Aubrey Seider has had an amazing high school career.
The Franklin Towne Charter High School senior has been one of the best pitchers in the Public League over the past four years.
She took over in the circle for the Warriors when she arrived and ever since, she’s been mowing down batters.
Every year, she’s had Franklin Towne in position to win the championship. That’s the good news.
Bad news?
Freshman year, Franklin Towne made the Public League championship, but fell to Central.
Sophomore year, Franklin Towne made the Public League championship, but fell to Philadelphia Academy Charter.
Junior year, Franklin Towne made the Public League championship, but once again fell to Central.
To make matters worse, every game was a nailbitter and could have gone either way.
It wasn’t bad play, more like bad luck.
On one hand, it would be easy to get discouraged. But that’s not even close to how Seider looks at it. Every time she takes the field, it’s a chance for her and her teammates to get better, and they’ve used every game as a learning experience.
This year, once again, they’re ready.
“I would say making the championship every year is fun because of how much experience we’ve all gotten,” Seider said. “Losing one game is sad, but at the end of the day, it’s the only playoff game we lost. We’ve been in every championship. We’ve played so hard and you get to the biggest game and lose, so that’s hard. But the season is fun. How much work you put in for four months, one game ends it.
“I think it definitely motivates us. We were right there every year and we lost by one or two points. You don’t want to lose, but I’m so proud of the way we played to get there. I’m always proud of the way we play.”
Seider has a great arm and can put the ball wherever she wants it, but her attitude and demeanor are what makes her the perfect fit for Franklin Towne.
The Warriors are a young team and some of the girls playing important roles this year are inexperienced. That’s where Seider comes in.
After all, being a freshman pitcher on a team that went to the championship, she knows what it’s like to play a key role as a youngster on a team with high expectations.
“My role on this team is to be one of the leaders and a lot of the girls look up to me, come up to me for questions,” said Seider, who grew up in Parkwood but recently moved to Bristol. “Sometimes it’s about playing, something to do in the game, sometimes it’s other things. They tell me they look up to me.
“I can’t be in a bad mood because if I am, they are. I try to be the leader and someone they can look up to. I don’t want them to see me being upset at things. I try to be a good leader on and off the field.
“When I got here, there were two seniors and those two really showed me. They were our captains. Even if we have a bad game, it’s OK we can still play our best. We have more games to play. You need someone to show the younger girls what to do, so I try to do that.”
She’s the same way off the field.
Since arriving at the school, she’s received honors every marking period. Thanks to what she does in the classroom as well as what she’s doing on the field, she’ll continue her career at Immaculata next year.
“Immaculata has a beautiful campus and I played for a regional team and the coach I played for is actually the coach of Immaculata,” said Seider, who plans on majoring in nursing. “I really like her, she’s the type of coach I want. She’s cool, nice and all about business.
“I chose nursing because I wanted to be a teacher and work with kids, but then I decided I’d like nursing. It’s an up-pace job and if I don’t have an up-pace job, I’d be bored. And helping the people and saving lives, that’s a big thing. I’m a helpful person.”
She gets that from her family.
According to Seider, without her family and all they’ve done for her, she wouldn’t be where she is today.
“I would say my family is a huge part, they always show up and support me,” Seider said. “They never doubt me and when they talk to me, it’s to get me powered up, make sure I’m not cocky. They humble me when I need it in a heartbeat. And if it wasn’t for them, no way I am where I am. They drove me all over the world. They did so much for me.”
She also credits her travel team, the Phillies UYA, for getting her involved and helping her develop. She also credits her school with making her the person she wants to be.
Now Seider just wants to end her career in style.
“For me and for my team, a championship would mean a lot to us because I feel like we have so many great seniors who deserve it, and great younger girls,” she said. “I want to win it so bad. They’ll be fine, they have great freshmen and great eighth-graders who are coming in. They won’t rely on just us seniors. But this is our last year to win with them. I really hope we can do it.”
