After graduating from Barry at the end of the 2006 softball season holding the then school-record 23 career home runs and a degree in public relations, former Barry catcher Amanda Moore found herself communicating, playing, and relating in a completely different environment: Australia.
Playing in the land down under during the 2006-2007 season in Adelaide, Australia with the Torrens Valley Redsox (TVR) ‘A’ softball club, Moore caught every inning the entire season and led the defense with her confidence. She also led on the offensive side with a .390 batting average and a .623 on base percentage, which earned her the team’s Most Valuable Player award.
Redsox head coach Jim Moore, a veteran of 28 years, commented that Amanda was “a pleasure to coach and work with” and was a “well-presented young lady who has a strong character and who leads well on the field. Even though Moore’s primary focus in coming to South Australia was to play for the TVR, she also made outstanding contributions as an assistant coach with the ‘B’ grade Redsox team, working with Assistant Australian National Olympic Coach Sue Tomlinson. And even though Moore’s area of expertise is as a catcher, Tomlinson found her to “demonstrate an excellent ability to teach a wide range of skills.” This U-19 ‘B’ team reached the Waverly Finals Tournament and under the direction, motivation, and inspiration of Moore, garnered third place honors. One observer close to the softball club revealed that Moore was a “wonderful ambassador” for softball, the United States, and her family.
In addition to the Redsox club, Moore also coached softball at Sacred Heart College and St. Peter’s Girls College, where she led the club’s U-13 team at the South Australian Primary Schools Amateur Sports Association (SAPSASA) in Melbourne to a bronze medal. A comment from one of the girls on the team continued to show the major impact Moore had while coaching: “We could never be the softballers we are today without your talks and advice.”
Moore is now back home in St. Louis, Missouri where she is working at Tower Grove Park as a recreation coordinator and playing in an area recreation softball league. Moore is also continuing to coach, this time as the Head Coach at Villa Duchesne High School in St. Louis. “My coaching experiences in Australia really helped me in pursuing this avenue of coaching back home,” Moore explained.
Moore’s future plans include continuing to coach and eventually working in the non-profit sector. But for now, Moore revels in her great experience in the land down under, viewing it as the great opportunity to travel somewhere else in the world and diversify herself that it was. Moore also felt that being at Barry really helped her to “meet new people from different parts of the world,” which not only aided her during her time in Australia, but also is a very important tool for the future. As Moore herself concludes: “I’ve made so many lifelong friends in both Miami and Australia—I feel very blessed.”
Even though Moore had to make some adjustments in the land down under, there is no doubt that she excelled and made a name for herself.
