Years after going with her team to state, former Azle student Kathy Pack watches in the stands as her daughter, junior Ema Lehr, represents the same team she did back in 1996.

“Seeing her playing, especially seeing her play on the same field, at the same school I did, fills me with so much nostalgia, pride and joy,” Pack said.

Ema’s love for softball was different, not just because of her own passion, but also because of her family’s influence.

“My whole family played,” Ema said. “I always looked up to my mom because she went to state at Azle. I want to be like her in all aspects.”

The bond of Ema and her mom extends further than the typical mother-daughter relationship.

“I think the bond Ema and her mom have created through the sport of softball has brought them so much closer,” Ema’s teammate, senior Corynne Barone, said. “Being able to share experiences and battles with someone like your mom allows you to truly connect.”

Ema said that although she was not influenced by her mom’s love for softball, the love for the game didn’t start early.

“My mom got me into softball,” Ema said. “I actually didn’t want to play softball when I was younger.”
For Pack, she said the decision to let Ema find her own path in her sports life is just as important as it was for her own journey.

“Like Ema, my parents let me try anything I wanted to,” Pack said. “Softball just stuck.”

The past few years softball hasn’t been able to make it past round 2 of playoffs which has sparked an overall goal for the whole team.

“We haven’t been able to get over that hump,” softball coach Carlos Font said. “So the goal this year is to make it to round 3.”

Not only Ema playing on the same team that her mom did was what strengthened her, but her connection to the sport and her teammates as well.

“The competition is fun,” Ema said. “Our team is like a family, the cheering, the constant loudness makes us closer.”