Spring Break
Seniors look to leave legacy of leadership at MU
Dan Kukla
Issue date: 4/11/08 Section: Sports
Being genuine as both players and people has a profound effect on the rest of the team that is not going unnoticed.
"The five of them are such big personalities that you don't go through a practice without them saying something funny, or them saying something that's needed," Schoenly said. "I hope we have some people that are going to step into those roles, because those are some big shoes to fill."
Schoenly said her seniors have picked up a lot of their leadership abilities from watching other teams. She said most Miami athletic teams that did well this year were driven by quality senior leadership.
Since softball is a spring sport, Schoenly has been intentional about pointing this out to her senior class, and so far, the message has stuck.
Now that her lesson is translating onto the field, Schoenly can draw paralls between the softball seniors and other impactful senior athletes on campus.
"They're like our Ryan Jones and Nathan Davis," Schoenly said.
While there is certainly a lot of softball that has yet to be played this season, it's hard for the team to not look at what they have already accomplished. The team is on the brink of pushing the program to new heights and just the very thought of that has everyone excited.
"I knew that we had the capability to take this program to the next level and I think we've done a good job as a senior class of doing that," Popson said.
Regardless of what happens this season, there is no denying the lasting effect that these five seniors will leave on the Miami softball program.
"The standard that they have for themselves is something that doesn't always need to be said," Schoenly said. "They hold their actions to such a high standard that everyone can see it and will learn from it. We might not feel the effects of it until they're gone, but they're setting the tone for the program for years to come."
"The five of them are such big personalities that you don't go through a practice without them saying something funny, or them saying something that's needed," Schoenly said. "I hope we have some people that are going to step into those roles, because those are some big shoes to fill."
Schoenly said her seniors have picked up a lot of their leadership abilities from watching other teams. She said most Miami athletic teams that did well this year were driven by quality senior leadership.
Since softball is a spring sport, Schoenly has been intentional about pointing this out to her senior class, and so far, the message has stuck.
Now that her lesson is translating onto the field, Schoenly can draw paralls between the softball seniors and other impactful senior athletes on campus.
"They're like our Ryan Jones and Nathan Davis," Schoenly said.
While there is certainly a lot of softball that has yet to be played this season, it's hard for the team to not look at what they have already accomplished. The team is on the brink of pushing the program to new heights and just the very thought of that has everyone excited.
"I knew that we had the capability to take this program to the next level and I think we've done a good job as a senior class of doing that," Popson said.
Regardless of what happens this season, there is no denying the lasting effect that these five seniors will leave on the Miami softball program.
"The standard that they have for themselves is something that doesn't always need to be said," Schoenly said. "They hold their actions to such a high standard that everyone can see it and will learn from it. We might not feel the effects of it until they're gone, but they're setting the tone for the program for years to come."
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