Rebekka Herman sees a lot of herself when she watches her daughter, Aubree, play baseball.
Aubree is now five years old and plays shortstop for the MMC Rockets at the Delta Sportsplex. From her wheelchair inside of the dugout, Rebekka cheers for every great play her daughter makes.
Aubree plays the game with an enthusiasm and spirit that her mother and grandfather, Johnny Sides, find strikingly familiar. Aubree wears the same No. 13 that her mother did. Aubree hustles for every ball, encourages her teammates and never gives up.
“I love the fact that she loves the game, and watching her play makes my heart light up,” the mother said. “To see her wearing the same No. 13 that I wore means a lot.”
Rebekka was once a blossoming young player, too. A great-hitting catcher, college scouts would come to watch her play at Washington School.My whole life was softball,” Rebekka recalled. “I traveled all over the country playing because I loved it so much.”
But, when Rebekka was a teenager, her life was changed forever when she was injured in a one-car accident. Rebekka’s vehicle flipped over while driving down a gravel road. It took more than three months of prayer from Rebekka’s family and friends before she knew she would survive.
Rebekka thanks her family and friends from Washington School for helping her not only live but also showing her how much she still has to offer the word.
The road to recovery was a tough and painful one for Rebekka because she had to learn to do everything, even the most simple tasks, once again.
“ Everything was knew to me,” she said.
After graduating from Washington School, Rebekka went on to receive her bachelor’s degree from the Mississippi University for Women and her master’s degree from Jackson State. She also married her high school sweetheart, Dustin Herman, who now works as a civil engineer.
For the last eight years, Rebekka has been a speech therapist for the Western Line School district.
And, five years ago Rebekka became a mother for the first time when she brought Aubree into the world. It was a tough pregnancy for Rebekka, but she said through God’s grace Aubree was born.
“She is all I can have, and she is my world,” Rebekka said.
Now, that Aubree is old enough to play baseball (she will soon be old enough to play in the softball league), it was only natural that Rebekka came out to help coach the team.
Rebekka watches every practice and game from the dugout, and offers experienced advice to the kids when they come to see her.
“Even though I cannot physically do what I used to, I will watch the players and communicate to them and my father about what they can do better,” Rebekka said. “I know the game inside and out, so I can see it from a different angle and help them that way.”
While a car wreck so many years ago may have taken away Rebekka’s full mobility, it could not take her away from the game she loves.
