Felicity Otero is looking to take her game to the next level

Felicity Otero plays multiple positions in softball and brings a can-do attitude to all of them.
Russell Huffman | El Defensor Chieftain photos

It’s easy to pick out Felicity Otero when the Socorro Lady Warriors have a quick team conference. All you have to do is look for the player in charge.

Considering Otero earned her way onto the varsity squad as an eighth grader and is now a senior, being a leader is an expected role, and she’s a natural, unafraid to speak her mind.

Part of this comes from playing with the boys and cutting her teeth on the baseball diamond because there wasn’t a girl’s youth softball team to play on as a younger player.

“I’ve been playing ball since I was 6 or 7. I played T-ball and Little League baseball for the City League,” Otero said. “Then I started playing softball my eighth-grade year and started that year and moved my way up until my senior year.”

“Up,” as in being able to play at almost every position except for pitcher and first base.

“I can catch, play second-base, third-base, shortstop, just about any position,” Otero said. “You can name it. I can work there and get the job done.”

It’s not bragging if you can back it up, and Otero can. She’s hoping a New Mexico College coach (or any D2 school) will give her the opportunity to play college ball. She plans to study physical therapy and one day travel to do her job.

“I want to play right away when I get to college, and I might not be able to do that at a D1 school,” Otero said.

Her off-time includes hunting and fishing. Her love for the outdoors comes from spending time in the wood with her father and brothers.

“I like to hunt everything: deer, elk, rabbits, coyotes,” Otero said.

Felicity Otero makes the play at third base.

While she has played other sports like basketball, Otero’s focus has been on softball the past few years because she feels it is her best bet for a college softball career.

“I played basketball and volleyball, but that was a long time ago,” Otero said. “My senior and junior year, I wanted to focus on softball because it’s the one sport that has my heart and the one that I want to take to the next level.”

Otero has also been involved in Future Farmers of America but has moved away from FFA’s various teams in favor of her softball work.

“I love the outdoors and animals. I showed pigs, which are a big part of agriculture,” Otero said.

Otero credits her family with helping her establish leadership skills and her brother, Andy, for being her inspiration.

“I look up to my older brother Andy. He played many sports in high school and is one of my biggest role models. He was always there for me when I needed him. He always has my back,” Otero said.

It’s been a frustrating year for Otero, who is just two years removed from a trip to the state softball tournament in her sophomore year. The current Lady Warriors softball team is laden with youth. As the lone senior, Otero is the person players turn to for leadership.

She handles it with a maturity beyond her years.

“It’s my senior year. I wanted to have a winning year, but coming into this season, I realized it’s all younger girls. I’m the only older girl that’s playing. I have a lot more experience than these girls coming up. I understood what I was getting into,” Otero said. “It’s all okay. I love working with the younger girls and teaching them fundamentals and the love of the game that I have. I want them to have the same love I have for it.”

As District 3-3A play starts, Otero knows her teammates must mature quickly.

“If we are going to start winning games, we must get our heads together. Start making the plays that we need to make and start working as a team because we don’t really have that right now. We have to stop getting down when we make that first error,” Otero said, “I’m guilty of doing it. I’m hoping we start getting that winning streak going and become district champs.”

Otero is very family-oriented and loves both men in her life that she calls “Dad.”

The daughter of Heather Orozco, Geno Ortero and Mario Amaro credits Otero for her love of the outdoors and hunting — and Amaro for helping develop her skills, devotion and love for softball.