I returned to Atlanta, GA this past weekend, 10 years after I graduated from Emory University. The occasion was that the Emory Varsity Softball Team was having its 10 year reunion. I was a senior when the administration finally determined to add softball as a Varsity sport. It was a combination of Title IX, a federal law mandating that the number of female Varsity athletes needs to be within 5% of the female population. At the time, the female population of Emory was 55%, whereas the number of female Varsity athletes was only 45%. As a freshman, I had created the Softball Club and by Sophomore year, we had recruited over 60 students to attend our first meeting. We had practices twice a week and played on the lower fields of Emory University, called Candler Field, as there was no softball complex at the time. The Varsity baseball team had a beautiful stadium with a state of the art sound system, batting cages, locker rooms, bathrooms, etc. but softball had not followed at the same pace.
My junior year of college, we contacted another local softball team in the area and challenged them to a game. On March 30, 1998, Emory University played in its first ever fast pitched softball game against Agnes Scott College. Emory won, 10-1, by the mercy rule. With the success and popularity of the Softball Club, the administration went forward with its decision to create the Varsity program. I sat in on several interviews with potential coaches, the last of which is where we met the current coach, Penny Siqueiros. Penny was hired and the process of tryouts began. We started holding tryouts the fall of my senior year. They were held in the Woodruff PE Center. Practices were still held at Candler Field, but the school broke ground on creating an Emory Softball complex, right next to the Varsity Baseball stadium. The company who designed and built the softball complex was the same company that built the Atlanta Olympic Softball complex. I became a Captain of this historic team and loved that roll. We didn't know it at the time, but we were making history.
Rising from Softball Club status to Varsity was a huge transition. Many of us had not had regular intesive physical training - and the beginning was rough. The only available group timeslot to use the weight and machine area was in the early morning. As a senior, this meant a lot of lost sleep, as I would go out to parties that ended at 2 or 3 AM, get home, put on my uniform, and fall asleep. I set the alarm for 3 hours later, woke up in the dark, brushed my teeth, and got in the car to pick up some of my teammates. We were not allowed to be late, and I can still remember getting to every practice 15 minutes early (around 6:30 or 6:45 AM) just to make sure I wouldn't have to run an extra mile or do suicides if I was in fact late. I would go straight back to bed after. Every time.
By the time our first game rolled around in the spring of 1999, we were ready. And so was the softball complex. Opening day was freezing cold. We were all in our winter coats, wearing gloves and hats in between innings. We won that game anyhow against Brevard College. That season was tough. We struggled against more experience teams. We won some and we lost some. In the end, we knew that we were a part of something unique, that would be remembered in the years to come.
Going back to Emory this weekend, I saw that my initial work of getting a Varsity Softball team at Emory had really paid off. We watched them participate in a double header and you could see how strong the talent of my Emory Eagles is. These girls work hard, love to play, are disciplined and committed to being the best they can be. It was extremely satisfying to see what the program has become. Even The Boyfriend appreciated the incredible caliber of the program.
We learned that Emory is now interested in building a $1.2 million stadium for this team which will be the best Division III Varsity Softball stadium out there. I have no doubt it will get done. I wish the Emory Softball program nothing but success and can't wait to go back and visit.
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