Interviewed by Julia Cuttone
Q: What gave you the passion to start playing softball?
Softball runs in my family, on my dad’s side both of his parents played, my grandfather played men’s fastpitch so that really inspired my dad, but my grandmother, which is his mom, is actually a Rockford Peach so if you have ever seen League of Their Own, she led the way for not only women sports but for our family.so me as well as my three younger sisters have followed in their footsteps. Softball is a huge part of my family.
Q: How did you make sure you stood out compared to other players especially during the recruitment process?
I am a little smaller and stature than most people, so I went under the radar I didn’t commit until my sophomore year of high school advise wise to stand out to be there is how hard you, don’t let coaches see you walking on the field, don’t be lazy just because we are shagging, use those times to help yourself and get some practice in. The best thing I did was I learned every position I even pitched but catching was the only one I wasn’t too into, but I learned how to play everywhere. That gave college coaches a lot of options of where they can put me, where they can see me within their team, so I never put myself in a corner if I only play here, it gives you a different understanding of how different positions function on a team, it gives you a better chance of finding a spot on the field.
Q. In 2019, you went through a shoulder surgery after your rookie professional season, what was your mindset like going through your recovery process post-surgery and how did you do your best to stay optimistic during these times?
I never had a big injury where it could potentially be career ending so that was definitely something very new for me, but really, I just approached it like I would approach my games and my practice, I had to do the little things right, wo I had to make sure I was doing my exercises and the precautions necessary. It is so hard to sit there and watch everybody else get to be practicing. I was still coaching so I am out on the field and I am wanting to be engaged, but it was just about knowing my end goal. My end goal was I needed my arm to be back too normal so I could continue to play the next season. I took care of the little things I did a process just like you would any time you are working on something so that is a little easier to think of it as another tool in the toolbox to just get to play.
Q. With the process of coming back from an injurt you have to constantly battle with self doubt. How did you overcome this fear of becoming reinjured?
I surrounded myself with great people that allowed me to really trust them and know that they knew what was best. I think that if I was not sure of who my doctor was or who my therapist was or who I was working with I think it would have been a lot scarier and I really would have had those doubts, but I think just because I could trust them and I believed that they had my best interests in mind and that was a lot easier. But of course there are doubts, you are trying to get your arms stretched back but there is pain in that, but it is good pain, you are getting your arm back to where it should be but it is also a little scary because you haven’t had that before. For me, it was about setting a goal, I wanted my arm back and so I was going to do whatever it took so having those long-term goals, seeing into the future a little bit of what you want and being able to set goals and having an approach to that is really going to put those nerves away.
Q. How did you stay patient with yourself as you were recovering?
It was more about competing with me, if you continue to compare yourself to others, you are always going to feel like you are behind or you have to do more or you are not enough. So it is not competing against others, it is competing against yourself. For me it was could I get better today and how does that look does it look like I need to push myself even harder to where I am so soar, no, it is just I needed a few more throws today than I had yesterday and a little more distance. Competing with yourself rather than with others works wonders.
Q. What are you most proud of today when you reflect at how far you have come?
I am proud that when I was little I committed to softball and I wanted to be an All-American and I accomplished that and I wanted to play professionally and I accomplished that so just those two things in itself I just remember from like age ten that is what I wanted to do and just to see all the hard work and dedication I put in and all the sacrifices other people have made for me I think is all so much worth it because I can say I am a professional softball player and I am a two time American and it is neat to see those goals accomplished.
Q. What is your mantra?
I really like the quote by Bruce Lee, “Don’t pray for an easy life, pray for the courage to endure a hard one”, it is don’t ask for the little things, the things that mean the most in life are hard and you have to earn them and you have to work for them and I think that just plays into my mentality about my preparation. I love practice because practice is what makes me feel comfortable in games and so if I just wanted to walk out there and no practice and just be successful that is the easy way and if you do the little things right that is not easy, and for me that quote sticks out hard.
Q. What advice do you give to your ten-year-old self?
Keep doing it because you love it. That was something that I was able to find in every stage of my career, even though it was hard, you do it because you love it and I still love it and I am still continuing to keep softball in my life. If there is any doubt it would just be remember why you do it. I know there is times when losing a championship feels like the end of the world, but you were there, and you got to play. I got to play at a division one school and compete for a position that tons of girls never will get that chance and I am thankful that I get to do what I love. Continue to love it, find something you love and continue on, push that limit, see how far you can take it.
Q. What advice do you give to players who want to play at a big division one college or professionally one day?
Just know that if you are not working someone else is. Find a way each day, it doesn’t have to be physical practice, it can be fine tuning your mental game, it can be watching film on other players that play the same positions as you. Just find a way to get better one percent better each day you are going ot improve tremendously. So just don’t give up, it doesn’t have to be out hitting five hundred balls, just find a way to increase your mental capacity, how you approach the plate, how you look at ground balls. Are you scared they are going to get hit to you or do you want them hit to you? Find a way to practice but it doesn’t just have to be on the field practice.
Q, What do you think got you to the level where you are today?
My dad had a huge influence, he was so kind to be out there and push me any time I wanted to be on the field. I don’t think he ever told me no. That was super helpful to have someone encouraging me and standing behind me. I never wanted to settle, I wanted to be the best, and when I got to college, I wanted to be the best infielder on our team, I wanted to be the best infielder in the NCC and I wanted to be able to hit and be the best lead off in the NCC or in the nation, so just never settle, so just keep pushing an striving and especially now in women in sports we need to keep pushing those boundaries.
Q. How did you deal with the pressure of starting as a freshman?
I was nervous, nerves are ok, you are going to have them, but it is getting those butterflies in the right direction while flying information, to be able to use those nerves to be productive. We use in our program at Tennessee it is, we don’t rise to the occasion, you fall back on your preparation. If you fall back on your preparation you are always going to stay consistent and you will have a base to fall back on.
Q. What keeps you driven throughout all the years of playing softball?
I love it because it pushes me constantly, it is a mental game, it is a physical game, it has everything I could ask for when it comes to a sport. I love the team aspect, my teammates add so much fun and character and a different feeling every time you step onto the field and I couldn’t ask for a better sport when it came to an individual basis plus a team atmosphere plush both mental and physical capabilities, it wraps it all in one for me.
Q. How has the pandemic changed you as a person and what did you do to stay motivated during this time?
I think being restricted on where you can go and what you can do has given us an opportunity to grow, and use Zoom calls or FaceTime or Instagram lives, we have been picking each other’s brains. I have been talking to my teammates from AU, ThisisUs and old ones from Tennessee all the time and it is just we are hungry for the sport and right now instead of those physical opportunities on the field we have mental training and pick each other’s brains on how we can get better, what are good drills, staying engaged so it is not just always about that physical field aspect, but it is how can you sharpen that mental aspect right now.
Q. What was your experience like traveling to many places through softball?
I don’t think I would have ever guessed how much softball would take me places. I know in travel ball I traveled the country, and I know I wouldn’t have done that without it. I got to college and even the professional level, I have traveled outside the United States, which I have never done. Just to see all the ways that sports bring you together is so cool whether it was Canada, Vietnam, Japan, it has been such a great opportunity and now I get to go to Spain this May to play and it is more than I could have asked for. You don’t even have to speak the same language, you grab a ball and a glove, and everyone is like alright we are in, you don’t even have to talk.
Q. How did you adjust with the transition from high school to college and being far away from home?
That was in my decision process, finding a school that was my fit, I made that decision that I didn’t have to be super close. I knew that meant that my parents and family wouldn’t be at every game, but I felt ok being on my own. You have to remember that your teammates are right there with you, so even though you feel like you don’t have your family close, your teammates are a whole different tight knit family, and they are going through the same thing. It is just confiding in your teammates knowing you have a shared relationship there.
Q. How has softball made you into the person you are today?
It has given me a found confidence in myself, just knowing that it is taking me so many places are giving me many opportunities, but it has really helped me figure out what kind of later I am. I was always taught that just lead by example, which I was always good at. I took care of the hard work, I did the little things right, but essentially when I got to college, I realized that is not enough, you can lead by example, but still people don’t always follow and it is finding a way to connect with teammates, engage with them to where they see the authentic you so they are themselves authentically and so building information and then you can lead because you have trust, and you are unified. It was about who I am a leader more, it wasn’t just by leading by example, and getting your stuff done, it is about how to you bring your teammates with you to accomplish your goal.
Q. What are your biggest goals?
I would love to at least get invited to a tryout for the United States National Team, that is my main goal right now also with This is Us it would be incredible if we could use our player owned organization to fund another team, so hopefully that is in the works, so those two things, I want to grow the sport. As much as softball has grown, we can grow mor, it is really about getting more people involved, getting us out there, continuing to set a professional program to where kids out of college get an opportunity to play professional softball.
Q. What are some last words of advice you would like to give to softball players?
Find what you are passionate about, even if softball is something you just like recreationally and you don’t want play in college, find what you are passionate about and if it is softball, I think there is a place for everyone. There is a softball team for you whether it is at the collegiate level. Go out there and get it, work hard, the things that mean the most we got to work hard for. But I definitely think that if you are committed, and you want to do this long term I think there is definitely a place for everyone.
