Playing three sports since she was a young girl, junior Sammi Curry had to make some hard decisions when deciding which sport to focus on at a collegiate level.
“I started playing both soccer and softball when I was four years old, and basketball I started when I was about ten,” Curry said.
Very athletic, Curry could have pursued all three sports. She participated in select soccer and softball leagues beginning in elementary school, and soccer seemed to be the sport she would pursue.
“Back then my favorite was soccer because I got into select soccer before I got into anything else,” Curry said.
Her family believed that she would continue to play soccer and possibly even quit her other sports to pursue it, but the summer before her freshman year, Curry stopped playing select soccer and did not try out for the school team.
“I actually thought she was going to play soccer because she really loved it and all her coaches really wanted her to keep playing,” Curry’s sister Katie, freshman, said. “She really shocked us when she quit, but as long as she was happy, we were all happy.”
Curry’s decision was based on the stress and pressure from her other sports and commitments.
“I just realized that I needed to cut back on all my sports, and soccer was probably the one I was doing the most for,” Curry said. “I just got kind of burned out, I was exhausted with playing it, so I cut that one first.”
And so, her freshman year Curry played two sports: she was one of the few freshman to make jv basketball, and one of four to make varsity softball. But after freshman year, Curry decided to narrow her athletic endeavors even more, not returning to the basketball court to focus completely on softball.
“It was not an easy decision,” Curry said. “It took me at least three months to decide what to do for each sport I dropped, but something about softball I just really enjoyed, and I am extremely happy with my choice.”
Curry chose softball because of all the sports she participated in, it is the one she was always excited to play.
“I love playing it and I love going to practice,” Curry said. “And I used to get pumped to just go out and throw or hit a ball and I still get excitement from it, and I think that is why I chose softball.”
Curry’s love for the game encouraged her to pursue the sport past a high school level. She committed in mid-January to UT Tyler, a Division III school in East Texas.
“I went and visited in December and I thought it was the best fit for me,” Curry said. “I don’t really have that outgoing of a personality, so a smaller school will be best for me, and I enjoyed the campus and the coaches a lot.”
Head softball coach Amanda Douglas has watched Sammi’s progress from when she was in middle school and is thrilled with her decision to pursue college softball.
“I had Sammi as a 7th and 8th grader, and then for high school, so I have coached her for five years,” Douglas said. “I am thrilled that she chose softball because she is talented and very athletic in all three [of her sports] and for her to choose softball, I couldn’t be happier for her because she is going after something she enjoys and something she is passionate about.”
A college level softball player herself, Douglas played four years at Texas Tech and believes that Curry has the level of commitment necessary for college softball.
“You want to do something you are passionate about in college, and since she really enjoys it, I couldn’t be any happier for her,” Douglas said.
Curry’s decisions to discontinue her other sports turned out to be the right ones.
“I am extremely happy because I am fulfilling one of my dreams,” Curry said. “I am playing college softball for a school that I know I will fit in with and one that I enjoy.”
