Lindsay Bond, The “Sweet Assassin,” and more

Text and photos by Steev Riccardo

Lindsay Bond

For many of the fine local high school athletes, the upcoming spring season is their last hoorah and ending on a high note is on everyone’s mind.

One of those superior athletes is Bartlett three-sport girls star Lindsay Bond, who is set to begin her final campaign as the shortstop on the Indians girls’ softball team. Bond has done it all in her four-year Bartlett career, with softball being her “favorite” sport to play.

She began her career on the diamond as an eighth grader and has been the anchor of the Indians defense ever since. 

Indians’ softball coach Colleen Nasis often sings her praise of the senior star. “Lindsay has been part of Bartlett and part of every varsity sport since the eight grade. She is a tremendous athlete, but she is also a great person in school and outside of school. She prides herself on having a good strong character.” said Nasis.

“I am very proud of the young woman that she has become. I have known her since she was very young and I know her family is extremely proud of her. I can’t believe she is a senior, its crazy to think that next year we are not going to have her here. She has really helped female athletes so much, not just here, but at the middle school. I am proud of her.”

Bond shares the same admiration for Nasis, “She is a really smart coach, she knows where people should be playing. She knows their strengths and their weaknesses and that’s what makes us a strong team.”

One of Bond’s long time teammate and friend Megan Dwyer said this about Bond. “She is one of my teammates, one of my best friends, someone who I know understands the sport like I do. She is someone who you know is going to work hard, who you know is not just here to say that she is playing a sport. She is here because she loves it and it’s part of her life. When you see people who play sports like that it makes you want to play even more. You want to help them succeed; you want to succeed like they do. I wish I could see the sport how she does, because you can tell how much she feels for every sport that she is in.”

Fellow senior Alexis Podedworny also chimed in on Bond’s impact. “She’s been an awesome player, a good role model, I went to her when I was having a problem in softball and she was able to help me.  She is not only a role model in sports but in school as well.”

As for the upcoming season, Bond knows this is going to be a challenging one for the Indians, who are coming off a first round district loss at the hands of the Leicester Wolverines last season. “We need to put a lot of time into practice, the girls need to push themselves and play as a team. We have a strong defense, but we need to improve our hitting.”

When asked what her personal goals were for her final year in a green uniform, she said she would like “to get to Districts and hopes to have an error-free season.”  An error-free season is no easy task but if anyone can do it, we will put our money on Lindsay Bond. 

The Sweet Assassin: This week I had a chance to sit down and chat with Oxford High School’s junior track star Emily Dawidczyk, who with her permission, we have nicknamed “The Sweet Assassin.”  Sweet as can be off the track, a killer on the track especially at the 300 meters, a race that she absolutely owns in Indoor track.  She’s not too bad at the 200-meters outdoor track race either. Last year she placed 3^rd in the States which was quite an accomplishment.

Next week we feature Dawidczyk in the View as she prepares for her junior year on the Oxford track team. “The Sweet Assassin” is close friends with teammate Jordan Orrell, who we featured a few weeks back in The Patriot.

Oxford and the other local teams open their outdoor track campaign next week. 

Diamond Openers: Both the Oxford Pirates baseball and softball campaigns get underway today at Oxford High School. The Shepherd Hill Rams open their baseball season on the road at Marlborough and play again on Friday at Quaboag along with the softball team.  The Bartlett Indians boys and girls open their seasons on Friday at home against Grafton High School.

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