North Carolina State University Athletics
Captain's Corner: A Turning Point
4/2/2007 12:00:00 AM | Softball
By Shaina Ervin
RALEIGH, N.C. - At last! Our first bus trip of the season, and I couldn’t be happier. There’s no luggage to check in, no carry-on’s or driver licenses check, and finally no security guards asking for the 10th time “Any water, liquids or gels?” At this point, a road trip is looking pretty good.
As we start our route towards Virginia Tech, I take a minute to look at the people who surround me and there couldn’t be more going on at one time. In the very front, we have Jay [Pyron, assistant coach] and Brandon [Yopp, sports information director] competing in sports trivia. The only reason I know this is because I can hear Jay chanting his victorious round with a “HURRAYY” and Brandon quietly yell. Brandon, however, did come back, winning the next two rounds.
Coach Navas, Boo [Miranda Ervin], Shanna [Smith] and Laura [Klem] are playing a game of spades, with Shanna and Coach Navas winning, while Krystal [Hawkins], JP [Jennifer Patterson], Beth [Poore] and Cuck [Allison Cuculich] are being studious. The rest of the crew is watching "The Holiday," a romantic movie where two women from different worlds switch lives. As “Walking in a Winter Wonderland” plays in the movie, I hear coach snapping her fingers while Boo sings along to the song. I quickly realize that this is my family. All so very different, yet extremely special to me.
We played two games versus the Hokies on Saturday, and we finished up the series with a single game on Sunday. On Saturday, we played very well in both games, but fell short in game one. We took game two, a nail biter that came down to the bottom of the seventh. Our team showed heart and determination, a fight against every batter to hold on to a one run lead to claim the victory. The following day, we lost the last game of the series, but this defeat would be a waste if our team didn’t learn something from it.
We learned a lot about our team on Sunday. Despite the pit I felt in my stomach because of the outcome, I saw the loss as a turning point in our season. We have a lot of season left, and our team is going to use this as a motivator for the games to come.
We loaded the bus after a long weekend, and our bus driver Curly heads for Raleigh. As tough as the two loses were, no matter if we win or lose Jay and Brandon will still be themselves, G-Bo [Heather Gelbard] will still be sleeping the entire ride, Boo will keep singing, and every single person on the bus will still be my family. I wouldn’t trade any of them for anything in the world.
Throughout the 2007 season, Wolfpack captains Jen Chamberlin, Shaina Ervin and Abbie Sims will keep fans up to speed on the latest happenings of NC State softball via the Captain’s Corner blog on GoPack.com. Stay tuned to GoPack.com for the latest news and information on Wolfpack softball.
RALEIGH, N.C. - At last! Our first bus trip of the season, and I couldn’t be happier. There’s no luggage to check in, no carry-on’s or driver licenses check, and finally no security guards asking for the 10th time “Any water, liquids or gels?” At this point, a road trip is looking pretty good.
As we start our route towards Virginia Tech, I take a minute to look at the people who surround me and there couldn’t be more going on at one time. In the very front, we have Jay [Pyron, assistant coach] and Brandon [Yopp, sports information director] competing in sports trivia. The only reason I know this is because I can hear Jay chanting his victorious round with a “HURRAYY” and Brandon quietly yell. Brandon, however, did come back, winning the next two rounds.
Coach Navas, Boo [Miranda Ervin], Shanna [Smith] and Laura [Klem] are playing a game of spades, with Shanna and Coach Navas winning, while Krystal [Hawkins], JP [Jennifer Patterson], Beth [Poore] and Cuck [Allison Cuculich] are being studious. The rest of the crew is watching "The Holiday," a romantic movie where two women from different worlds switch lives. As “Walking in a Winter Wonderland” plays in the movie, I hear coach snapping her fingers while Boo sings along to the song. I quickly realize that this is my family. All so very different, yet extremely special to me.
We played two games versus the Hokies on Saturday, and we finished up the series with a single game on Sunday. On Saturday, we played very well in both games, but fell short in game one. We took game two, a nail biter that came down to the bottom of the seventh. Our team showed heart and determination, a fight against every batter to hold on to a one run lead to claim the victory. The following day, we lost the last game of the series, but this defeat would be a waste if our team didn’t learn something from it.
We learned a lot about our team on Sunday. Despite the pit I felt in my stomach because of the outcome, I saw the loss as a turning point in our season. We have a lot of season left, and our team is going to use this as a motivator for the games to come.
We loaded the bus after a long weekend, and our bus driver Curly heads for Raleigh. As tough as the two loses were, no matter if we win or lose Jay and Brandon will still be themselves, G-Bo [Heather Gelbard] will still be sleeping the entire ride, Boo will keep singing, and every single person on the bus will still be my family. I wouldn’t trade any of them for anything in the world.
Throughout the 2007 season, Wolfpack captains Jen Chamberlin, Shaina Ervin and Abbie Sims will keep fans up to speed on the latest happenings of NC State softball via the Captain’s Corner blog on GoPack.com. Stay tuned to GoPack.com for the latest news and information on Wolfpack softball.
#BehindThe20 with former Pack Stars Abbie Sims and Renada Davis
Wednesday, April 24
Softball: Players Presser (2/15)
Thursday, February 15
Softball: Coach Leftwich Presser (2/15)
Thursday, February 15
EmpowHER with Aisha Weixlmann #Shorts #NCState #GoPack
Monday, October 16