Elle Gray-Smith, Sitka High School 2015

 

Hi! I’m Elle Gray-Smith (Elle Gray), and I graduated from Sitka High School in 2015. I played Arctic Heat Softball from 2012-2015 - primary position was Pitcher, second was Shortstop. Coaches Carl, Michele, and Courtney Waters along with Sally Kuzco. I earned an MVP title at the Colorado Sparkler Tournament. I also participated in college showcases at Colorado Sparkler and one that was in Pennsylvania.

I attended St. Lawrence University, majoring in Environmental Studies/Government. I was recruited to play there but received academic scholarships rather than an athletic scholarship because it is Division Ill.

 

During my transition from high school softball to collegiate softball, I definitely enjoyed the higher level of play, the demanding practices, and the competitive games. My biggest challenge was that, as a Freshman at college, I was not a starter at the beginning of the season.
There were other girls with more experience who had proven themselves on the field already, and I had not done that yet. After patience, hard work, and a respectful understanding of how college ball works, I became a starter in the middle of my Freshman year and onward.

I was just looking through old photos, and I think my favorite memories from playing on Arctic Heat were when Andrea Waters came to pitch to us in practice for BP (she was so good! I wanted to be just like her) or the time that we finally beat the Thunderbirds for the first time. That was an amazing game!

 

For the younger players, take lots of pictures of your time with the team (when phones are allowed, of course!), because after playing for many years, your memories run together, but you will want to recall a feeling or special occasion with your teammates. It goes by really fast! For high school players, know that with purposeful time you put into your skills and a positive attitude, you can compete at any college level. Just because we are from Alaska does not mean we are not good enough to play in college.

What I have learned from playing softball is that failure is okay. If you are hitting the ball with a .300 batting average, that means you fail to hit the ball 70% of the time! But it is still a great batting average.

Softball is hard! Just like life. I was always competing against myself when I couldn't reach the standard that I thought I needed to be successful in the sport. Instead of carrying all of that pressure on my shoulders, I learned to accept when I wasn't able to reach that bar every time, because I came to understand that I can trust in my team to share the load of success. That realization of leaning on others helped me get out of my own head and out of the way for my team to shine.

 

My love of softball took me to playing international softball in Sweden and competing for the Swedish National Team in 2019. In 2023, I opened my own private softball lesson business that serves South Alaskan communities (Sitka, Ketchikan, Juneau, and Anchorage to name a few). My business, Pitching Solutions Softball, offers lessons in fielding, batting, pitching, and physical-mental-emotional conditioning for softball players ages 8-18. I am forever grateful to my past coaches and to the sport itself for inspiring me to keep softball in my life. I can't wait to see what the future holds for Arctic Heat!

Elle, we are so proud of you and your accomplishments! Thank for sharing! Please check out Elle’s coaching business at Pitching Solutions Softball.

 

 

Kamryn Frisk, Service High School 2017

 

My name is Kamryn Frisk. I went to Service High School and graduated in 2017.

I played in the Arctic Heat Organization from 2015-2017. I also came back and played in one tournament in the summer of 2018. I primarily played 1st/3rd for Arctic Heat. I also pitched for the organization as well. My coaches were Carl, Michelle, and Courtney Waters.

I earned several All-Tournament Team nominations while I played for Arctic Heat. I earned one in the 2017 State Tournament and the 2018 Tudor Bingo Tournament as well. I also participated in several college coach showcases as well. I went to the Pennsbury Invitational in Pennsylvania twice, the Colorado Sparkler Showcase in Denver twice, and the City of Lights Showcase in Las Vegas once while playing for Arctic Heat.

 

My college softball story is an interesting one to say the least. I attended Northwest Kansas Technical College from 2017 to 2019. It’s an NJCAA D1 Junior College located in Goodland, Kansas. I was part of the inaugural softball team for this college and it was a really cool experience of mine. I received the 1st place President’s Scholarship between my Freshman and Sophomore year at NWKTC for maintaining a 4.0 GPA. I was on the Track and Field team for about a month my sophomore year at NWKTC because we didn’t have enough girls to field a softball team. We ended up fielding enough girls to have a team that season but a lot of the girls had never played softball before. I graduated from NWKTC with an Associate’s Degree in Business Technology in the Spring of 2019. I walked away from NWKTC with 2 1st Team Academic All-American honors for maintaining a 4.0 GPA while lettering in Softball and I was a finalist for Business Student of the Year my sophomore year. After I graduated from NWKTC, I planned to walk on at Dixie State University (Now known as Utah Tech University). I had received a 90% academic scholarship for my 4.0 GPA and knew I could play at that level. I was told by their recruiting coach though that they don’t accept walk-ons and they didn’t have a spot for me to be a softball manager either. I was heartbroken as I knew I was good enough to keep playing softball at a higher level. The day I planned on flying out to Kansas to get my car for Utah, I received a text message from my JUCO coach asking if I was still interested in playing softball in college. I said yes with zero hesitation because I knew he wouldn’t ask me unless it was a very serious offer. He told me an NCAA D2 school in Minnesota was looking for a pitcher ASAP and I told him to give me the coach’s phone number. I called Coach Owens and we talked for about two hours on the phone. We finalized my scholarship offer over the phone and I had signed my letter of intent to play at the University of Minnesota Crookston. I received an athletic scholarship on top of my academic scholarship at UMC and got my schooling paid for while playing the sport I loved so much. I played from 2019-2022 at UMC. My first season there was the year COVID hit so I got an extra year of eligibility. I graduated in the Spring of 2022 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management and a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting. I finished my career at UMC with a 4.0 GPA, a Myles Brand Award recipient (Senior Athletes who maintained a 4.0 GPA.), 4 Chancellor’s List awards, 2 Academic All-American awards, and was the 2022 Accounting Student of the Year.

 

The transition from high school softball to college softball was a culture shock for myself. I always knew I wanted to play college softball but I never really knew how much work I was going to have to put in to make my dream come true. In Alaska, we are used to playing high school softball in a 2 month time period and then travel ball for about another 2 months. Once you get to college, softball becomes your job. Softball is one of the very few sports in college that doesn’t have an off season. When you get there in August, you immediately start lifting/conditioning and practices so you can play in Fall Ball games. You continue this schedule through the end of the semester and start back up in January again. You go harder in January than you did in August because your real season starts in February. Softball starts in August and ends in May, just like the school year. You set aside 3-4 hours a day, 5-6 days a week for softball on top of going to your college classes to earn your desired degree. We don’t experience anything like this in Alaska so that’s why it was a culture shock to me. College athletics is not just a hobby anymore, it becomes your life. There were many times that I wanted to quit playing softball because it got to be too hard. I had to just keep thinking about everyone at home that was counting on me to finish strong and make them proud. I kept pushing forward because I knew I could do this. It was my dream! Not very many girls from Alaska get to go play college softball and even less actually finish their college softball career. I was honored to be able to play for 5 years and I gave the sport everything I had.

 

My favorite memory from Arctic Heat is when we would joke around with Coach Carl and give him nicknames. Prince Carl has got to be one of my favorite nicknames we ever gave him. He would joke around with us all the time but when it came to being serious, we could all put the jokes aside and focus on the serious aspect of the game. I also enjoyed making lifelong friends from the teams I was on.

The advice I would give to the younger/high school players would be to chase your dreams wholeheartedly. We need more people like that in the world. You just have to be willing to put in the work towards your dream and do anything necessary to accomplish them!

 

Softball taught me many things. It taught me that if I pushed myself hard enough I could achieve any possible thing I wanted to. It also taught me that talent can get you to a certain point in life, but hard work and dedication will get you the rest of the way. People in this world are looking for people that are the hard workers in life. The talent will grow if you put in the extra effort to get better at whatever you’re doing in life. Softball is so much more than just a game. Your coaches are there to teach you life lessons along the way through this sport. Listen to them.

 

 

Avery Brown, Eagle River High School 2020

 

Hi! I’m Avery Brown, and I played on Arctic Heat Softball from 2013-2020, as a pitcher, 3rd base, and at 1st base. I graduated from Eagle River High School in 2020. My coaches were Carl, Michelle, and Courtney Waters, and Leslie Steele.

I earned MVP titles during Tudor Bingo tournaments and state tournaments. I also attended City of Lights, Colorado Sparkler, Pennsbury showcases.

I am currently attending Dominican University and Illinois Institute of Technology, majoring in Mathematics and Mechanical Engineering.

 

The biggest challenge I had when coming into college softball was the change in coaching styles. Finding a tight community within the other players was the best way for me to work hard for them rather than for the coaches.

My favorite part of playing on Arctic Heat was being able to meet new players from different schools in Alaska, and travel to showcases to meet other teams from all over the country.

 

My advice to the younger players and high school softball players is to make friends both in softball and outside of softball.
Classes and athletics will be difficult, and it's important to find a support system for both.

"Self-care is not selfish. You cannot serve from an empty vessel." -- It's important to prioritize your mental health, even if it means sacrificing something else.

I'm no longer playing softball, but this sport has taught me the discipline and work ethic I need in order to succeed in building a career in a demanding environment.

 

 

Angelina Lockhart, Bartlett High School 2021

 

I graduated from Bartlett High School in 2021, I attended North Platte Community College to study Biology and play softball as a pitcher and outfielder. During my time at North Platte I made the Deans List my Sophomore year.

The difference from my Freshman year to Sophomore year on the field was incredible. I changed my entire routine as a hitter and pitcher to become better for my team. On average I had 300 swings a day not including practice off the tee or soft toss. I really broke down my swing and focused on my craft to lead me to hitting three homeruns and .420 bating average.

I worked on my mindset as a pitcher focusing on being calm and letting my defense do the work. I had an average of 5 strikeouts a game and 63 total strike outs on the year. I am now a junior transfer at Hastings College as a pitcher and outfielder.

The biggest difference I have experienced going from a JUCO to NAIA has been the school work. The school material is much harder, more time consuming, and a faster pace. I had to readjust all my study habits and note taking skills to be successful here. I have to juggle classes, internships, and group projects out side of class which was hard at first but I am adjusting well. The softball aspect has not been too difficult to adjust to. Adjusting to a new coach is never easy, but I bought in as fast as I knew how to.

I came in as a junior ready to help the underclassman with school and the skill of softball, but I had to learn how to take a step back as I was a leader at my JUCO. Taking the step back was hard, I naturally want to lead but taking the step back is what my team needed, I had the freshman mentality again.I focused on showing the freshman how to buy in, how to act like a collegiate athlete, and how to juggle school, softball, and personal time.

I had to put in the work here as a pitcher, I had to earn the trust of my defense and coaches. I came in knowing that I had a lot of work ahead of me. The first thing I did was work on my mental game, it was an all new team and I did not have my comfort people anymore. I found my comfort people and I worked with my coaches and teammates about staying steady and calm on the mound. I listened to e-books on the mental space of a pitcher and really embraced what the book had to offer.

Physically, I knew I needed to gain some speed behind my ball. I hit the weights and I worked with one of our pitching coaches on how to explode off the mound even harder. I gained some speed, next step was pitching how my current head coach wants us to pitch. I had to learn where he wanted what pitch for each count.

I am happy to be playing softball and studying Biology here at Hastings College, the season just started but we have been doing well as a team and I as an individual.