![\"samb\"](\"http:\/\/www.nsr-inc.com\/scouting-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/samb.jpg\")
<\/a>Then came the physical abuse: stuffing into lockers and pushing down flights of stairs in middle school.<\/p>\nClassmates even stole her clothes.<\/p>\n
She reported the bullying to administrators at her Pennsylvania middle school. But, according to her, nobody listened.<\/p>\n
With serious thoughts of suicide, she ended up in a hospital for 11 days.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to die,\u201d National Scouting Report softball prospect Samantha \u201cSammie\u201d Bittenbender acknowledged.<\/p>\n
Sammie said female classmates were jealous of her because she was such a good athlete \u2013 so good, in fact, she played on boys teams. They also were jealous, she said, that her hard work in athletics paid off far more than theirs.<\/p>\n
Actually, she didn\u2019t play on travel teams or attend camps because her family couldn\u2019t afford it. She received most of her coaching from her mom, who took her to a nearby park as a child and taught her to play every position of every sport she was interested in.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mom used to say: I\u2019m the one that nobody wanted,\u201d Sammie said.<\/p>\n
How Samantha Overcame Bullying<\/h2>\n
After moving from Pennsylvania to New Jersey, Sammie, 16, has emerged as a three-sport standout — field hockey, basketball and softball — at Belvidere High School.<\/p>\n
Softball is her first love. A 5-foot-8, 160-pound sophomore, she plays every position, including pitcher and catcher, and plays them well.<\/p>\n
After leading her freshman softball team in home runs and RBIs, Sammie rapidly rose to JV and varsity. NSR scout Alan Zenobi discovered her by accident last April while scouting softball prospects at Verona High School. Playing center field in her first varsity game, Sammie stood out among all the other players.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe made two or three outstanding plays in the field, had a cannon arm and hit the ball really well,\u201d Zenobi recalled.<\/p>\n
During the game, Zenobi saw a mom cheering for the visiting Belvidere players. He darted over to her and asked: \u201cWho is that center fielder?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s my daughter,\u201d she replied.<\/p>\n
Zenobi set up a meeting with Sammie\u2019s family to interview the 2018 softball prospect for college coaches, teach the family about the college recruiting process and offer NSR\u2019s help in getting Sammie recruited.<\/p>\n
Sammie’s family jumped at the opportunity. They sold two old cars to make a down payment to NSR.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I met Alan, my entire life exploded right before my eyes,\u201d Sammie said. \u201cHe gave me the opportunity of a lifetime.\u201d<\/p>\n
Zenobi did more than that. He also arranged a tryout for Sammie with the Ramapo Rage 18U travel softball team, for which 2018 NSR softball prospect Alexis Corra plays. Sammie made the team.<\/p>\n
Not only is Sammie a gifted athlete, but she\u2019s also a good student. She hopes to use her athletic talent and 3.3 grade-point average to earn a college scholarship. Her ultimate goal is to become a writer.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I get a scholarship to a D-I college, I would be very happy and excited,\u201d Sammie said. \u201cBut I would probably feel more comfortable at a D-II school.\u201d<\/p>\n
Life After Bullying is Better<\/h2>\n
It has taken Sammie a long time to feel comfortable in her own skin. But, after years of bullying, she\u2019s finally starting to feel good about herself.<\/p>\n
\u201cLife is easier,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s hard to accept what happened to me. I\u2019ve had a hard time letting it go. But it seems a little easier now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sammie started a blog in 2012 to help other bullying victims. Her goal was to attract 1,000 followers. She has far surpassed that and wants victims to know life can be better.<\/p>\n
She repeated a quote that has helped her cope.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u201cEvery time you are convinced you couldn\u2019t move on, you did,\u2019\u2019\u2019 she said. \u2018\u2018\u2018Every time you thought you couldn\u2019t move forward, you did. Every time you thought you weren\u2019t strong enough, you were. It shows you are strong because you lived through it.\u2019\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The bullying started badly and got progressively worse. First came the verbal abuse: teasing and derogatory comments by elementary school classmates. Then came the physical abuse: stuffing into lockers and pushing down flights of stairs in middle school. Classmates even stole her clothes. She reported the bullying to administrators at her Pennsylvania middle school. But, … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3],"tags":[11,234,31,169,229,56,233,222],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsr-inc.com\/scouting-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8006"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsr-inc.com\/scouting-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsr-inc.com\/scouting-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsr-inc.com\/scouting-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsr-inc.com\/scouting-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8006"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsr-inc.com\/scouting-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8006\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14991,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsr-inc.com\/scouting-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8006\/revisions\/14991"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsr-inc.com\/scouting-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8006"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsr-inc.com\/scouting-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8006"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsr-inc.com\/scouting-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8006"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}