Student Athlete of the Week: Zoie Chociej

Zoie Chociej's dominant senior season has her feeling optimistic that she can continue her softball career in college.

The Niwot High School second baseman had highs in batting average (.645), RBIs (33) and home runs (six) while striking out only six times in 73 plate appearances for the fall 2022 season. She was also named the MaxPreps/NFCA National Player of the Week in August thanks to her 10-for-10 start to the season, including three home runs.

Chociej said that her success helped put her name on the radar of a few college programs, including Gordon College, Minot State University and La Sierra University. It's still early, but signing somewhere would "mean everything" to her.

"Softball has always been a really big part of my life," Chociej said. "To be able to continue that in my college career, it would just be amazing that I get to have the sport I love for just a little longer."

Her enjoyment of the game is a large reason why she might be getting a few more innings.

"It was really amazing to see all of the hard work that I've put in throughout my life finally paying off," Chociej said. "The best part about it was the fact that I wasn't really trying to do that. I was just trying to have fun and do my best for my team."

At the plate, her approach was essentially the same. She said that her power surge could be credited to keeping things simple and avoiding the deadly overthink.

As Chociej improved year after year, she also believed that Niwot followed a similar upswing.

"T​he softball program definitely just gets better and better every year," Chociej said. "We see girls come and go, obviously, but the foundation is always there with (head coach) Bobby (Matthews) and the good coaching."

Three players who are expected to return next year are juniors Anne Booth and Autumn Rutherford and sophomore Simone Paterno. Chociej said that trio helped make her senior season even better.

Regardless of where she lands the next four years, she remains grateful for her time at Niwot.

"It was definitely a great four years," Chociej said. "Looking back at my freshman year and seeing how much I've improved, it's just really crazy what a lot of practice and determination can do for a player."