By Mya Castro
After transferring from Cal State San Bernardino to Riverside City College, Sarah Franco-Colis made her presence known to the softball program by becoming a key player this season.
Being the oldest and first kid in her family to attend college, Colis didn’t want to leave her family — which made her decision to attend RCC a lot easier. With her first year playing for the Tigers, Colis and her team did not expect for the season to end the way it did.
“We didn’t want to have such a short season going into the postseason,” Colis said. “I definitely think learning how to work together through adversity was the biggest takeaway from the season.”
As far as next season goes, Colis already has goals for the team and herself.
“Next season I have some numbers in mind for fielding average and batting average and it’s only going to go up from this season,” she said. “I want us to be that scrappy team that rises to the occasion and surprise some teams next year.”
Not only is Colis a key player for the team but she is also seen as a leader. Alicia Rivera, a fellow teammate, believes Colis is one of the best.
“She puts the team before anybody else,” Rivera said. “She sacrifices a lot, she’s always uplifting people no matter what and she’s honestly all around a great teammate.”
While being described as one of the best, Colis believes that in order to be the best athlete it is important to consider one’s integrity.
“I think what you do behind closed doors really says a lot about you and who you are off the field and not really so much in front of everybody else makes a great athlete,” she said.
Outside of softball, Colis enjoys baking, being around her dogs and spending time at the beach. When it comes to important people in her life, they believe Colis is a loving person to be around.
“Our relationship is very easy and fun,” said Celeste Hofacket, Colis’ partner. “She’s shy at first but once you get to know her she’s very funny, outgoing, sweet and she cares a lot about her people.”
As well as being one of the many student athletes at RCC, Colis is also a part of the LGBTQ community. At around 11 years old, Colis knew that she was bisexual but kept it hidden because she felt it wasn’t the norm. Colis came out as bisexual to her parents last year and just told her grandparents.
“I recently told my grandparents that I had been dating my partner at that time for two months,” Colis said. “And they were like ‘okay well we’re gonna love you no matter what’ but it was still a little shocking to them.”
When it comes to LGBTQ representation in the sports world, Colis looks up to a lot of Softball players who are also part of the community.
“With social media having such a huge presence today, I think it (representation) is only going to get bigger,” she said. “And I feel as if athletes now are going to feel more comfortable coming out as their authentic selves.”
For younger athletes struggling with their sexuality, Colis wants them to know that there are people out there just like them and people who will support them just like her family, friends and teammates do.
“In college and in the pro softball world there are a lot of out athletes and I think that it’s good for the younger generations to see that and think ‘hey this is somebody I can relate to who has the same goals as me and is achieving them,’” Colis said.
