“My story is a complicated one, but I will give you the short version.”
If Heather Hall gave me the short version of her story, then I would have to guess that the long version could fill a short novel.
When Heather Hall came from her home in Prince Edward Island, Canada (I guess the prince had a vacation home there at some point) to pursue offers to play college softball in the United States, she never could have expected that she would one day become the Union University softball coach. But if everything in life went the way that we expected, where would the fun be in that?
If you wanted to make a biopic about Heather’s life, you might just have a chance at an Oscar or a Golden Globe (or maybe just a BAFTA, let’s not get too crazy here). Her story has everything that the old men of the Academy love. It’s a classic “fish out of water” story, and since the movie that just won Best Picture was literally about an anthropomorphic fish out of water, that is apparently what the people want.
“I quickly found out after I got here for the first time that life in Canada is MUCH different than life in the United States, especially the South,” she said. “The weather and way of life was a huge adjustment.” As a southerner, the fact that someone from another country was slightly uncomfortable when they first got to the South has got to be one of the most unsurprising things I have ever heard.
Establishing herself as a softball prodigy in high school, Heather quickly became a highly sought-after commodity among the college ranks in the United States. International prospects had become a focus for American softball, and she was no exception.
“I had been offered many scholarship offers, and most of them were in the South,” she said. “When I visited the school that I was most interested in (Jacksonville State University in Alabama), the visit went well, but I was not at all accustomed to life in the South and experienced a huge bit of culture shock. So I decided to tell them and other coaches that I wasn’t ready to leave home yet and would be turning down all offers.”
However, Heather’s softball career was nowhere close to its end. She knew it too; even though she didn’t sign to play anywhere her freshman season, she still kept up her softball training. And, as she soon found out, when you don’t give up on the game, the game doesn’t give up on you.
“After a year away from organized softball, Coach Mike Corbitt from Gannon University called me and asked if I still had any interest in playing ball for them even though I had turned him down the year before,” she said smiling. “Long story short, I would play the rest of my college career there, and it was one of the best experiences of my life. Unfortunately, Coach Corbitt would pass away the summer before my junior year. He took care of me while being the greatest mentor that I could’ve ever asked for.”
Though she had an incredible college softball career, Heather now felt like it was time to turn her attention to other passions. She was engaged to be married, and she had taken a job with social services in New Castle, Pennsylvania, where she worked directly with “at-risk” youth in the area. “I truly loved the kids that I got to work with,” she said. “I still have a personal relationship with some of them, even though we are hundreds of miles apart.”
But through it all, softball still called to her. Though she had several coaching job offers when she graduated, Heather wanted to use her degree to venture into other areas that she wanted to go. Instead, softball appeared to be where she needed to go.
“While I was working with social services, I was still highly involved with softball at the college and high school level. During this period in my life, I was trying to do what I wanted, but God kept opening doors that revolved around softball.”
And as she embraced the call to continue softball once more, she quickly rose to the top of the game’s profession. In 2002, she was selected as the MVP of the Canadian Senior Women’s National Tournament and faced many Olympic players and prospects for the National team. She also had the opportunity to play for the Canadian National Team over an entire summer.
So yeah, you can definitely make the case that Heather Hall is pretty good at softball.
After an incredible summer with the Canadian National Team, she believed that softball was no longer going to be merely an outlet for herself and her own accomplishments. Instead, she felt called to use the game to pour into the lives of other people.
“Once I finished with the Canadian National Team that summer, I decided that I wanted to coach and use softball as a tool to help young ladies achieve success in life. God used softball in my life to keep me focused and goal-directed.”
She initially had many job offers, but she decided to take a job as the Graduate Assistant at UT Martin. She worked there for two years before she finally became aware of a certain school called Union University that was looking for a head softball coach. With the opportunity to finally have her own program at hand, Heather Hall became the Union University softball coach on June 15th, 2007.
“God placed me exactly where I needed to be, and He fulfilled my life long dreams,” she said with a joyful grin. “I always wanted a family and a career that I loved. I am blessed beyond measure and am so thankful for such a faithful and loving God.”
Now, Heather is entering her second decade as the Union softball coach, with an impressive 308 wins during that span. She also finished the nearly one-year process of becoming an American citizen back in January (as if there are problems with immigration in America!). But most importantly, she hopes that not only herself, but also her players will continue to glorify God in all that they do.
“I want people to know that I love Christ and want to glorify him in everything I do. I also want my players to pursue Christ and to glorify him every minute of every day. I think it is so important when we play that we set a high standard for ourselves with how we act and approach the game and the people in it. And that is the most important thing to me.”
Not bad for a fish out of water.
