When and why did you start playing softball and hockey?
I started playing softball and hockey when I was in first grade. Even before that, I’d been skating for (a) long time, but I started because of my dad. He was a baseball and hockey player and a lot of my friends were starting to pick up softball so I just started playing too. Along the way, I decided that I really liked softball, and I decided to join a club that helped me improve.
Who has been your biggest inspiration?
My dad is one of my biggest motivators and inspirations. He pushed me to be the best player I could be and gave me all the resources to succeed at what I wanted to do.
How do you balance being a multi-sport athlete?
It is really hard, but finding a balance between work outside of practices and games is a big part of it. I did have to choose between hockey and softball to decide which one I wanted to put all of my effort into and I ended up choosing softball. It also helps when you have a good family and friend support system.
How did your signing experience go? What does it mean to you?
I’m really excited about it—I signed with St. Cloud State University. It was a very stressful process because I had to start as a junior and figure out what schools I was interested in—how big of a school I was interested in and location-wise. Originally, I wanted a big school, but then I visited one, and there were 4,000 people. So then I settled on a medium-sized school, which is St. Cloud State. It was just a lot of emailing back and forth with coaches and figuring out where I’d be valued, where I could help out (and) where I was needed.
What are your goals for the upcoming softball season for the team and individually?
We have a very old team for the softball season and then a big drop-off (in age).There are a lot of seniors on our team and many younger players, so it’s important to prepare the younger ones for next year. We can make a run at State this year. We’re a very strong and fast team. If we just remember that and work hard through the season, we can prepare well enough for sections.
What does your role as a captain mean to you?
For me, I’m a very social captain, so my goal was to make sure that everyone felt included. Being a multi-sport athlete is stressful and hard. So making sure that they know that if they can’t go to the lift that day because they need to study for something, that’s totally okay because at the end of the day, school does come before sports. (And also) making sure that my teammates know that I’m there to support them.
What is your pre-game routine?
My tradition is I always go to Starbucks before the game where I get food with some of my teammates. We’ll drive and hang out in the car, then get to the rink early to tape our sticks. Then, we always go and watch the JV’s game.
What are your goals for the rest of the hockey season?
Our record is 10-8-2, so my goal is to keep that winning record. We have a chance to win our first section game this year. Our goal is winning our first section game, especially since we’re in a hard conference.
What is some advice for younger players striving for greatness?
The best advice I could give is to have a goldfish mentality because, with softball, you’re just trying to hit a ball. Obviously it’s hard to do, and sometimes you’ll get in those slumps. So just make sure that you’re in the right headspace, you don’t blame yourself and if you make a mistake, give yourself three seconds to think about it and then put it past you.
What is the best piece of advice ever given to you?
In the club I’m a part of for softball, we have four core values, but the three that have stuck with me are to challenge your potential, grit and be a great teammate. I think about these values a lot, even during the recruiting process. A lot of coaches will take the great teammate over the better player, so just keep your head up and be a great teammate.