Although she has never had the opportunity to compete on a school team, Avery Dickson has long possessed a passion for softball.She began filling her summers with the sport in grade school and soon developed a desire to eventually play at the next level. The Liberty Christian senior made that ambition a reality when she signed her letter of intent to play for St. Charles Community College on Friday.SCCC Coach Michelle Patrico had limited opportunities to watch Dickson, as Liberty Christian has never had a school team, but she was immediately sold. She witnessed her heave an impressive outing fresh off a long-term injury.“I actually saw her play as a substitute one weekend,” said Patrico. “She hadn’t pitched in several months, but her ability to battle through any fatigue that she had was great. She just battled through it.”Dickson has been one of the most relied-upon pitchers for her select team, the St. Peters Royals, traveling throughout the Midwest during the summer.“Since I was about 10 and began playing summer ball, I started getting serious about playing at the college level,” said Dickson.She believes her ability to vary her pitches and be deceptive keeps hitters at bay and makes her a dual threat. During her time with the Royals she sported a 2.995 ERA, striking out 100 batters through 201 innings pitched.“I have a lot of movement to my balls and a ton of pitches, so it’s hard for hitters to pick up on my movement,” said Dickson.With the Royals, she batted .375 with six hits in limited place appearances.“I’ve heard a lot of great things about her ability,” added Patrico, whose team is a member of the National Junior College Athletic Association.Dickson came close to scrapping her athletic endeavors in exchange for close proximity to home, but an unexpected opportunity presented itself.“I wanted to stay close to home my first year, so I thought about just going to school there and not playing softball,” said Dickson. “But one weekend she came up and voiced interest in me playing, so it ended up working out perfectly.”SCCC is a member of the Midwest Community College Athletic Conference.“We’re trying to build the program into something that has a little bit more notoriety,” said Patrico.She is hopeful the addition of Dickson to the team will help progress toward that point.“With the signing of Avery today, this will make our third pitcher for next year,” added Patrico.DICKSON INKS COLLEGE CHOICEDerrick Forsythe photo.