to make it count.”
“She just took off,” Jorge Pardo said. “Her confidence level was high. She knew that she could do it. Her comfort level was there. She adapted to what the pitchers were throwing and knew what she needed to do in her next at-bat.”
Pardo’s contributions at the plate for the last six games have been incredible. It started with a streak of eight straight hits against McNair Academic and Hoboken, where she scored seven runs, had two doubles and 10 RBI.
The hot streak didn’t end there. Pardo had three more multi-hit games over the last two weeks, including a 3-for-5 game against Harrison in the first round of the Hudson County Tournament, a 15-6 win that enabled the Tigers to advance to the quarterfinals against North Bergen.
All totaled, Pardo had a six-game streak where she went 17-for-26 (.653 clip) with seven doubles, 13 runs scored and 16 RBI. That’s beyond being hot.
For her efforts, Pardo has been selected as The Hudson Reporter Athlete of the Week for the past week.
The elder Pardo is astounded with his little sister’s turnaround.
“She finally understands what it’s all about,” Jorge Pardo said. “She’s faced all the tough competition and all the best pitchers in the county. Her confidence level is through the roof now. She’s comfortable and confident. It’s come to a point where I don’t even have to coach her. I’m amazed how quickly she’s matured. She has definitely exceeded my expectations.”
Even Sophia is a little shocked with her recent explosion.
“I am surprised,” Sophia Pardo said. “I just wish I could have done this from the beginning of the season. But I’m so excited about the way I’m playing. It just seems easier to hit the ball now. I feel more relaxed at the plate. I don’t panic when I get up there. I just go up there and swing. It’s amazing how all the hard work is finally doing something.”
The coach is pleased, but the brother is totally beaming.
“I’m very proud,” Jorge Pardo said. “From a coach’s standpoint, I’m happy with her development. From a brother’s standpoint, I’m amazed and proud. This whole time, she’s tried to become a version of me and now she’s even better.”
Pardo’s skills have not gone unnoticed. She has been recruited by Montclair State and will play softball there in the fall, while majoring in either forensic science or athletic training.
“It really is amazing,” Sophia Pardo said. “I’m so excited about college and getting the chance to play. I always dreamed about getting the chance to play in college. I want the younger girls to see me and say, ‘I want to play like Sophia Pardo.’”
Much like she once tried to be like Jorge Pardo.
“I just always wanted to be like my brother,” Sophia Pardo said.
“It’s been so awesome to watch her grow up into being a great young adult,” Jorge Pardo said.
It’s all in the family with the Memorial softball team, that’s for sure. – Jim Hague
Jim Hague can be reached at OGSMAR@aol.com.