North Carolina State University Athletics
Consistency the Measure of Gelbard's Success
2/7/2007 12:00:00 AM | Softball
BY BRANDON YOPP
ASSISTANT MEDIA RELATIONS DIRECTOR
RALEIGH, N.C. – Consistency might be the only way to describe senior Heather Gelbard's tenure in Raleigh to this point. Waiting to take off from the starting line of her farewell season, her leadership on the field and in the classroom has helped pace the young Pack program since day one.
A native of Miami, Fla., Gelbard, known as G-Bo by her teammates, flourished at third base for Palmetto Sr. High School. A four-year letterwinner, she finished with a .363 batting average, while posting 129 hits, 53 RBIs and 62 runs scored while helping her school collect two state titles, including one while acting as a captain in 2003. Aside from a second state crown, her senior year brought on some illustrious accolades, including being tabbed Miami Herald Softball Player of the Year.
Parting ways with the Sunshine State to join the Wolfpack in the fall of 2003 took a little bit of adjusting for Gelbard, especially when the season rolled around in the spring and the temperature plummeted.
"Weather, obviously in an outdoor sport like softball, it’s been an experience to adjust to that," Gelbard said. “How did I adjust? With a lot of layers.”
Positioned some 800 miles from home, Gelbard took to Raleigh quickly, relying on friends and family back home to help her get through the acclimation process. Over the years her family has logged many trips to watch her play, especially her mother Susan.
“Being far away from my friends, my home, my family," said Gelbard. "That’s been difficult, but I keep in touch. I’ve had a lot of long distance phone bills.”
As a freshman during the 2004 season, one person back home that Gelbard made sure she kept in touch with was Lisa Nentwig. One year behind Gelbard at Palmetto Sr., Nentwig served as Gelbard's shortstop on the softball team, forming a highly successful combination in the infield. When head coach Lisa Navas began courting Nentwig's talents, Gelbard was quick to lend a helping hand.
“When she was getting recruited I talked to her a lot," Gelbard said. "I wanted to help get us as many good players as possible, especially if it’s someone that I was friends with, and she is a good player.
“I know she chose NC State because the school was right for her, but I’d like to think that I helped.”
According to Nentwig, Gelbard's assistance on the recruiting front gave the Wolfpack an edge.
"It was good to have her there because I could ask her anything that I wanted to about NC State," Nentwig said. "I knew that she would always give me an honest answer.
"I felt comfortable there because of knowing her and having her show me around."
Like her teammate twice over, Gelbard has grown accustomed to seeing familiar faces on the diamond. Last year at the Tiger Invitational in Auburn, Ala., she came across fellow high school teammate Sara Ghezzi and friend Tatiana Fernandez from her travel ball days with the Miami Stingrays. Both Ghezzi and Fernandez hold spots on Auburn's roster.
“Usually when you play those games it’s like a personal rivalry between friends,” Gelbard said. "Sort of a playful grudge match."
Although Gelbard might enjoy coming across people she knows on the diamond, it's a pretty safe assumption that a lot of ball clubs don't look forward to seeing her. Both her 193 starts and 192 hits rank first in program history, while her .303 career batting average stands second. With the ability to put the ball in play at all times and make things happen, Gelbard's statistics rank at the top of nearly all Wolfpack offensive categories, including first in at-bats (634) and doubles (31), second in total bases (270), and fourth in RBIs (73), runs scored (58), home runs (15) and walks (52). She's led the team in hits all three years she has been in uniform, posting the highest amount of at-bats and doubles on two occasions.
One of the most impressive things about Gelbard, who acts as the designated player in most games, is that it's not just that her numbers add up over time. She consistently lays out big-game performances. Against Mississippi Valley State on Feb. 6, 2005, she contributed a school-record five hits, including a grand slam, while sending five RBIs across the plate. She also crushed two home runs against Georgia State on March 4, 2006. In all, Gelbard's posted a school-record 51 multiple hit and 29 multiple RBI games.
“She has been one of our top hitters every year," Navas said. "She has a great eye for the ball and that’s why we have her lead off. She makes thinks happen for us.
“Consistency," Navas said. "We can always count on her because she comes through."
If those numbers aren’t staggering enough, check out Gelbard's GPA. A solid 3.83. Majoring in psychology, she became the first NC State softball player to collect all-america honors when she was named a 2005 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American. Gelbard has landed on the ACC Honor Roll all three years in school.
“I’m proud of her because she was our first academic all-american," Navas said. "Not only is she an exceptional ball player, but she’s intelligent and she takes academics seriously.”
With her final season knocking at the door, Gelbard doesn't exactly appear to be eager to push her college playing days aside.
“It’s going to be hard having played softball for so long and then having to hang up the cleats," Gelbard said. "It’s going to be an interesting experience.”
It's exactly the type of experience that Gelbard is hoping to ease by moving from the field into the dugout as a coach.
“Hopefully I’ll be able to get into coaching and stay in touch with the game, and that will fill whatever void I have from no longer playing," Gelbard said.
Navas seems to think that Gelbard won't have the toughest time parlaying her playing days into a coaching role.
“She is a real student of the game," Navas said. "She sees situations occurring and is always on the ball. She is a smart player. She has done a great job helping the younger kids with understanding specific situations and knowing exactly what to do when the ball comes your way. I have no doubt that she could be a successful coach.”
Luckily for Gelbard, she's got a pretty darn good head coach to learn from. She credits Navas, who has won 458 games in 12 years as a head coach, with setting the table for the Wolfpack's success.
“Practice, practice, practice," Gelbard said. "She takes every opportunity she can to work with us and make us work hard. She pushes us to the limit, but we respond to that.”
Gelbard and the eight other seniors that she broke the ground of the program with only have one more season to respond. Despite a somewhat unexpected whirlwind of success last year, she points out that the team knew the possibilities all along.
“We said from day one that the only people that believed in us was ourselves," Gelbard said. "We always knew what we were capable of, it was just a matter of showing everyone else.”
Insisting that the team isn't approaching this season any differently, Gelbard says that the Pack isn't concerned about living up to last season's success. More than anything, she wants to play hard, win games and enjoy her last opportunity to compete for NC State alongside her teammates.
”We’ve been through a lot together," Gelbard said. "It’s just the greatest bunch of girls that you could ever ask to be with.”
Something tells me that they'd say the same thing about G-Bo too.
