Since she was little, growing up in the Stadium Projects in South Lawrence, Shawna Currier ate, drank and slept softball.
Whether it was hanging out on the fields at the old Kane School and playing batgirl for some of coach Bo Durso’s teams, she immersed herself in the game, with or without the prodding from her dad, Ed.
“It was really the only thing I thought about,”said Currier.
“Softball has been with me forever. It’s something my father and I did forever together. I wouldn’t have been there without him. I was really lucky. My father always said, ‘You are not going to throw like a girl.’ and I always took that to heart.”
She had big dreams during her Lawrence High career, too.
The biggest of big.
“I got into a few schools out West academically, including UCLA, but they weren’t giving me any (athletic) money,” said Currier, who dreamed of playing shortstop with the legendary Lisa Fernandez on the mound with the Bruins.
“(Lawrence High coach Andy Reusch) was handling the recruiting stuff, and I didn’t realize (the magnitude of that),” Shawna said.
So how did she land at Merrimack?
“If it wasn’t for (former Lancer) Chrissy Driscoll coming to a game at Lawrence and Mr. Reusch and Mr. (Mike) Mansour having me snap into reality, I’m not sure what would have happened,” she said. “(Driscoll) was catching for Merrimack. I remember her saying, you’re not going to play (at UCLA). You will step in and play here.”
Reusch and Mansour understood the opportunities that were presented to Currier at Merrimack.
Dracut’s Kim Page was there, and Wilmington’s Judy O’Connell was heading there.
“Mr. Reusch and Mr. Mansour … I had a come-to-Jesus meeting with them,” Currier said. “I remember Mr. Mansour saying right to me, ‘If you were (my daughter) Tara right now, I’d tell you to jump on it.’ and I listened.
“I went on an overnight visit with (former Warrior) Jen Morrison and met with (Athletic Director/Coach Bob DeGregorio), got an offer, and said, ‘I’ll take it!’ It was history from there.”
Today, now married for 20 years, Shawna Steuterman is a proud mother of three, who teaches fifth grade in her home town of Milton.
Her daughter, Abbie, played volleyball and softball at Milton High and just finished up her freshman year at Providence.
She also has twins, Sadie, who swims at Milton High, and Colin, who plays golf and hockey at Blue Hills Regional.