McCurdy Charter School’s Zoe Serrano has faced her fair share of obstacles in her journey to becoming one of New Mexico’s best softball players.
The Lady Bobcat utility player shined as a pitcher early in her career, but injuries to her shoulder and knee forced her to play shortstop a majority of the time her senior season.
Serrano tore her anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee rounding first base in a game versus Taos High School in the 2017 season.
“After I tore my ACL my junior year, they (coaches) were right there for my recovery and pushing me to get back to where I was as an athlete (again),” Serrano said.
McCurdy head coach Christian Lopez did more than encourage Serrano during her recovery. In fact, her career might not have happened at all if it wasn’t for Lopez, at least at McCurdy.
The Lady Bobcats program was on the verge of being eliminated in 2015 and after a coaching search was unsuccessful, Lopez, who was a school security guard at the time, volunteered for the job. The players would have been forced to try out at Española Valley High School to continue playing.
“I was already in retirement and just working as a security guard on the side,” Lopez said. “I decided to volunteer for the coaching position and just took it on and learned along the way. I knew it would be tough for them to get playing time over at Española because Robert (Garcia) already had an established program over there.”
Lopez said during the season that this year’s senior class taught him as much or more than he taught them over their careers. Serrano always stood out to him and led by example, even during her injury and rehab process.
“She’s just an all-around leader on and off the field,” Lopez said. “She never gave up and was still always in the dugout during every game and every practice (during her recovery). Making the state tournament (playoffs) would have been the icing on the cake for her, but I think making the all-stars served that purpose. There’s no doubt she deserved to be there; she’s one of the best players in the state. I wish there was more I could say. She’s just one hell of a softball player.”
Serrano said she’s known for her humor and clumsiness, but people would be surprised to find out she is terrified of Curious George and has a 1980’s Troll Doll collection she received from her grandmother.
English is her favorite subject, thanks in large part to her mother’s habit of buying books when she was a child. Serrano will study English and history at Adams State University and hopes to one day work as a teacher and then high school administrator.
Serrano’s sports career may be over, but the lessons she has learned will carry over to her future endeavors.
“Athletics has taught me that sometimes no matter what you do, things might not go your way,” she said. “It’s taught me that you have to work with people who may not like you, but you should be the better person and do what needs to get done for the success of the team. Softball, in particular, taught me a hard lesson, that anything you love can come to an end, but that leads to a new beginning.”