By John RittenhouseA 1987 Ellsworth High School graduate will represent the United States as a softball player during an eight-day span starting today.Chad Boom, a standout football and basketball player at EHS during his high school years, spent his summers as a youth playing fast-pitch softball for Ellsworth.Boom continued playing softball after graduating from Southwest State University in Marshall in 1991, and now he is considered one of the Top-Five best fast-pitch softball players in the world.Chad currently plays with a Minnesota major-level team named RWP based out of Geneva. B.J. Boom, Chad’s younger brother, is another member of the team.Boom’s status in the softball world was established when he was selected to compete with Team USA in the Pan American Games Qualifying Tournament in Guatemala last fall.With the Team USA winning the qualifying event, Boom and his teammates have earned the right to compete at the Pan American Games that begin today in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.The Pan American Games run from Aug. 7-14, and they serve as a qualifying event for the International Softball Federation’s World Championships that will be played in New Zealand next February.Team USA will play single games against national teams from Mexico, Argentina, Venezuela, Dominican Republic and Canada during the first five days of the event.Those games will count toward the seedings for the Gold Medal Tournament those same teams will compete in Aug. 12-14.Boom, who has been playing at the sport’s highest levels since 1991, will be a position player for Team USA.He made a name for himself as a pitcher in the past, but Team USA coach Pete Turner utilizes Boom’s versatility in the field. He has started at first base, third base and as the designated hitter for the team, and he also serves as the squad’s No. 2 catcher. Boom also has pitched some innings for Team USA.The son of Ellsworth’s Marlin and Mary Boom currently lives in Barnesville with his wife, Julie, and children Sidney (8) and Payton (4).Chad currently works as a concrete cutter for a company based in Fargo, N.D.
