Softball Coach. Role Model. Fighter.
Skylar Weinstein is an example for young athletes and all of us alike, teaching us all about grit, strength and perseverance, even amid the toughest of times.
Last year, Skylar went into the doctor to have hernia surgery, and found a lump in her neck. Her biopsy led to her cancer diagnosis.
Immediately, Weinstien committed to fight so that she could return to coach her teams and be with the girls that look up to her.
“I’m going through all these tests, and going to the doctor’s office, and I’m just like, ‘I have to get back out to my girls.’ That is what my mind kept telling me. ‘I have to get back out to my girls,’” Skylar told Good Morning Arizona.
Skylar’s players range from age nine to 13.
After pitching in high school in Scottsdale, Weinstein went on to play division one softball in Illinois. Her fastball reached elite-level speeds.
“You’re waking up at 5:00 in the morning. You’re lifting weights, then you’re going to softball practice in the morning, going to class, then you have some tutoring hours you have to get in,” explains Weinstein, reflecting on what it’s like to be a college athlete. “You have to figure out how to get food in your belly during the day. Then you go back to practice. You have conditioning, do your homework, and then you go to bed. You do it every single day. So it’s very intense.”
Now, Skylar is taking the skills she learned to help the next generation of players.
Not long after surgery and throughout radiation, Weinstein would show up to practice and give her girls all that she had. According to Skylar, this was an integral part of her healing process, and essential for the health of her body and soul.
Skylar is now cancer-free, and continues to pour herself into her coaching work.
