During my official visit at the University of Minnesota back in the fall of 2009, the head coach of the program at the time shared with me the three S’s of College Softball. The three S’s she listed in this order were School, softball, and social life. I admired her for listing school before softball because, at the end of the day, education is the most important part of the college experience. She then looked me in the eye and told me that I would only be able to succeed in two out of the three and to choose wisely. The voice inside my ambitious and naive 18-year-old head pushed aside that comment and it assured me that I could do all three. I was wrong.
People ask me all the time “if I could go back and change one thing about my college experience what would it be?” At first, I would shake my head and say nothing. I was part of a program turnaround that was led by a new coaching staff all four years. We made it to the first Super Regional appearance in program history and won the conference tournament for the first time in a decade. I graduated with a degree in Business, maintained a cumulative 3.67 GPA and was crowned an NFCA All-American athlete after my senior season. I also set nearly every pitching record and was drafted into the Professional League by the Chicago Bandits.
Without even realizing it until now, I chose school and softball to be my main focus in college. This choice was the reason why I passed all of my classes and why I was able to excel on the softball field. I made my parents and myself extremely proud. I got everything I wanted out of my college experience. Or so I thought.
I didn’t neglect my social life in college. I went out to some parties in the fall months but decided to dedicate my spring semester to grades and softball. I became close and still remain close with a few of my teammates but not as many as I would like. Being removed from the college environment over the past three years makes me look back and wonder how things would have been different if I would have picked one S over another. Would I have developed more off the field relationships with other students? Would I still have broken all of those records? Would I have passed all of my classes? Would I have done anything differently looking back now?
No. Being a student-athlete is a full-time job. I completed my job to the best of my ability. I was employed by the University to go to class, pass my classes, attend practice, and perform on the softball field. I made my choice and ranked my three S’s the same way the coach who recruited me did when I sat down in her office seven years ago. How will you rank yours?
Sara Moulton, University of Minnesota ’14
Feature Image by: Michael Kyllo-Kittleson, Gopher Softball
