Two-by-Two, my team in our green and gold military day uniforms, walk into the Liberty University’s Kamphuis softball stadium. We wanted to seem calm, but we couldn’t resist looking around the turf field and beautiful red, blue, and white stadium, with brick walls, dugouts we couldn’t even dream of building, and players we knew were at least four inches taller than us. I know a majority of us pulled out our cell phones to take pictures for our parents that couldn’t make it, and to tell our friends who don’t get the chance to play Division I what it’s like. Kamphuis Field is ranked 2nd in the nation as far as softball stadiums go, so we were at the top of the top.
As a DIII school, we take pride in the sport we play, and strive to the best of our abilities, but we have that little girl inside of us that would’ve dreamed to play at a stadium like this one, every week, or have the athleticism these girls were born with.
Last year, our head coach arranged for us to play Liberty University to give us a chance to face competition we probably never get to face on a day-to-day basis in season. Unfortunately, because of rain, we were forced to cancel our fall games with Liberty, but this year we got a chance to experience the opportunity we thought we’d lost out on. With only five practices in the books, and a not having a chance to face live pitching or live batters, we were definitely in for a challenge, but I think every girl on my team was just happy to be there.
Another big part of why this trip meant so much to us was who the head coach at Liberty was. Dr. Dot Richardson, an orthopedic surgeon, and two-time Olympic gold medalist, was a softball legend, and not only were we able to meet her and face her team, but we got special one-on-one time after she gave us a tour of the facilities. She presented us with stories only she could tell about women we all look up to. She even gave us a chance to hold and wear her two Olympic Gold medals, one of which was the first time softball had ever been played in the Olympics. She gave us life advice on boys, softball, and growing up.
For me, this trip had an even greater impact because of another person. A week before arriving at Liberty, I discovered Paige Cassady (a softball player I had watched play at Florida International University, when I was younger), was now the pitching coach at Liberty. My sister was a big fan of the FIU girls, and had them all on Facebook. She told me that Paige had posted something about having seizures while playing softball, and I freaked.
Was it really possible for someone to have gone through the exact same thing I had? Apparently so. After our two games against Liberty, Paige took time to talk to me, hear my story and share her experiences with her seizure disorder. It was so wonderful to get to connect with someone who just gets it, and I’m so thankful I got to speak with her even though our time was short.
Going down to Liberty was never about just playing Fall Ball for each player on the team. It was a truly humbling experience, a chance to fall in love with the game again. It wasn’t a matter of who won or lost nor was it about how much playing time you got, but more so, can we play with the best? What can Dot Richardson teach us? What can we learn from the other players? It brought the team closer together and put things into perspective. This experience, even if we get a chance to play there again next year, will always be something I take with me because it reminds me why I do what I do, and to keep persevering no matter what obstacle comes my way.
