Michelle Basinger '21 Recruiting Profile

  The beginning of my softball career wasn't at all how you would expect. I started off in little league at eight years old, and my very first tryout, I must have been hit 5 times. From that point on, I was deathly afraid of the ball and, of course, I just so happened to be a ball magnet. The head coach even offered to let me quit the team since I wasn't even enjoying the sport. My mom told me I could quit after the season was over, but I had to finish. So the season finished and our team had gone undefeated, and I got a little 11in softball with "Undefeated Twizzlers" and "Most Improved Player" written across it. I must have been the happiest kid there, knowing that out of all the others, I had done the best at getting better. The next season came around and I asked my mom to sign me up again. This experience really helped me learn what it means to persevere and that giving up should never be an option, you finish what you started.

    When I practice with my club team, I drive 7-8 hours round trip (I generally get home at 1:30 a.m.) to practice for 3-4 hours. I practice 1-2 times a week with my team and practice just about every other day of the week with my dad and my hitting/fielding coach Clint Wright, pitch almost every day, and get a pitching lesson once a week with my pitching coach Ivan Heath. I am so thankful my family is just as dedicated to this sport as I am.