By Laura Amato
Monique Landini is not tall.
She’s not even bordering close to tall. She’s decidedly short, hardly striking an imposing figure when she lines up at shortstop for the
St. John’s softball team.
Landini has heard it all when it comes to her height – the questions and the concerns and the wonder at how she can manage to make the out at first when she doesn’t quite measure up to the rest of the players on the field.
She stopped listening to any of it. Landini isn’t getting any taller any time soon, but she’s as determined as ever to prove herself, all 5 feet and 2 inches of her.
“It definitely helps, because with my size I have to work that much harder than the next girl,” Landini said. “If someone else is bigger or stronger than me, it really just pushes me to work harder for myself and be better for myself.”
Landini grew up in California with a bat in her hand. Even as a kid, she was determined to be better than anyone else around her – even if that included her older brother.
“He was pitching out front in the yard with my dad and I was, like, ‘Wow, I want to do this too,’” Landini said. “So I kind of got into it and I didn’t really know it was going to be this serious until I was around 12 and I joined my first travel ball team.”
It didn’t take long for Landini to realize she could build a future in the softball field and her road to St. John’s – while taking her several thousand miles away from school – is everything she’s hoped for and more.
“When I was looking at schools, I was looking at mainly, the coaching staffs and how the teams were,” Landini said. “When I came to visit the school, I really liked the campus and the coaches. Everything just fit for me.”
The senior shortstop has dominated from every angle throughout her career with the Red Storm. She played in, at least, 47 games in each of her first three years and started the first 36 games of her senior season.
She’s also having an impact – a big one.
Landini might not be winning any height contests any time soon, but she might grab a team batting title. In 36 games, Landini hit .374 — which is second on the squad — with a team-high 40 hits, including six doubles and two home runs.
It’s an early-season performance that doesn’t just have Landini confident in her swing or her team. It’s the kind of start that has her thankful for every challenge she’s ever faced, simply because it brought her to this moment.
“It’s been amazing. It’s been the best experience of my life,” Landini said. “I can’t really even put it into words how great it’s been. There’s no other word except amazing.”
Landini has just one more challenge in front of her – leading her team back to a Big East title. She knows it won’t be easy, but she’s embraced every challenge so far and, somehow, managed a way to leap right over them.
“That’s been my goal this whole time,” Landini said. “I want to make it to the tournament and win the championship, so to finish out my senior year with a win, that would just be a great way to end it all.”
