Learning Process Pays Dividends for Mandy Burford
3/9/2007 12:00:00 AM | Softball
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. ?? Senior outfielder Mandy Burford has developed into one of the top offensive threats for the Crimson Tide softball team but it was a long road to get where she is today after she came to college a step behind most freshmen.
Burford, a native of Anniston, Ala., had played softball competitively since she was six or seven years old but was not nearly as active in the sport as most freshmen who play at the Division I level were throughout high school.
Unlike most college players, Mandy did not have the experience from playing travel ball or playing in the summer. In fact she was even behind in high school as her school, Saks High School, did not switch to fastpitch softball until her freshman year. She did not play softball during her sophomore season, so it wasn't until her junior year that she started to play fastpitch.
"I didn't play travel ball and I didn't play summer ball," said Burford. "I never did anything softball-wise other than school related. Really the only time I played fastpitch was my junior and senior year. Alabama is really behind in the fastpitch world so coming to college, especially here, was a completely new world for me when I first started."
The transition to fastpitch in high school was not too difficult for Mandy because she was so athletic. All of the schools in Alabama transitioned to fastpitch at about the same time and by her senior year just about the entire state had gone to fastpitch. In just two years of fastpitch softball, she was named All-County as a junior and senior and used her athleticism to set the AHSAA record for batting average (.624) and finish second in state history with 71 stolen bases.
In the midst of leading her team to the county championship in 2003, she was also auditioning for a spot on the Crimson Tide softball team. Not really pursuing a softball career after high school, Burford had already enrolled at the University of Alabama. In April, 2003 UA head coach Patrick Murphy contacted Burford and asked her to send a tape for the coaches to look at.
"I didn't have a tape because I didn't plan on playing," said Burford. "We had a guy come out and film me playing at a county tournament. He came out and filmed me playing and I mailed it out the next day. I talked to Coach Murphy the next week and I ended up signing right before graduation."
Burford ended up leading her team to its second straight county championship and was named the county tournament MVP. Her performance showed on the video and made a good impression on the Alabama coaching staff.
"When we saw her video tape she made some really good plays at shortstop," said Murphy. "You could see she was really athletic. There was a ball that two-hopped over the pitcher's head and she came across the middle, grabbed it and threw it on the run. You could tell right there that she was an athlete. Hitting, she hit a bullet up the middle on a line drive and you could see she had talent. With her being the MVP in Class 4A in volleyball as a 5'5" outside hitter, that opened our eyes as well."
Mandy was a standout volleyball player as well at Saks and was named the Class 4A Player of the Year on her way to leading her team to the 2002 state championship. She actually spent more time working on volleyball than she did softball in high school.
"That is actually why I never played summer ball," said Mandy. "Volleyball is really big around here and we would start our volleyball workouts as soon as summer began. I had volleyball workouts all summer so there was no way I could balance that and softball and live a normal life. I always loved volleyball but I didn't have the height to pursue it in college."
When Mandy arrived on campus she knew that she would have some catching up to do but she had no way of knowing that her progress would be brought to a standstill with an injury suffered early in fall practice.
"The very first day of fall practice my freshman year we were running bases and were doing two outs-two bases," said Burford. "I was at second base and it had rained the night before. We didn't wear spikes in high school so it was my first time in spikes. I rounded third and was coming home and my spikes caught the plate and slid across and when my front spike hit the ground I injured my ankle. I didn't even get to play or go through any of the fall drills my freshman year because I was on crutches and in a boot for about two months."
The injury kept her out until January of her freshman year and then she would face an uphill challenge both in the field and at the plate in her first season.
"It was the biggest adjustment I have probably ever had to make," said Mandy. "Defensively I lacked the skills that everyone else had but that kind of came in practice. The pitching was the biggest adjustment for me because I had never seen anything but a flat fastball. The hitting became more of a mental issue for me as far as my swing went. I was still trying to adjust to the swing that Coach Murphy teaches and it was in my head that I wasn't as good as the other players or up to their level. The mental aspect of the game was probably the biggest thing I had to conquer."
Burford continued to improve throughout her freshman and sophomore seasons and by the end of her second year at the Capstone she found a way that she could gain some more playing time.
"The first two years were almost like Mandy getting to know the sport, getting to see good pitching, getting used to the speed of the game and how fast it was," said Murphy. "She needed to get used to the higher level and in her junior year she kind of came in to her own. Probably the best thing for her was she came in after her sophomore year and said ??Can I try a little bit of outfield.' She had been an infielder the past two years. In the outfield she had great reads on the ball and had a great arm. She made all the plays and then her hitting had come along so far since she started. It was like night and day."
"I wanted the best opportunity to play," said Burford. "I already had a mental thing going at the plate and the infield was giving me some added pressure. I knew that all three of our outfielders were seniors and were graduating so there would be some spots opening up in the outfield. Pretty much after my sophomore year I really focused and concentrated on making the adjustment to the next level. I decided I was going to do whatever it took."
The move paid off as Burford hit .318 with five home runs in her junior season. Already this year she has eclipsed her previous career highs with seven home runs and 28 RBI to lead the team. She is batting at a clip of .404 and has hit two home runs in two separate games. Her success can also be attributed to her commitment and sacrifice in her personal life.
Her family takes an annual trip to Colorado to go snow skiing in the Rocky Mountains. Although Mandy really enjoys skiing, she has given it up until after she graduates to not risk injury. She still makes the trip with her parents, Mike and Cindy Burford, and her two brothers, Todd and Will, but has sidelined herself temporarily. As hard as it has been to refrain from skiing she knows the risk of getting hurt after thinking back to one particular incident.
"We had a ski instructor but my older brother Todd thought me and my younger brother Will were progressing enough where we didn't need to go to the instructor and we could go with him and learn," said Mandy. "Somehow, Todd managed to take me and my younger brother down a double black diamond slope. They have moguls and it is like the hardest course that the professionals ski.
My younger brother and I ended up taking off both of our skis and had to slide down the mountain on our stomachs, kicking our snow boots in to the snow to make ourselves stop. When you went 10 feet you couldn't see what was above you because it was so steep. I got really scared and took a really bad fall so it kind of discouraged me from skiing."
Mandy and her family usually leave the day after Christmas and spend about 10 days at a condo in Beaver Creek, Colo., a town near Vail. They have been going to the same place for about 10 years now. When her senior season is finished she plans on taking a trip back to Colorado to go skiing and try snowboarding.
But for now Burford will continue to lead the Crimson Tide on the field as they prepare to open SEC play this weekend against Mississippi State. Mandy will be honored with Mandy Burford Day at the Alabama Softball Complex on Saturday prior to the first game of the series at 1 p.m.
