MOBILE, Ala. – University of South Alabama softball junior pitcher Haley Maynard recently sat down with USAJaguars.com to discuss what the fall season has been like for her, what teammate she looks up to and what her favorite memory is from her time playing softball, among other topics.
Maynard comes to South Alabama after transferring from Volunteer State Community College in Gallatin, Tenn. As a sophomore with the Lady Pioneers, Maynard posted the second-lowest earned run average (2.48) on the club. She also had 41 strikeouts in 73.1 innings of work. Before her two-year career at VSCC, Maynard lettered at Upperman High School in Baxter, Tenn., where she helped lead the Bees to a third-place finish at the 2012 2A state tournament.
What has the fall season been like for you?
"It's been very hectic, fast-paced and a lot more than I've ever been through. It's been fun though and I've learned a lot. I really love all of the coaches and the team."
Where do you feel that you have made the biggest improvement since the start of the fall?
"I would say in my pitching mechanics. As soon as I arrived, [assistant coach] Hannah [Campbell] began changing some of the things I was doing and the coaches could tell a difference within days of me getting here."
What was the biggest thing you learned this fall that you will take with you heading into the spring?
"Probably to just remain focused and not let anything get to you. Even when you are down in a ball game, things can change very quickly. You just have to stay up and keep doing what you know how to do. It will all work out."
What do you feel is a strength that you bring to the team and why?
"Just being able to keep our team up and not let them get into a rut. Pitching-wise, I have a really strong change up. Other pitchers on our team have good change ups as well, but we all have one huge pitch and I feel like that's a big part of our pitching staff."
What is one area of your game that you are looking at improving in this season and why?
"I probably want to continue to work on making them movement on my pitches better. I've worked with coach Campbell a lot. The first thing that she broke down when I came in was the spin on the ball and other mechanical things. She thought mine was good, but that it could be a lot better. I'm still kind of rebuilding on that so I want to continue to improve there."
Coming from junior college, you've already had a little bit of the college experience as compared to the incoming freshmen. How has the adjustment here been for you?
"I graduated high school early and then started junior college in what would have been my senior year. Having had that junior college experienced helped me a lot. Many D-I athletes kind of take some things for granted. They get a lot of stuff whether it be gear or other things, but at my junior college, we didn't get any of that. I didn't even have a pitching coach there to even show me the most basic things. I feel like I definitely appreciate things more and don't take anything for granted. I'm just very thankful to be here."
Is there a teammate of yours who you look up to?
"I would say our senior outfielder, Amanda Minahan. We don't have team captains, but I feel that she is definitely one of the leaders on our team and she's very good at what she does on the field. She has a true team-first mentality and she's good leading everyone. She cares about us. If anything needs to be taken care of, she's going to step up and do it. I really look up to her."
Why did you choose to come to South Alabama?
"When I finished playing at Volunteer State, I had a couple of offers from some smaller schools, but I mainly did most of my own recruiting with some help from others. I knew I wanted to go to a bigger program though and about three or four weeks before this semester, I emailed a bunch of the top softball programs, including coach [Becky] Clark. She called me back. To get an email back from these coaches is a big deal, but for her to call me back was awesome. We talked on the phone for about an hour about everything I've gone through, my softball career, my family and other things, and we hit it off immediately. I could just tell that there was something special about the school. She had Hannah [Campbell] come up to Nashville to watch me pitch. I then came on a visit and when I did that, even my family said that South was perfect and knew that this was home."
What are you majoring in at South Alabama and what do you plan to do after graduation?
"I'm majoring in broadcast journalism. I want to go into sports broadcasting. I also wouldn't mind getting drafted by the NPF [National Professional Fastpitch] league, but after my playing career is done, I want to be either a commentator or sideline reporter for either college or professional softball."
What is one interesting thing that Jaguar fans may not know about you?
"I can sing and that I come from a family that sings. My uncle is a drummer in a band and my other uncle is a musician down in Florida. My family was a gospel group that used to travel around and sing at churches all over. We did that for several years when I was younger."
Do you have a favorite place on campus?
"The softball locker room. We just sit in there talk and watch TV and eat. We eat a lot."
Do you have any pregame superstitions?
"I guess just paying attention to things that I did the previous game. If we won the last game and I had a hair-tie on my wrist, I'll put it back on. If we lost the game, I'll make sure it's not on. Just little things like that.
What is your favorite type of music to listen to?
"I listen to everything; any and all music."
What is your favorite memory that you have had so far playing softball?
"I would probably say that it was during the summer of 2014 and I was playing with my travel team. We were playing at a tournament in Oklahoma City at the ASA tournament against a really good travel-ball team out of Texas. We ended up getting second in the tournament, but in that game, I pitched a perfect game in the ASA Hall of Fame Stadium. You grow up watching all of the big stars play on that field, so to be able to do that there was a huge moment for me.
What's your favorite form of social media?
"I don't really like social media that much; I kind of think it's a distraction. If I had to say one, I would say SnapChat if that counts."
What do you like to do in your spare time?
"I just like to hang out with my teammates and get to know them better. We go to church a lot and do other church events together."
Who has been the most influential person in your life?
"That would probably be my parents and my grandma because they are always with me. They were at all of my softball games and taking me to practice. Whatever I needed, they were always there and that was huge to me."
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
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