FSU Sports’s Weblog

First off, why Frostburg?            

 I applied a few other places, but when I came to visit here I absolutely loved it.  I liked that it was a smaller school, but was close enough to civilization that I could get everything I need.  It’s about 3 and half hours away from home – which is far enough away that there can’t be any surprise visits from my parents, but close enough that if I needed to go home I could.  This is the first time I’m actually living on my own and the setup of the town and the way people around here operate remind me a little of home. 

When did you start playing softball?         

   I started playing tee ball when I was 5, and when [my family] moved to Pennsylvania. I had to take two years off because they didn’t have anything but baseball until [girls] were nine.  Then I started playing little league again.  But competitively, not until the summer I turned 15.  I was recruited to play on a travel ball team in Ohio.  

 What is your favorite position and why?

            Without a doubt my favorite position is outfield, preferably right field.  I like being in the grass and showing off my speed a little when I catch fly balls and dive and all of that. I’m left handed and my arm isn’t very strong so I was sent to right field pretty early on.

 What do your team mates mean to you? Has it changed meaning now that you’re a coach?          

  I have met most of my best friends through softball.  I know people always hear that a team is more likely to win if they all get along well, but until you really experience it, you can’t understand it.  The only downside to it is that when you move onto different teams, the game isn’t the same anymore.  It was really frustrating for me in college because I’ve been on a team where everyone genuinely liked each other and spent as much time together as possible.  On most college teams you get the little cliques so it will be hard for me to get players to understand the game at that complete cohesion level. 

 How do you develop companionship with your team mates?          

  The best way  to develop cohesion in a team is to take risks that will help you trust each other.  People like to stick to what they are good at and what is comfortable to them.  It’s not something that a coach can force a team to do.  Players just have to be willing to give people a chance and it has to happen on its own. 

 Do you have any superstitions?           

Sooooooo many!  I believe the number four is lucky.  I’m Irish so there is the whole 4 leaf clover association.  I also always drank orange juice when I played.  I don’t know where it started, but I never went up to bat before taking a swig of OJ.   I wore the same pair of socks every game (washed of course).  One time I didn’t wear them and it was the only game I didn’t have a hit in all season.  I’m also very big on routine so I always made sure to do my warm ups in the same order before every game. 

  How is collegiate ball different from any other league or team?                      

   I played D3 in college so I think travel ball is a little more competitive, but the greatest thing about college ball for me was the rivalries.  They have been going on for so long and you don’t even know what started them, but certain games always bring out the best, or worst in players and fans.  The facilities are another great aspect of playing college ball as well.                                                            

 What is your favorite sports movie and why?

            My all-time favorite sports movie is Hoosiers.  One thing I love is that it’s a true story, but it was also one of the first to capture the idea of the underdog: it showed a coach who didn’t give up on his team.  The greatest scene in that movie is when he takes them into the court before the championship game and pulls out the tape measure to show them the court is no different from their own home court. 

             What pumps you up for games?

            Again it goes back to routine for me.  I would listen to the same songs on my mp3 player before we started warming up.  I never really got pumped up, though, until we did our little team huddle and ran out onto the field.  Just something about sprinting out to the grass really got my adrenaline going.

 How do you prepare in the off-season?         

   I’ll admit I didn’t do this all the time, but my senior season was by far my best season as a player and it was also the most work I ever did in the off-season.  I was lifting three days a week and conditioning at least two.  I had a friend that played on the baseball team and we were both pretty quick so we would run sprints together whenever we could too.  Coming into the season in shape was always the most important thing to me, because it meant we didn’t have to waste practice time getting there.  

What do you look forward to in your first year of coaching?           

The hardest part is definitely going to be resisting the urge to actually play, but there are a lot of things I think I will enjoy.  Being really general, I want to help the team win games.  I want to make the team better as a whole and individuals at what they do.  If I can help even one girl improve her skills and it shows in games, I’ll be happy.  

 Any softball “idols?”             I know this is going to make me sound terrible too, but I hate actually watching softball.  It makes me want to get out there and play.  I could watch baseball all day long, but softball I pretty much only watch during the world series.  My baseball idol though is David Justice.  He played outfield for the Braves, Indians, Yankees, and A’s.  Game 7 of the World Series in 96 or 97 Braves vs. Indians, he made an amazing diving catch that definitely saved the game for them, then comes up a few innings later and hits a grand slam to win the game.  Ever since then I wanted to be just like him (except for the whole spousal abuse thing). 

Favorite softball memory:            My travel ball team was playing a tournament in Montreal over 4^th of July weekend- my absolute favorite holiday.  We drive up in this little tiny bus with a brand new bus driver who gets us lost.  Then once we finally get there, she won’t take us anywhere but to the fields and back because she’s scared to drive.  On top of that, the weather was so cold that it snowed – I was miserable.  There were about 40 teams there and they had an America vs Canada All Star game.  I was picked by my teammates to represent our team.  It was the first night game I ever played in a stadium and the adrenaline I felt running out under the lights and all the people cheering was nothing I had ever experienced before. I did really well in the game and got voted MVP of the tournament.  Then my team went on to take 4^th in the tournament as well.  It’s my favorite memory because it taught me that even when things are going bad, something great can happen.