Waubonsee really stuck out to me because the coaches were really welcoming and I know quite a few girls from my travel team who are there right now and really enjoy it there.”

Macy Belmonte

ROCHELLE — A pair of injuries to her right shoulder forced Rochelle senior Macy Belmonte to miss her final season with the varsity softball team. Belmonte remained invested in the team’s success, however, working as a team manager and helping her young teammates from the dugout, where she focused on improving her leadership as one of four seniors on the roster.

Belmonte received clearance on Monday to begin a return-to-throw program as she continues to recover from the offseason shoulder surgery she underwent in December 2023. The senior graduate will look to make a full recovery for the 2024-25 school year as she continues her academics and her softball career at Waubonsee Community College, where she intends to study nursing. Belmonte played three years of softball at Rochelle Township High School.

“Waubonsee really stuck out to me because the coaches were really welcoming and I know quite a few girls from my travel team who are there right now and really enjoy it there,” said Belmonte, who has played travel softball with the Wheatland Spikes and the Downers Grove Rebels. “I’ve also heard good things about their nursing program. I’m happy that I’ll have more time to play with my friends since I wasn’t able to play this year because of my shoulder. I’m happy that the injury wasn’t the end of my career and I’m happy that I’ll have more time.”

Belmonte became a varsity starter at Rochelle as a junior, playing multiple positions including catcher, shortstop and second base. Belmonte appeared in all 26 games during her junior season, collecting 12 hits, eight runs, three doubles and four RBIs over that span. Belmonte, who grew up in gymnastics for many years, said she began feeling right shoulder pain halfway through her junior season, which led to the diagnosis of a torn labrum and rotator cuff.

“I had surgery on my left shoulder back in 2020,” Belmonte said. “My shoulders have always been unstable and they always kept dislocating… I’m not really sure how the right shoulder injury happened, but it may have been because of overuse and instability. My recovery has mainly been physical therapy three times a week and relearning how to do things because it’s my throwing arm. I was cleared to throw on Monday and I’ll need to learn how to throw again.”

Although Belmonte was unable to compete during her senior season, she took on the role of team manager to remain involved with the varsity program, which saw six freshmen and two sophomores rostered during the 2024 season. From the bench, Belmonte worked to help the young players grow and adjust to the varsity level, something she said has improved her leadership skills. Belmonte intends to catch and play outfield at Waubonsee next year.

“Playing at Rochelle has definitely helped me because I don’t play a lot of infield during travel softball, so being exposed to the infield helped me widen my skill set,” Belmonte said. “I believe there are always ways to get better, whether it’s increasing my throwing velocity or working on my hitting… I think my leadership improved the most because a lot of our girls were younger, especially this year, and even though I was just the manager, I was able to help the girls.”