Get to know Unity Christian softball player, Ashland commit Ashley Veldheer
HUDSONVILLE, Mich. — Ashley Veldheer, 17, has been playing softball for 13 years and is currently playing for Unity Christian High School and the Ohio Lasers Black. She previously played for the Grand Rapids Diamonds for seven years, as well. She loves everything about the game of softball, the memories, the time that she has gotten to spend with her teammates, and the lifelong friendships she has been able to develop because of the sport.
As Ashley prepares to graduate from high school, her personal athletic goals are to enjoy every moment that she has left in her high school career and to be a successful collegiate athlete at Ashland University. She hopes to continue to grow, improve, and to learn more about being a leader in the game of softball. Her long term goal is to become a softball coach once she has graduated from the university.
Softball has taught Ashley how to be a strong leader and how to accept others’ differences as she views everyone as a child of God. She believes that the biggest challenge she has faced in her favorite sport is her size. As she is just under 5 foot 2 inches, many have underestimated her ability and strength. She worked hard to build up strength, speed, and explosiveness at the Optimal Performance Training Center each week. In addition, she consistently works on learning the game of softball more by going to the softball fields with her father almost everyday.
The best advice that Ashley has received is that you cannot worry about what you cannot control in sports and in life. She chooses to do her part and be the best at her role. The best piece of advice that she has received pertaining to softball is that softball is a game of failure. Worrying about the past will not change anything as you can only control what happens next and how you respond. It is best to focus on what can be done next to help the team. This is the way that she overcomes any mistakes that happens as she plays. She chooses to forget about the mistake for the moment and focus on the next play. After the game, she reflects on the mistakes that were made and learns what she needs to do in order to keep the mistake from happening again. “Pushing through the struggles, not giving up, and working to fix your mistakes is how I overcome”, Ashley stated.
Her pregame ritual is to wear her sliding shorts inside out and always put her left sock on before her right. If she has an early game, she enjoys a sausage McMuffin from McDonald’s with her dad. Outside of softball, Ashley loves to spend time with her family and wakeboard at their cottage up north. She also enjoys weightlifting and spending time at the Optimal Performance Training Center. She spends a lot time playing with her dogs and hanging out with her friends as well.
Being a member of a team has taught Ashley how to put others before herself. She has learned how to make sacrifices for the team because it is all about the success of the team as a whole. She has learned how to celebrate with her teammates during the highs and how to be there for them through the lows. In addition to this, she has also learned how to lead by example, encourage others when they are down, and always have a positive attitude.
Ashley believes that success takes work so she works very hard to maintain her 4.1 GPA on top of softball. She has found a way to successfully manage her time while working hard and it has paid off. “To be successful and to achieve my goal of playing college softball, I had to give up lots of activities and miss out on things, but it was worth it!”
This is an unedited user writing submission. The views, information, or opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Best Version Media or its employees.
