Henderson Receives Athlete Of The Month Award From Marines/MaxPreps
A special ceremony was held last week to recognize Louisiana High School senior Samantha Henderson as the MaxPreps Athlete of the Month for January presented by the United State Marines Corps.
The presentation was held on Friday, March 10. SSG Dorite Rabenell presented Henderson with the glass award that noted for “excellence on and off the field.” Rabenell also gave Henderson a varsity-style jacket on behalf of the Marines and MaxPreps.
Kelsey Stewart, professional softball player for the USA Pride team, was the special guest speaker. She offered remarks about Henderson’s civic responsibility in addition to her athletic ability. She referenced the amount of volunteer work Henderson does and a blood drive Henderson coordinated and hosted last year for the American Red Cross which she has served since 2013.
Henderson was selected from thousands of students for “displaying the ideals the Marines stand for such as bravery, dedication, perseverance, personal sacrifice for others and being a positive influence in the community.”
Rabenell noted this as he presented Henderson with the award last week. Henderson was also featured in an article and video on MaxPreps and CBS Sports.
Henderson’s mother, Doris, noted her girls have played sports since they were very young. She remembered a tournament when Kristina was a sophomore and Sammi was going into sixth grade. Kristina’s team didn’t have enough players so Sammi stepped in. Despite playing with high schoolers, she played three games starting in the outfield and then catching for her sister who pitched. She also drove in a winning run in one of the games.
Henderson has been the starting catcher for Louisiana’s high school softball team for all four years and has been Academic All-State in addition to recognitions for her athletic ability. She is also a member of the basketball and track teams. She has also served on the student council, is a member of National Honor Society, served the FFA, FTA, Interact Club, FBLA, Spanish Club, FCA and has been class secretary since 2013.
She also participated in Missouri Girls State, has been a part of the American Legion Junior Girls and has also worked as an umpire and lifeguard for Khoury League and the YMCA.
Henderson said in an interview last week that she was exhilarated to find out about the award.
“Coming from such a small school, I never expected to receive something of such high honor and regard. Competing at LHS for four years will definitely be memories I never forget. From the Cinderella story of the district champion softball team my freshman year, to receiving all-district and all-conference catcher have just been awe moments,” she remarked. “It has been a true honor to wear a Louisiana jersey, and my time is coming to an end soon, but the memories will be with me forever,” she added.
MaxPreps is America’s source for high school sports, dedicated to covering every team, every game and every player. MaxPreps partners with nearly 100,000 coaches throughout America. Founded in August 2002, MaxPreps.com is headquartered in Cameron Park, Calif., and is a unit of CBS Interactive.
