GOING THE DISTANCE
In seventh grade , as a 12-year-old , I remember the frustration of walking many batters in a row and even hitting a few ( okay , way more than just a few !) accidentally . Accuracy had NOT come along with speed , but I was determined to get better . At every chance , I would pitch to my dad after he got home from work . I did drills into my glove or against the fence . My dad eventually rigged a parachute contraption that I could hang from our garage to practice when no one was home that could catch for me . I ’ m not sure how many pitches I pitched during these years , but by the time my eighth-grade season rolled around , I had mastered my fastball ( painting the corners of the plate ) and had added a change-up . The walks I had previously delivered turned into strikeouts . During these years , I had also worked on my abilities at the plate . I was naturally a right-handed batter but became a switch hitter early on . I eventually devoted all my time to the left side of the plate . In softball , as a speedy runner , I was able to become a “ triple threat ”— either hitting , bunting or slapping the ball to get on base . I relished a dirty uniform — it meant that I had been on base , and probably stole a base and scored runs that day ( thanks to Mom and Tide for washing thousands of dirty uniforms over the years !). “ Put me in coach !” was my mantra .
If it sounds like I was a driven child — believe me , I was — I was hell-bent to become one of the best pitchers and players in my state and I was willing to put in the hours to do so . I ate , drank and breathed softball — I loved it . My efforts in my younger years led to opportunities to choose from various universities offering scholarships and prepared me for the experience of collegiate athletics . I
attended the University of Detroit Mercy , a small NCAA Division I school and played four years while obtaining my bachelor ’ s degree . It was hard work — while I trained to play softball , I had to balance my class and lab schedule so that it did not conflict with my sport activities . I missed a lot of time in class , making it challenging to keep up at times . I also had to make up tests or labs that I missed because of traveling for games ( up to nine hours in one direction for the farthest rival in our conference at that time ). I even had to take extra coursework in some semesters and summer courses to stay on track to graduate because some courses were not available when I had a free slot . A 2015 NCAA survey says the average college athlete puts about five hours per day into their sport ( this includes sport-specific practice and strength and conditioning ) during their season ( which for softball is both fall and spring ), which seems pretty accurate in retrospect . 1 There are also other expected nonsport activities , such as volunteering , fundraising and traveling for competitions ; surveys say this can be up to 29 hours per week for some sports and schools ! The life of a collegiate athlete can seem glorious , but as you can see — this is more than a full-time job !
Fast forward from graduating college in 2000 , to now . I currently serve on the Titan Club Athletic Board , which acts as an athletic booster club for the University of Detroit Mercy . As part of this Board , I have been learning about the recent NCAA policy , in effect July 1 , 2021 , that allows NCAA student-athletes to be compensated from their own “ Name , Image , Likeness ” (“ NIL ” for short ). 2 This
policy was created as a result of the ruling of the NCAA v . Alston , ( continued on page 10 )
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