Sports a family tradition for Schumachers

Participating in Baldwin sports has been a constant thread for the Schumacher family through the years.

Senior Grace Schumacher will graduate with the rest of the Class of 2023 on Wednesday. Her mom and dad, Trisha and Mike Schumacher, and Mike’s parents, Diana and Paul Schumacher, are also Baldwin grads.

“All of my family went here, so it’s kind of cool,” Grace Schumacher said.

Grace played softball throughout her time at Baldwin, which has made her part of a family tradition. 

Her sisters, junior Anna Schumacher and freshman Maddy Schumacher, also play softball for the Highlanders. Her mom played softball as well as basketball, and her dad and grandfather both played baseball.

“Our family members have always been great athletes and also great at keeping up with our academics for generations,” Grace Schumacher said.

Diana Schumacher graduated in 1971, 52 years before Grace. There have been a lot of changes over the years, starting with the fact that the high school covered only grades 10 to 12 when she attended, Diana Schumacher said.

“I cannot even compare it,” Diana Schumacher said. “Everything is different.”

Grace’s mom, Trisha Schumacher, also has noticed changes in the lives of teens over the years – some of them affecting all teens, not just those at Baldwin.

Teens today are much more open about their mental health and find more acceptance, she said. But the pandemic had a negative effect on so many of them, and there is a need for society to provide more resources.

Another difference, Trisha Schumacher said, involves technology. She said teens used to have more personal contact with each other before the arrival of cell phones.

“Technology is great, but kids have gone backward socially,” she said.

Yet some things about school have been constants, and family favorites as well.

“Prom was really fun because our class was so tight-knit,” Trisha Schumacher said.

The real dancer in the family, though, was Grace’s grandma.

“We went to dances all the time – at school, churches, whatever organization was having one,” Diana Schumacher said.