Q&A with Eva Lantagne

Hello Eva. So it’s Eva Lantagne, like a plantain without the P?

*Yes

So Eva, what do your parents do?

*My dad works at United Airlines as a pilot and mom is a physical therapist but staying at home with the kids right now.

And is it just you guys? 

*No, I have three younger siblings; Mya is 14, Blake is 13, and Bo is 10. 

Do they play sports too? 

*Mya is on the Golden Girls and the boys both play soccer. Dad did wrestling, baseball, and football in high school and then he did a year of football at the Coast Guard Academy, and Mom was a cheerleader at Air Force.

So you have a big sports family. Were you always playing softball?

*No, I started off playing soccer too for five years when I was younger, then tried basketball and a few other sports. But I found softball when I was about eight or nine and stuck with it. 

And you’re also a star on the track team. When did that come into the picture?

*I didn’t start track until I was in seventh grade, about thirteen years old, and it was my favorite sport of the junior high options we had. And in high school they had a better off-season program than the other sports. Also, Coach Ogden really pushed me to work hard. She’s super supportive and encouraging and so that’s why I ended up sticking with it. 

Do you feel like you had a special bond with Coach Ogden? 

*I think so. She saw that I was really hard on myself and would push myself so she would be there for me on the mental side, which I needed. She would see me get in my head on my performance and really reminded me to have fun. 

Do you plan on competing at the next level in both softball and track? 

*I don’t think so.Track and softball are the same seasons so I’ll focus on softball.

Would you say that you’re naturally gifted in softball or that you had to work at it? 

*I would definitely say that I have gifts and talents from God, but it has also been a lot of hard work to play at the level I’m at now.

Do you go to church around here? 

*Yes, we go to the Church at Woodforest. I like it a lot. It’s a really good community. I haven’t been able to get into YoungLife really because we have practices during that time. But I get a lot of my faith from family because a lot of my family is deep in their faith and they push me to do the same. One of my older cousins, Ariel, played soccer at Baylor and struggled with injuries and it really grew her in her faith and I was like, “I want that too!” 

What do you plan on studying in college? 

*I think I’ll study Aerospace Engineering. I haven’t looked a whole lot into it but I like the developing part of engineering. I’m taking physics this year so I think I’ll know more if I want to continue to pursue that after. 

Where would you like to go to college? 

*Colleges are able to submit recruitment offers September 1st so I’ll have a better idea then. I think I’d like a smaller school with a good academic reputation but I’m staying open right now.

Do you feel the Academy of Science and Health Professions has helped you get to that dream?

*I think so; we’ve had to do some extracurriculars that I don’t think I would’ve pushed myself to do on my own, like the Science Fair. But I found it very interesting to implement the scientific method and all of that, and also they put you on a pathway with advanced classes that give me a headstart in college.

If you could offer any advice to a young one beginning to play softball, what encouragement would you give? 

*I’d say to always remember it’s supposed to be fun. It’s easy to get wrapped up in all of the stats, performance, and rankings, but remember you started to have fun and to keep it that way. And to not be too hard on yourself for the little failures, they are just a learning opportunity.

What’s your favorite memory from your time playing softball?

*I’d say my first homerun. I think I was twelve. It was kind of like a movie, because we were tied, in extra innings, and the bases were loaded. I had a 3-2 count and I hit it out for a walk-off grand slam. I think the only thing that could top that off is a state championship. 

Your incoming freshman class had nine varsity players. How did that happen?

*My freshman year we had no seniors. There were one junior, three sophomores, and nine freshmen. My class was very strong and a lot of the upperclassmen didn’t try out. The record before my freshman year they were 3-8 and then when we came in we were 14-4 and district champs for their first time.

That’s amazing. So your class came up playing a lot of select ball? 

*Yes, a lot of us played together at some point but weren’t really on the same teams. I played with Impact Gold for awhile but now I’m on the Texas Bombers team. In the Alliance rankings we’re number one in the country for 16u. We’ve had a good run and our record now is 37-3-2. This is the best team I’ve ever been on. 

Is your select team based around here? 

*It’s based in San Antonio, but we have players from Oklahoma, Louisiana, north Texas, Corpus . . .all over really. But mostly based in central Texas.

That’s so interesting. Carmen Uribe, our Athlete of the Month from June, plays for Texas Glory based out of Dallas. They’re also a super team pulling players from all over the south. I’ve known about select ball for awhile but I guess didn’t know it got that competitive. 

*Yeah, they’re like showcase teams. Texas Glory is really good.

What’s your goal for Conroe High School softball this year?

*My biggest goal would be for us to win state. I think building up our team culture will play a major role in us being able to achieve that. I think it’s going to take a lot of us wanting that excellence from within.

Would you consider yourself a leader on the team?

*I would say so. As a pitcher you kind of find yourself in that role because you’re in control of the pace of the game. I know this team has the talent to win state. We just have to play together and for each other to get there. 

Back when I was at Oak Ridge High School, the girl’s volleyball and basketball teams were always so good. It’s like the younger girls in Oak Ridge saw the success and rose up to keep that standard. 

*We had two really good leaders on the Conroe track team that really brought up the whole level of the program, and that’s what I’d like to be for the softball program. They pushed me, inspired me, and really cared about me, and that’s how I want to be.

What were their names?

*Their names are Majesty Omeye and Mya Sanders, and they’re both going to run in college. Majesty is going to University of Arkansas-Little Rock and Mya is going to SFA. 

She’s going to run with Nicole Smithers, our very first Athlete of the Month!

*Oh yeah, I saw that. SFA will have a great team. With their leadership, we were runners up in district, which was pretty huge for Conroe. 

It’s been a pleasure meeting you. Thank you, Eva.

*Thank you.

****** Pull Quote: What would you say is a core value for you? 

*I think the verse Deut. 6: “Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid. God is with you, he will never leave you or forsake you.” And we talk a lot in my family to not only have faith but to act on it. I’d say my core value is to have courage.