Michelle Lyon is dialed into the mental aspect of playing fastpitch softball. The sport keeps players thinking on their feet and makes the game interesting, she says.

“It’s different every single time that you’re on the field,” said the Mercer Island High School senior captain and shortstop.

As Lyon hits the diamond for the Islanders once again, she enjoys interacting with her coaches and teammates. It’s been an uplifting experience throughout her varsity career, which began freshman year.

After last year’s season was cancelled due to the pandemic, the Islanders have sprung back into action this spring and sported a 1-2 record at post time.

“It’s been tough to just go 0 to 100 again and it’s created a few more injuries than we’d want, but I know we’ve all been aching to just get back out and play, so it’s really fun,” Lyon said.

Lyon has put her glove and bat to work in the softball realm since the age of 8 and remembers playing on one team called the Gator-Corns because the players couldn’t decide to name themselves the Unicorns or the Gators.

When playing for the straightforward-titled Red Wings, she said: “It was a really fun experience because my dad was a big part of it, and he’s a big part of my life.”

In the fall, Lyon will attend the University of Washington-Bothell and major in either business administration or marketing, which will help her run her small baking business that features custom cookies and cakes.

When asked what’s the most important thing she’s learned during her softball career that she can carry on into her future, Lyon noted: “Both from the school team and then just softball in general, I think you learn a lot about how to deal with failure, because it’s a game of failure. Carrying that into my life and learning how to move past small failures, big failures and learning from it is going to help me.”

The Reporter asked Lyon a series of questions to get a behind-the-scenes glimpse into her life:

If you could go to dinner with one person, who would that be?

Honestly, Freddie Mercury (of Queen). I think he would have so many fun stories to tell. I would love to learn more about his life and his music.

What other types of music do you listen to?

A lot of rock or indie rock. My favorite band currently is a band called Wallows and they’re like an indie-pop-rock band.

What’s your favorite movie of all time?

“Jurassic Park.”

What’s your dream vacation spot?

I’ve always wanted to be in one of those huts in Bora Bora, where you can just walk out of your bedroom and you’re on the water.

What’s a hidden talent that you have?

Probably my baking. I don’t think anyone would look at a business major and a softball player and go, ‘Oh, you know how to bake?’ It’s kind of like an art form, so I’d say art is a weird little talent I’ve got.

What skill would you like to learn?

I have weirdly always wanted to learn how to play the guitar. I have no intention of putting any work into it, but maybe one day if I could just wake up and know how to do it, that would be great.

What’s something that you’re afraid of that you’d like to overcome?

I think too much about people’s opinions of me. I would like to kind of stop worrying about what other people are thinking and focus on myself and what’s best for me. If we’re talking just baseline fears: spiders.