Softball player competes at all costs

December 10, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Photo credit: Jeff Herndon

When Robyn Burnette was four years old, she craved the athleticism and competition that most people her age couldn’t even comprehend. For this WCU softball player sports is everything and is worth the pain.

“I bugged the crap out of her [Burnette’s mom] and my dad until signups came along and they signed me up every year after,” recalls Burnette.

From that year on she played every level of softball from t-ball, on up to middle school and when she reached high school Burnette faced a challenge. Her high school, Pisgah High School, didn’t have a softball team.

However, she was not discouraged and instead played for her rival high school , Tuscola Falls High School, during her senior year.

Before coming to Western, Burnette finished her high school career on the Carolina Cardinals, a traveling team.

While playing for the Carolina Cardinals Burnette discovered someone who would help her succeed and encourage her softball career, Rick McHone. McHone was her head coach for the traveling team and eventually became Burnette’s favorite coach.

At 5’4 and barley 115 lbs Burnette isn’t you ideal softball player size.

“He [McHone] always told me to play at the next level and not to listen to those who tell me I’m too little because size didn’t matter”.

“Robyn was a fierce competitor who would make plays at all costs and was not afraid to sacrifice her body to win,” describes McHone.

Even playing at the collegiate level now, starting at 2009, Burnette is still sacrificing her body. During her sophomore year, while diving into a base, Burnette injured her ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) (the UCL is located on the inside of the elbow, and also connects the ulna to the humerus). As the injury healed the scare tissue trapped the nerve to where it couldn’t move.

“Where the never couldn’t move, every time I would move or bend my arm the nerve just stretched causing ulnar nerve decomposition,” explaines Burnette.

In November 2011, Burnette had her first surgery but soon reinjured it doing power cleans during training. The doctors hoped that if she limited her arm use it would eventually heal itself.

“It was a week before school when I met with my doctor, and that’s when we decided to schedule a second surgery on my arm.”

“I have no limits with hitting or running, but still am not throwing 100% yet. We are taking it a little slow to ensure that I don’t re-injure it again. The only thing that ever bothers me with my arm now is when it gets cold, rains, or snows it will ache and hurt. But other than that this past surgery has shown successful and is good so far.”

It seems like Burnette is constantly fighting to keep her head up and that started ever before she even thought about college. At the end of Burnette’s 6th grade year her mom, Kim, was diagnosed with breast cancer.
While her mom went through treatment Burnette found an escape in softball.

“It was just the one place that I could go and just let go of everything,” explained Burnette. “I knew that as soon as I stepped out on to the field, regardless if it was practice or a game, that nothing else mattered. It was just me and what I loved to do.”

McHorn was her coach during this time said her determination is contagious.

“She didn’t seem to let things bother her on the field although I know it had to be on her mind but you couldn’t tell by her play,” McHorn explains.

Burnette’s dad, William, also shares the carefree feeling the softball field provides.

“He [William] has just shared my love of the game with me and is used being at the field with me as his sort of escape from everything we’ve been through as a family,” said Burnette. “ I do have to comment on the stereotype of all softball players being gay. Yes there are some player who are [homosexual], but not all of us are just because we play softball.”

Burnette doesn’t just stand up for the stereotypes of softball but is also admired by her fellow teammates.

“ I definitely look up to Robyn in softball because when we are both down in our game she has a way of keeping a positive attitude, and she never stops working hard even when she is injured, like when she asked to be put in the game when another player was sick,” said Alex Church, sophomore  and former teammate.

McHone also sees Burnette as great player.

“ She leads by example. Her attitude, play, and competitive spirit forces others to step up their game.”

As Burnette’s senior year begins to end she only hopes to do one thing during her final season next year, and that is to “play wise”.

But as McHone describes her as a “very gritty ball player” it seems worrying about getting hurt is a new step for Burnette.

“I just want the chance to show them even though I had surgery I’m the same player I was before, the one that made the [SOCON] All Freshman Team and I just want the same chances that were given to me before,” said Burnette .

Nothing seems like it can get Robyn Burnette down or stop her from reaching whatever dreams she may have.

“ I know I can get the job done and I know I am the same athlete I have always been regardless of my involvement on campus or my surgery”.

Filed Under: Real Dreams Real Success, Sports Tagged With: ,

From California Dreamin’ to Fried Chicken Eatin’

December 10, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Michelle Bello has what people call it “golf in her genes” and you could say she is destined to play.

When Bello was six years old her dad got her into golf and liked it a lot. But, as she got older her interest changed and she began playing softball.

That took a toll on her body and her mind. She didn’t like the pains in her shoulders and her body after each practice and game. As high school quickly approached it was time to decide what sport Bello should invest her time in.

“I played [softball] year around summer to fall, then to city league, then high school and it was too much. I honestly think I just got burned out,” remembers Bello. “Golf was just something new and refreshing.”

Bello’s father isn’t the only one in the family who is interested in golf. It is nearly her whole family.

“My uncle plays golf, my grandparents play golf and both my great grandparents play so it’s kind of in our genes.”

Bello, who is still fairly new to North Carolina, transferred to WCU 2011 from a junior college in Sacramento.

“I met Michelle Bello in December 2010 while attending our annual National Golf Coaches Association convention in Las Vegas,” remembers Mallory Hetzel, Western Carolina University’s Women’s Golf coach. “She was currently attending a junior college in Sacramento, CA, and we sent Michelle a National Letter of Intent to play for us in April 2011.”

Bello is from Northern California and said the weather here in Cullowhee was about the same, but that’s the only similarity.

“The pace of life is slower here, which isn’t a bad thing, its just in California your speeding every where and people don’t care about common courtesy and people in the south do,” said Bello. “The food is different too, there’s a lot of fried food and deep fried places here.”

This summer Bello interned with the Sacramento River Cats, a minor league baseball team, inspiring her to pursue a career in Public Relations with a sports team.

“The River Cats are a triple A team for the Oakland A’s. I did a lot of marketing and selling for them. It was a great experience and it showed me that I would be really good at what they do.”

And her coach seems to think the same thing.

“Michelle has a very bright future ahead of her. She understands in order to be successful you have to be driven and know how to interact well with others. With Michelle’s drive and personality there is no question she will land her dream job one day soon,” said Hetzel.

Bello’s collegiate golf career will end when she graduates this May but she doesn’t plan on settling down with just any job.

“I just want to have an open mind to getting a job. I would love to travel around the east coast for about 5 years after I graduate to really get a grip on what I want from there. I am in no rush to settle down in one place right now.”

Filed Under: Home, Real Dreams Real Success Tagged With: , ,

WCU soccer girl beat the odds and continues to play

September 22, 2012 By Leave a Comment

“I’m very mentally strong, and I feel I can play in my head but my body really doesn’t want me to, sometimes. I have to make sure I get enough rest time and get enough treatment to keep my body healthy to stay on the field.”

Samantha Hodge never expected that following her passion for soccer meant so much pain.

The 22-year old WCU senior and soccer player for the WCU Catamounts is playing but that comes at a price.

Hodge started playing soccer when she was 6 years old because her parents wanted her to get more involved.

“Neither of my parents knew anything about soccer when I started,” Hodge said, “so my dad took a coaching course to learn all the rules and we both ended up really liking the sport.”

Every step of the way, Hodge had support from her family, giving her parents the title of her “biggest fans.”

“My parents come to every game, either one or the other is there and if they can’t make it, which is rare, they will watch on Gametrackers Online or call and text other parents.” And it’s been that way for the past 16 years.

The hard work and dedication Hodge brought to the sport allowed her the opportunity to play at a collegiate level, but not without sacrificing her body.

“The biggest difference I didn’t expect from high school to college is the absolute toll it takes on your body. Its day in and day out, and even when you have a day off your working on your diet or going to treatment.”

Treatment is something Hodge has become quite familiar with after knee surgery in February 2010.

“My sophomore year, I started having knee injuries where my patella would slip out of place and I had to have knee surgery.”

From her surgery she got MRSA, a staph infection that is antibiotic resistant, putting Hodge back in the hospital for five weeks, followed by seven knee surgeries and one chest surgery to remove to infection. However, after all this Hodge’s recovery was far from over.

“After surgery I was on a walker for six months and on a permanent IV at that time as well. I also had to drop out of school to recover.”

When Hodge returned for what would have been her junior year of school, she red shirted that year so she could focus on school and getting healthy. Hodge returned to the field for the 2011 season but after getting to know her body better the previous year she had to be more cautious than an average 22-year-old. Many said that she would not come back to play, but she did.

Hodge is one of many players who face injury during their college career. However, the issue of head trauma and concussions in women’s soccer has become a hot topic as the USA Women’s Soccer team brought home the gold this summer.

Recently NBC Nightly News did a story on head trauma within women’s soccer. They reported that girls are twice as likely to get a concussion compared to boys and that women’s soccer is second to reported concussion rates behind football.

Hodge has also had her fair share of concussions, as she suffered two major ones and a few minor ones in high school.

Hodge also elaborated what Western does if a player has a head trauma or concussion.

“If someone does get a head injury they wear a special helmet to protect them from further injury. We had a center back last year get a serious concussion, and she wore the helmet so she could play and not hold back. Because once you have had a concussion, you are really timid to go into another header or go into a air fight for the ball.”

Hodge also has personal experience with wearing the protective headpiece and isn’t a huge fan of them. “ I don’t like wearing it because it’s something you’re not used to, it’s kind of like wearing glasses for the first time. They are hot, and make you feel like your head is roasting. I don’t like them, but I will wear one if its what I have to do to get on the field.”

As Hodge grew older she began to see the hard work and dedication the sport required, but it also taught her more than just teamwork.

“Soccer has given me a lot of leadership qualities that I have been able to instill in other parts of my life.”

These qualities Hodge is talking about include being President of the Western Carolina University Student Athlete Advisory, a senator for Western’s Student Government Association, member of the Chancellor’s Leadership Council, and was the only student on the WCU Athletic Director Search Committee.

As far as after college, Hodge doesn’t plan on wandering far from the athletic scene.

“After WCU, I would like to go to grad school for sports administration and would really like to work at a different college and possibly become an assistant athletic director, hopefully working in finances.”

The Olympic gold for women soccer team inspiration to WCU woman soccer

At the London Summer Olympics, the USA Women’s Soccer team took home the gold, giving the Western Carolina University’s women’s team a lot of inspiration.

“We were in preseason when the women’s team won, so our whole team got to watch it and it brought us together. It gave us a chance to watch the best of the best play and it was very inspiring for us because some of those girls we’ve played against and grew up with.”

Hodge is hoping that inspiration will take her team far, and she craves a championship.

“I think my team and I have set our goals really high and we have high expectations for ourselves and I think we’re good enough to compete at that level.”

Filed Under: Featured, Real Dreams Real Success, Sports Tagged With: , ,

Tailgate here or there?

March 28, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Photo: Doug Powell

(Story was updated March 29, with video from Salomon Sierra)

The UC Lawn was transformed into a carnival like scene Tuesday, as part of the Chancellor Installation events.  The “lawngating” event was prior to the baseball game against Kennesaw State.

The students enjoyed the beautiful March day, with ice cream and a blowup maze.

“The lawngating event was definitly fun because it was something different, but if I had to choose between tailgating and lawngating I would for sure choose tailgating,” said Caroline Winchester, sophomore.

With baseball tailgating not allowed this year, students took advantage of the lawngate in lieu of tailgate.

“I understand the lawngating because it fits in well with the chancellor’s installation week, however if you took away tailgaiting from the football games people would laugh at you if you told them to do it [tailgate] on the UC Lawn” said Winchester. “Because if we want to make WCU a powerhouse like App we need to create the spirited, fun atmosophere of a big school and tailgating is a great start”.

“[Baseball games] are a lot of fun and it’s a great way to get people involved and show school support. I think that as long as we are continuing to get the support for the baseball team and keeping the students happy and involved it doesn’t matter where the tailgate is at, even if it is behind the stadium or lawngating,” said Jessie Conner, senior.

 

Filed Under: Special projects: Installation week Tagged With: ,

Apple unveils new iPad without a name

March 7, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Apple unveiled today the newest iPad, however the new name was not given, unlike its processors iPad 1 and iPad 2. The newest edition to the Apple family will have a HD Screen, more pixels and for the first time 4G capabilities. The other major feature is the personal hotspot, with connection up to five other devices. Pre-ordering is available for the release date of March 16.

Check out CNN’s story on the newest Apple iPad.

Filed Under: Technology Tagged With: ,

Should student athletes be paid?

February 29, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Former North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Robert Orr

Western Carolina University joined the national debate on student athletes getting paid for their time as players in college teams.

Former North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Robert Orr visited WCU on Feb.20, “to stir up a little controversy”. WCU SGA president TJ Eaves says it would be good if the athletes get paid, but on the other hand it is not possible for all the schools and certainly not for our program.

Orr’s speech was only an hour long and had a relaxed feel with a large amount of audience interaction. The former Supreme Court Justice not only spoke on his belief that college athletes should be paid, on top of a scholarship they may receive, but also talked about the athletes he represented who allegedly violated NCAA rules.

Orr is not alone on the subject that student athletes should be paid. The Atlantic magazine published a cover story “The Shame of College Sports” in October 2011 is a key source to the whole debate.

In the article, the author Taylor Branch, talks about many things that Orr spoke about. The large earnings of the NCAA that they make from the student athletes. According to Orr, CBS has an $11 million contract with the NCAA for the rights to March Madness and in his opinion, the student athletes are being “trampled on by the system”.

“I think when a kids likeness and name is used to sale jersey’s and for video games they should get some of that revenue” said Clark Sechrest, kicker and punter for Western Carolina’s football team.

Orr also touched on the amount of time student athletes spend practicing and preparing for their sport. “What I’ve perceived because of enormous time demand [student athlete’s time spent of actual schooling] is only a fraction of an average student,” said Orr.

Even though the reality of students getting paid is few to none, student athletes here think that some athletes should be paid. “Even though paying athletes might not happen it still opens Pandora’s box for opportunities” said Sechrest.

It seems those with in the sports field, that see all the hard work of the athletes first hand, think athletes should be paid but those on the other side think that scholarship money is simply enough. However, no matter which side you stand on the issue of whether athletes should be paid or not, it makes you wonder how much power does the NCAA really have over their athletes?

Filed Under: Sports Tagged With: , , ,
« Older Posts

Switch to our mobile site