Nearly a decade after her high school graduation, Maddy Grimm still is considered one of the best athletes in Ligonier Valley history. After playing four sports in high school, Grimm became a college softball star at Kent State. Since then, she’s played all over the globe, and recently created her own company to help train the next generation of softball stars. Grimm is featured in the latest installment of Westmoreland Where Are They Now?

During her time at Ligonier Valley, Grimm earned 14 total varsity letters between softball, basketball, soccer, and football. In the fall, she spent most of her time on the pitch, but also was on the gridiron as the kicker on Friday nights. In the winter, she was a star on the hardwood for Ligonier Valley. But perhaps her finest performances came on the diamond in the spring as a prolific-hitting shortstop.

After Grimm’s freshman year at Ligonier Valley, the district merged with Laurel Valley, which helped bolster many of the athletic teams. Subsequently, Grimm enjoyed tremendous team success to go with her individual accolades.

“Almost every team I was on qualified for playoffs,” said Grimm, who graduated in 2013.

To that point, she helped the Rams softball team capture three consecutive Heritage Conference titles, while she was a three-time All-State selection.

Prior to her graduation, though, Grimm had to decide the best destination for her future, as well as which sport to pursue.

“I had no idea what I was doing until I committed,” revealed Grimm, a Stahlstown native. “To me, the tempo of basketball and even soccer was just so much more engaging than softball. It was just more entertaining to me. But I think it’s safe to say that softball was my best sport.

“I was actually nervous when I got to Kent State because I was playing one sport all year. I kind of made a promise to myself to really dive in and specialize the most that I could,” she continued. “How good can I get at ground balls? How good can I get at baserunning? How good can I get at hitting? How can I master this part of the sport?”

Indeed, the decision to play on the diamond at Kent State proved fruitful, as Grimm achieved unprecedented success with the Golden Flashes. From 2014-17, Grimm rewrote the record book, establishing program career records in RBIs (192), runs (172), and home runs (69), as well as single-season marks in runs, home runs, and total bases.

As a freshman, Grimm started all 45 games, shifting primarily to third base, and tied for the team lead with an average of .288, while pacing the Golden Flashes with 13 home runs, 44 RBIs, and 34 runs. Collectively, Kent State went 25-20, including 10-6 in the Mid-American Conference (MAC), but went 1-2 in the conference tournament to conclude the season.

The following year, Grimm batted .373 with 19 home runs, 54 RBIs, and 37 runs, earning MAC First-Team accolades. Kent State improved drastically, going 41-13, including 17-4 in the MAC. In the conference tournament, the Golden Flashes went 2-2.

In 2016, she paced the squad with a .327 average, 18 home runs, 39 RBIs, and 51 runs, once again earning a spot on the All-MAC First-Team. The Golden Flashes, meanwhile, posted a mark of 37-22, including 16-7 in the conference. Once more, Kent State went 2-2 in the MAC Tournament.

As a senior, Grimm hit .329 with 19 homers, 55 RBIs, and 50 runs, and was named the Mid-American Conference Player of the Year in 2017. Collectively, the Golden Flashes went 33-28, including 15-9 in the MAC. In the conference tournament, Kent State went 5-1, defeating Ohio University twice in a row to capture the conference title for the first time since 2008. In the NCAA Division I Tournament Waco Regional, the Golden Flashes went 1-2 to conclude the campaign.

Although she earned her degree in exercise science, Grimm did not step away from softball after her graduation. Instead, she juggled a professional playing career with a pair of assistant coaching roles.

In 2018, she joined the staff at Ashland University, helping the Eagles qualify for their conference tournament. The following year, she returned closer to home, joining the University of Pittsburgh as a volunteer assistant.

During that same timeframe, Grimm joined team Moh-BEEL! USA of the American Softball Association (ASBA) league. She enjoyed incredible success with the team, tying for the league-lead with 10 home runs in 2018. After Grimm posted another stellar campaign in 2019, however, the league folded, prompting Grimm to look elsewhere.

Subsequently, Grimm landed in New Zealand, playing for Parklands Christchurch United (PCU). With the seasons flipped in the southern hemisphere, Grimm’s campaign spanned from September 2019 until March 2020. Less than two weeks before the season was scheduled to conclude, however, the arrival of COVID-19 short-circuited the league, forcing Grimm to leave the country prematurely.

“I actually had to book an early flight home because of COVID,” she said. “New Zealand was literally shutting down the borders, so it was basically like “leave now.”’

An Italian league slated for the summer of 2020 was consequently cancelled because of the pandemic, which left Grimm back home in Stahlstown. With her opportunities elsewhere limited, she spent some time playing as a “sponsored athlete” in a A-Series slow-pitch league that summer.

“There’s definitely a learning curve to it. You can be way more strategic because you know that you’re going to get a pitch you can hit,” Grimm revealed.

More notably, the pandemic afforded Grimm the opportunity to branch into becoming a private instructor. Teaching both hitting and fielding, Grimm initially connected with a promising Ligonier Valley softball player who had not yet made her mark at the varsity level.

“All through COVID, I worked with Maddie Griffin – three times a week online,” explained Grimm. “She would set up a net in her living room and she would just hit into it. She was kind of my trial run athlete, and I loved it.”

While Griffin subsequently achieved great success with the Rams the past two campaigns, the opportunity to serve as an instructor created a new path for Grimm.

For that reason, Grimm relocated to Irvine, California in November 2020 for the opportunity to provide private instruction full time. With the birth of Maddy Grimm Training, the former Rams star began working with youth players in a region that produces a bevy of softball standouts.

“Orange County in general is a huge hotbed for travel softball, because they can play 12 months out of the year,” Grimm explained. “It’s really a good place to thrive when this is your specialization.”

In addition to her private instruction, Grimm has helped coach three local travel teams – SoCal Athletics 16U, 14U, and 12U – as well as nearby Northwood High School.

“Basically, any team nearby I’m helping,” she joked.

Although she played for Collecchio in Italy last summer, Grimm has since declined international offers, as she shifts her focus to her new career. Grimm believes she will have slow-pitch softball opportunities in the future if she still has the desire to take the field.

While her playing career has been put on hold, Grimm still enjoys working out at home, and she has many activities at her disposal on the West coast, including hiking and paddleboarding.

“I’ve been trying to figure out what physical activity is going to fill that void of not being on a field right now,” she revealed.

Despite all of her travels, Grimm has never abandoned her local ties. Last spring, she hosted a clinic in Ligonier, and she has continued to work with Griffin and other youth softball players whenever she returns to the area. She also has continued to support the Rams and head coach Mark Zimmerman, who guided the program during her career.

“Whenever I’m home in the spring, I try to catch a Ligonier game,” she noted.

Nearly a decade removed from her graduation, Grimm still fondly reflects on her time at Ligonier Valley, and credits the community for much of her success.

“For me, that was huge to have so much support from the community and my teammates and the coaches and my family,” she said. “I feel very blessed to have had such great memories and relationships.”