After 21 emails of rearranging schedules and trying to find a time to meet, I finally had the opportunity of talking to Emily Bennett, a graduate student in the School of Education, about leading the Union University softball team as the only senior player.
Still in her practice clothes, Bennett sat with me at a table outside the library. We were the only two people brave (or stupid) enough to withstand the cold winds that come from Tennessee’s ever-changing weather while she told me about her last season with the Union softball team.
Bennett, a native of Dyersburg, Tennessee, was always familiar with Union from playing in multiple tournaments held in Jackson. It was at Union’s team camp, which she attended her freshman year of high school, where she hit her first home run and grabbed the attention of Heather Hall, Union’s head softball coach, who eventually offered her a spot on the team during Bennett’s junior year of high school.
Four years ago, Bennett began her college softball career as a freshman with five other teammates in her graduating class, but she will finish her last season playing for Union University as the only softball player in her senior class.
As the only senior softball player, building her teammates’ trust and leading by example can sometimes be a difficult task when taking on those roles alone.
“Everyone tends to look up to the seniors, whether they’re captains or not,” Bennett said. “But since I am the only senior, doubts about whether the girls respect me or if I can help them accomplish their goals can come up.”
Bennett said her team has a connection and bond like no other which makes her last season that much more special. With softball being such a team sport, it is necessary to have a great relationship with one another, and Bennett said her teammates make it easy to rely on and trust each other.
“In the past four years, our team has never been as close as we are now,” Bennett said. “You can see it on the field how much we love each other and respect each other.”
Gabby Morris, a sophomore exercise science major and softball player, said that Bennett has already left a legacy for the team to build on in the years to come, and she can only hope everybody loves the game of softball as much as Bennett does.
“She not only leads by encouragement, but she also leads by example and is definitely one of the best seniors I’ve ever had to look up to,” Morris said. “She will be a hard one to replace, and I’m positive that the rest of the team, as well as the coaches, would agree with me on that.”
Bennett hopes that she can teach her teammates to appreciate every moment and to not take these next few years in college for granted. She hopes to teach her team to treat every moment, game, playoff and season as if it is their last, and Bennett wants her team to remember her as someone who always worked hard, led by example and helped her team be the best that it could be.
“I want to have a good senior year, but at the same time, I want to help my team grow as players and prepare them for the next few years,” Bennett said. “They’re eventually going to be in my shoes, so I want them to realize that every minute they should be playing for the Lord, using their abilities to honor him and thanking him for allowing us to play this sport.”
Bennett plans to never truly leave the sport, and she intends to stay at Union University next year working as the graduate assistant for softball.
She said she is excited to stay with the team in the future and to further impact the players’ lives as a graduate assistant, because for her, as long as she is around the game of softball, she knows she can make a difference in girls’ lives while doing something that she loves.
