Megan Turk | JWOS Contributor
USA Softball infielder and two-time national champion Kelsey Stewart joined me on Wednesday afternoon to break down her time playing for Florida and USA Softball, as well as three of the eight head coaches whose teams have reached the 2019 Women’s College World Series. Stewart, a two-time All-American during her career at the University of Florida from 2013-2016, played under head coach Tim Walton during her collegiate career. During her freshman through junior seasons, Oklahoma State’s Kenny Gajewski served as an assistant coach in Gainesville and worked with her on the dirt. In addition, Stewart competed under Washington head coach Heather Tarr after Tarr joined the USA Softball coaching staff starting in summer 2017.
There’s a common denominator from her experience competing under each of the three coaches: their commitment to learning.
During the Pan American Games, Stewart recalls Heather Tarr wandering off to the Dominican Republic baseball fields to watch the way the locals were playing the game and what skills she could take back to the US and implement with her own players. Tarr’s commitment to defensive excellence and continuous growth is obvious, as she even commented in the pre-WCWS press conference. Tarr stated that her 25-year prediction would be the desire for “Major League Baseball infielders to play like some of our infielders, some of that game to be able to aspire to be like our game.”
While playing under Kenny Gajewski as an assistant at Florida, Kelsey mentioned how Gajewski would converse back and forth with her about fielding, the way her body moved and felt in particular plays, and genuinely engaging in the give-and-take of feedback mutually. She felt the conversation was wide open and was a collaborative learning effort between the two of them during workouts.
For Florida head coach Tim Walton, Stewart pegged Walton as a “Steddy Eddy” who prepares his players to not get too high or too low in big moments. Stewart proclaimed Walton as “one of the best coaches I’ve played for in my entire life”, one who truly fights for his players. During her time in Gainesville, the two-time National Champion and All-American realized how much preparation, learning, and disseminating of knowledge goes into being as successful as Walton has been since he took over as head coach in 2006.
Discussing her playing career to date, Stewart still exudes the same swagger and confidence today as she did when I played alongside her for Mark Griggs’ Wichita Mustangs back in 2009. Stewart commented on learning to channel the faith in her physical ability, energizing those around her, and how her game was elevated by the players in the field alongside #7. “I got to USA [Softball] in 2013 and was learning that the people at our level, the elite of all players…that’s what sets people apart; your mindset, how bad you wanted it, and what you’re willing to do to get it.”
On the growth of the sport and the entire WCWS event, Stewart was in awe at how much the sport has grown. “They’re having to expand the stadium to go with our crowd… you can only imagine when there’s more seats available, it’s going to eventually be standing room only. I think it’s really cool what college softball has become.”
For those of you in the vicinity, get to USA Hall of Fame Stadium. Bring your daughters and your sons. Soak in this incredible event and what it means for the young women competing, the game of softball itself, and the game to be played by future generations.
