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Rebecca Clyde never looked out of place on the baseball diamond. Other than her long, brown ponytail, flowing out of the back of her hat, she was right at home.

“If you didn’t see that ponytail, you wouldn’t know that it was a girl,” said Timothy Byron, head baseball coach at Old Tappan high school. “You’re going to put the best nine out there. It doesn’t matter if it’s a boy or a girl.”

Clyde grew up on a baseball field, playing the sport until her sophomore year of high school. She immediately succeeded in her first year with softball, leading Old Tappan (New Jersey) to its second-ever Bergen County Championship in 2018. She was a “natural” in both baseball and softball, and had no problem transitioning to softball. Byron said.

Before high school, Byron knew of Clyde. He coached both her brothers — Artie and Alex — and also knew her father, Arthur, who was a local baseball coach. During the summer, Clyde came to Old Tappan’s baseball camps, standing out as one of the best players in her age group. Byron thought she might switch to softball once she got to high school, but at that time, she stuck with baseball.

When baseball tryouts came around, Byron didn’t discourage Clyde from participating. He didn’t want to push her away because he had experience with girls playing on varsity for him before. Byron described Clyde’s skill level as “way ahead of any girl he had seen play baseball.” At tryouts, Byron thought it was clear Clyde was the best freshman after watching her catch fly balls and field grounders. She made it onto the freshman team.

“It wasn’t like something where you have a girl on your team, we didn’t even think of it that way,” Byron said. “We just thought of her as a ballplayer who was good.”

Byron described Clyde’s baseball I.Q. as “off the charts.” She had a solid arm at second base and her glove was like a “magnet,” Byron said. Along with playing the infield, Clyde sometimes pitched.

Clyde threw in the low-70s, which is the normal speed for freshmen, Byron said. He explained that Clyde had a really good curveball to strike out batters. Byron remembered whenever she struck someone out, opposing players were frustrated that they couldn’t get a hit off a girl.

Melissa Landeck, the softball coach at Old Tappan, noticed Clyde’s success as ninth grader and wanted her to play softball. Landeck kept an open dialogue with Byron about Clyde, knowing that Clyde was still young and, if she wanted to change sports, the decision was up to her.

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“I kept my eye on (Clyde) and I knew she was over there,” Landeck said. “If the switch happened, I knew immediately it would not only benefit our team, but you know that she’d have a bright future.”

In 10th grade, Clyde continued with baseball, playing for Old Tappan’s Junior Varsity team. Despite some of the boys getting stronger, Byron said Clyde still kept up. If Clyde stuck with baseball, Byron said she would’ve ended up on varsity. But, she took up softball instead.

Clyde said no to softball for a while, Byron said. But, Clyde’s parents and other coaches eventually brought her around. Byron said that Clyde had more opportunities with softball after high school, if she decided to make the switch.

“With her abilities, she deserved to be playing further than high school,” Byron said. “I don’t think baseball honestly truly was going to give her an avenue.”

The summer before her junior year, Clyde played with New Jersey Intensity, a high-level club team, to get acclimated to softball. Clyde had to adjust to shorter fields, but Byron said the transition was “simple.”

At the plate, Clyde was used to pitches coming in from a different release point. She had to learn how to read a rising ball as opposed to seeing it come downward.

Landeck wasn’t worried about Clyde’s playing ability during the transition. She made an instant impact despite joining a talented group. Landeck said she had good range and quick reflexes while playing shortstop, using those skills at third base for Syracuse.

As a junior, Clyde helped lead Old Tappan to its first-ever Bergen County championship. During the run, Clyde was clutch on both sides of the ball, Landeck said. She came up with big hits late in games and tough plays in the field to get the team out of jams.

Old Tappan was the No.9 seed in the playoffs and Clyde’s play helped them upset Ramsey High School, the two-time defending champions. In the title game, Landeck remembered the look on Clyde’s face during the celebration.

“It was just a moment of pure joy,” Landeck said. “There’s pretty much always a smile on her face, but when that happened it was next level.”

In the end, Byron feels the decision to switch sports paid off for Clyde. He encouraged Clyde to play the sport in the first place because he knew it was the best decision for her in terms of her future. And it allowed her to experience moments like that championship win.

“She was a baseball player, it just so happened that she was a girl,” Byron said.

Published on April 25, 2023 at 12:54 am

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