Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics
A Family Affair
April 16, 2020 | Softball, HailStateBEAT
by Brian Ogden, Assistant Director/Communications
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STARKVILLE – In a must-win game at the Seattle Regional last year, Montana Davidson was putting together one of best games of her life. As the game headed into the sixth inning, she was 2-for-3 with a pair of singles, an RBI and a run scored as Mississippi State led, 5-1.
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Then her sister Mia, who had been hitless on the day, drove a two-run homer to center field.
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Montana added a double in the seventh, but it wasn't quite enough. Mia got the postgame interview.
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"They were talking to her on ESPN, and I walked up and said, 'That's crazy! She hits one home run, I go 3-for-4 and she gets the interview,'" Montana said. "And everyone just started laughing in the interview. It's always been in a joking manner because I really don't mind. I like bragging about her. She's good. To me, she's one of the best in the country."
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The Davidson sisters have come to be a prime example of the family atmosphere embedded in the Bulldogs' program. Where there's potential for jealousy and rivalry, instead people find a supportive relationship where they are excited for each other's success as much as, if not more than, their own.
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"Our parents always instilled in our head that we're two incomparable players," Montana said. "You can't really compare our athletic abilities to each other because we play differently. We always joke around, but it's never been this one's better than this one. It's always been a fun, healthy competition."
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But while Montana has rarely played an inning without Mia on her team – Montana is a year older – she hasn't always been a part of Mia's career. While her younger sister was playing baseball, Montana was traveling the country with a competitive cheer squad.
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She started when she was five or six years old, and by the time she was seven, Montana was on the junior level team with high school students. She was up and down the East Coast from Hershey, Pennsylvania, to Orlando, Florida.
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"I remember being in the gym for six or seven hours a day, just trying to get my double full and my double full twist," she said. "When I finally get something and hit it, it's just a relief. I feel like work ethic in All-Star Cheer is how I've rolled it over to softball. I want to be the hardest worker. I want to work on it until I get it right."
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Montana can still pull off a few of her flips, but she's made a deal with the coaching staff that she won't try any of them until she graduates to make sure she doesn't injure herself. By the time she was 10 years old, Mia had been asked to try out for a travel softball team, so she joined that team too.
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The time commitment with two highly competitive teams got to be too much.
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"I ended up choosing softball because I felt like I could get more out of it," Montana said. "You work so hard for cheer to do a routine for two and a half minutes and then you're done with it. Softball you have a whole game to work through. There's always the next opportunity. I think about that now, but I ended up just choosing softball because I think I just loved it more."
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She still has good relationships with the women who were her older teammates at the time. She remains close to one cheer teammate that is four years older than her and will be going to her wedding this summer. Another former teammate is her hairdresser. Her cheer coaches still come out to watch her play softball.
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The Davidsons split again in high school. When they weren't sharing the softball field, Mia played basketball, and Montana played volleyball.
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"I was only back row, obviously, because I'm only 5-3," she said. "But I love digging, so I was just digging every ball I possible could. It was probably a lot like third base, just reacting. I love diving. I know you're supposed to stay on your feet, but I love diving."
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Throughout her athletic career one thing remained clear. Montana was going to work to earn everything. Growing up in a military family made work ethic a value that was prioritized.
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"I think what we kind of got instilled was that you're going to work hard for what you want," she said. "Nothing's going to be given to you, so, if you want it you need to go get it. It's not going to be handed to you. I think that was instilled in us at a young age to the point where we realized that we want to be the best and we're going to go get after it."
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Her parents served in the army. She has an uncle who recently retired from the army, and her grandfather fought in Vietnam. Military service has always been seen as a possibility for Montana, but she's still not sure.
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One of her relatives survived a helicopter crash in the service, and their recovery has shown her another career path. The junior kinesiology major wants to pursue physical therapy or becoming a physician's assistant.
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"When I do grad school, I want to do something with amputees and help make their lives easier," she said. "I want to do that, and then possibly go into the army for PA school or going to reserves and getting my school through the army if I needed. I've always talked to my parents about that and working more with the disabled and amputees."
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It won't be an easy path, but that doesn't deter her. After all, she's worked for everything she's gotten so far.
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STARKVILLE – In a must-win game at the Seattle Regional last year, Montana Davidson was putting together one of best games of her life. As the game headed into the sixth inning, she was 2-for-3 with a pair of singles, an RBI and a run scored as Mississippi State led, 5-1.
Â
Then her sister Mia, who had been hitless on the day, drove a two-run homer to center field.
Â
Montana added a double in the seventh, but it wasn't quite enough. Mia got the postgame interview.
Â
"They were talking to her on ESPN, and I walked up and said, 'That's crazy! She hits one home run, I go 3-for-4 and she gets the interview,'" Montana said. "And everyone just started laughing in the interview. It's always been in a joking manner because I really don't mind. I like bragging about her. She's good. To me, she's one of the best in the country."
Â
The Davidson sisters have come to be a prime example of the family atmosphere embedded in the Bulldogs' program. Where there's potential for jealousy and rivalry, instead people find a supportive relationship where they are excited for each other's success as much as, if not more than, their own.
Â
"Our parents always instilled in our head that we're two incomparable players," Montana said. "You can't really compare our athletic abilities to each other because we play differently. We always joke around, but it's never been this one's better than this one. It's always been a fun, healthy competition."
Â
But while Montana has rarely played an inning without Mia on her team – Montana is a year older – she hasn't always been a part of Mia's career. While her younger sister was playing baseball, Montana was traveling the country with a competitive cheer squad.
Â
She started when she was five or six years old, and by the time she was seven, Montana was on the junior level team with high school students. She was up and down the East Coast from Hershey, Pennsylvania, to Orlando, Florida.
Â
"I remember being in the gym for six or seven hours a day, just trying to get my double full and my double full twist," she said. "When I finally get something and hit it, it's just a relief. I feel like work ethic in All-Star Cheer is how I've rolled it over to softball. I want to be the hardest worker. I want to work on it until I get it right."
Â
Montana can still pull off a few of her flips, but she's made a deal with the coaching staff that she won't try any of them until she graduates to make sure she doesn't injure herself. By the time she was 10 years old, Mia had been asked to try out for a travel softball team, so she joined that team too.
Â
The time commitment with two highly competitive teams got to be too much.
Â
"I ended up choosing softball because I felt like I could get more out of it," Montana said. "You work so hard for cheer to do a routine for two and a half minutes and then you're done with it. Softball you have a whole game to work through. There's always the next opportunity. I think about that now, but I ended up just choosing softball because I think I just loved it more."
Â
She still has good relationships with the women who were her older teammates at the time. She remains close to one cheer teammate that is four years older than her and will be going to her wedding this summer. Another former teammate is her hairdresser. Her cheer coaches still come out to watch her play softball.
Â
The Davidsons split again in high school. When they weren't sharing the softball field, Mia played basketball, and Montana played volleyball.
Â
"I was only back row, obviously, because I'm only 5-3," she said. "But I love digging, so I was just digging every ball I possible could. It was probably a lot like third base, just reacting. I love diving. I know you're supposed to stay on your feet, but I love diving."
Â
Throughout her athletic career one thing remained clear. Montana was going to work to earn everything. Growing up in a military family made work ethic a value that was prioritized.
Â
"I think what we kind of got instilled was that you're going to work hard for what you want," she said. "Nothing's going to be given to you, so, if you want it you need to go get it. It's not going to be handed to you. I think that was instilled in us at a young age to the point where we realized that we want to be the best and we're going to go get after it."
Â
Her parents served in the army. She has an uncle who recently retired from the army, and her grandfather fought in Vietnam. Military service has always been seen as a possibility for Montana, but she's still not sure.
Â
One of her relatives survived a helicopter crash in the service, and their recovery has shown her another career path. The junior kinesiology major wants to pursue physical therapy or becoming a physician's assistant.
Â
"When I do grad school, I want to do something with amputees and help make their lives easier," she said. "I want to do that, and then possibly go into the army for PA school or going to reserves and getting my school through the army if I needed. I've always talked to my parents about that and working more with the disabled and amputees."
Â
It won't be an easy path, but that doesn't deter her. After all, she's worked for everything she's gotten so far.
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Players Mentioned
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