Alabama Softball Freshman Q&A: Elissa Brown
1/17/2017 1:53:00 PM | Softball
Rolltide.com will be posting Q&As with each of the four freshman on this year's Alabama softball team so the fans can get to know the newest members of our Crimson Tide family heading into the 2017 season. The first Q&A is with Elissa Brown, a speedy outfielder from Eclectic, Ala., who was recently selected to the USA Junior Women's National Training Team and ended her career at Elmore County High School as the women's basketball team's all-time leading scorer. With the Birmingham Thunderbolts, she finished third at the 2016 PGF Nationals along with freshman teammate Claire Jenkins.
How did you get your start playing softball?
"I started to play baseball with coach-pitch and eventually moved on to play city league softball when I lived in Georgia. The other players were a little older than me, I was with 8U and the others were 10U or 12U. We won our city league and I started to get better and realized I really liked the sport. I moved to Alabama in fifth grade and started playing travel ball in sixth grade."
In addition to softball, you were a very accomplished basketball player in high school. Did you feel pressure to choose one sport over the other or were you comfortable playing both?
"I just wanted to play both. A lot of people were worried I would get hurt playing both but I loved the game [basketball] and couldn't let it go that easily. Basketball season really kept me in shape for softball. I like softball more though."
When did playing softball in college become a goal for you?
"Around seventh grade I started thinking I would want to play softball in college. There was a tournament in Huntsville and there were a lot of coaches there, including [UA head coach Patrick] Murphy. I had a great tournament and a lot of coaches told me my name was buzzing around. I wasn't with a premiere team yet, but that got me on the map."
After moving from Georgia to Alabama just outside of Montgomery, did you switch your allegiance to Alabama or Auburn or was there another team you grew up a fan of?
"It was always Alabama. I grew up in Georgia but Eclectic is where my family is from so, for them, they were just moving back home. They are all die-hard Alabama fans."
What was your first visit to campus like?
"I loved it. The coaches were so nice. I got to watch the team practice and it was freezing cold, but it was so exciting and my parents loved it. We got a tour of the indoor facility and that was really cool."
What was your recruiting process like and what eventually set Alabama apart from the other schools you were looking at?
"Alabama was always the one I knew I wanted to go to and when they offered, it was an easy decision. I did have a few other visits set up. We ate dinner with the coaches and Murph offered me then and I wanted to accept it on the spot, but we waited and I thought about it that night and called them back the next day and accepted. All that happened right before another visit I had planned, so it saved us from taking a few trips to some schools that were farther away."
What were everyone's reactions when you accepted?
"The next day, the coaches were sending me all kind of texts and calling me. Coach Aly [Habetz] called me in the middle of class and I asked my teacher if I could take the call! They were all super excited and were so nice about it. My family and I ran over to my grandparents' house and they put on their Alabama gear and took pictures. It was exciting."
What has the transition to college life been like off the field?
"I did have to study a lot more. I'm still learning good study habits and how to manage the time. I enjoy my classes. I was expecting them to be huge but they are pretty small, maybe 30 people."
What was fall practice like?
"It was fun. I'm excited for the spring. We got a hint of everything in the fall but I'm excited for the real thing in the spring. Having the schedule of weights, practice and study hall made managing the time easier than having to just sit in the dorm and study. That helped a lot. We did that pretty much every day."
How did it feel when you stepped on the field at Rhoads Stadium for the first time during fall ball?
"The freshmen and I were talking about it. We couldn't believe it was finally happening. Pregame there were a lot of jitters. I led off that game and got a hit somehow and that took a lot of the pressure away. I think we all got hits that first game so it helped all of us."
Looking ahead to the spring, what are some of your goals?
"I never got a ring in high school so I'd like to get some here. We want to win the SEC and the national championship. Everything so far has been what I thought it would be and even better honestly. There's a lot of stereotypes and expectations about what college will be like but it wasn't like what other people say it is. It's even better."
