Softball Newcomer Q&A: Krystal Goodman
1/22/2019 10:48:00 AM | Softball
We will be posting Q&A's with each of the seven newcomers on this year's Alabama softball team heading into the 2019 season. The first is with junior Krystal Goodman, a pitcher from Long Beach, Miss., who arrived at Alabama following two standout seasons at JUCO power Chipola College.
How did you get your start playing softball?
"My grandmother started softball in my city, but it was slow pitch. My mom played and my older sister played so it just got passed down in my family. I was always the person who didn't want to do what everyone else was doing, so I wasn't sure if I wanted to play at first. I started playing when I was four years old though and I loved it right away.
"I didn't feel pressured to play necessarily, but my mom knew that I was good at it but until I was through with coach-pitch I always felt like there were other things I'd rather do. I did dance, musical theater, basketball and swimming for a little bit. We won our coach-pitch state tournament which was a big deal, and then I just wanted to keep playing."
At what point did you realize you could take softball to the next level?
"Probably middle school when coaches started talking about college. They all believed in me and thought I was good enough to play at the next level. There were a lot of things I had to cut out. The last one that went was dance, but the biggest one for me was that I had to cut out musical theater because the show season was the same time as softball. That was a hard one for me because I really loved it. In high school I stopped playing basketball but I still played volleyball through high school."
What were you looking for during the college selection process?
"I was good academically, so I kept a really wide view of what I wanted to do. I didn't really decide that I wanted to play softball in college until my senior year. I knew that I could get where I wanted to go academically so the softball side was just based on what I wanted to do.
"In my head, I had the preconception that I didn't want to go to a JUCO because I thought I would be wasting my time there academically. I did have a lot of four-year school offers but I ultimately changed my mind. A lot of those schools were either too far away or too local. There was never one where I felt like I would be close enough to drive home but still be able to go and meet new people. If I stayed in Mississippi or Louisiana or South Alabama, I would just stay with the same people I always knew. That was just part of me challenging myself."
How did you decide to attend Chipola College?
"They were the only school that offered me that wasn't recruiting me the whole time. I played a tournament the summer before my senior year and they were at the tournament. The coach came up to me and had a pocketful of his championship rings, which was pretty convincing. I started looking at it and the more I read about it, everyone who went there went on to play somewhere else. I hate losing, so going to a winning school felt like the right choice. Academically, they were ranked as one of the top JUCOs in Florida so it made sense to me."
Did your two years at Chipola change your perception of JUCO programs?
"I am so glad I made that decision. Junior college wasn't easier per say, but the classes were smaller and it was easier for me to adjust to a hectic schedule. If I would have started at a four-year school, knowing my personality, I would have been overwhelmed. I always assumed a JUCO was for people who weren't ready for a four-year school, both academically and softball-wise. That changed too because I met some really smart people who will become doctors and lawyers. The softball team had a lot of really good players who were international."
After two years at Chipola, what was the process like the second time around looking at colleges to finish your career?
"The second time around, there were a lot more schools recruiting me. My main focus was still school and my major, which is journalism. That knocked out a good portion of the schools. Then, I didn't want to go anywhere that was cold. I hate the cold, I've never been around snow and I know I probably couldn't drive in it or want to deal with it. After that, I had to decide between schools in places like Arizona and New Mexico or ones out here. One of my parents' biggest passions is to come to my games and I knew that this decision didn't just affect me, it affected my family too. I have little nieces and nephews and I didn't want to be far while they're growing up.
"After that, I finally had to make a decision based on softball. Ultimately it came down to Alabama and Ole Miss. I have a picture when I was in third grade that asked 'What do you want to be when you grown up?' and I wrote on there 'I want to play in the SEC'. Ole Miss was my family school. My brother went there and loved it. Alabama just felt different to me though, it was a better personality fit."
What were your first impressions of Alabama when you visited?
"I was blown away. My coaches in the past have been great, but I've never been with coaches like this that care as much about you as people, not just athletes. They genuinely care. Handshakes are a big thing with Murph and when I went to the field on my visit, every single girl came up and introduced themselves and shook my hand. It was warming and everyone was nice."
How did you ultimately make your decision?
"I visited here in October and the early signing period was in November. My family told me they'd support me wherever I went, but I did feel some pressure from my Mississippi people to go to Ole Miss. I didn't decide until the night before my announcement. I talked to my friend Marta [Gasparotto] who plays on the Italian national team and she was my catcher at Chipola. I was upset and didn't know what I wanted to do. She told me to breath, close my eyes and picture myself going to school and playing and think about what you want to do in your heart. It was my decision, but I really had to see that and I knew then it would be Alabama."
Your first experience with the team was the summer trip to Japan. How was that as a first experience with Alabama?
"It was hard because we didn't have all the new girls there. It was quick trying to blend with the team so I was a little nervous to go to another country with people I didn't know. Not just that, but trying to mesh with them on the field. I'm glad I did though, because then I didn't have to worry about that in the fall."
How was the fall season for you?
"At Chipola, the fall is about playing games. Here, it was more about developing yourself and getting prepared for the spring rather than quickly getting prepared for fall games. It took me a bit to get used to that, not having to press all the time and figure out something before it's too late. It threw me off a bit and, pitching-wise, I didn't fully comprehend that I had time to get these things. Steph [VanBrakle Prothro] was changing things and I wasn't getting it right off the bat and was panicking. Now, I'm seeing the whole picture.
"I figured coming from another college that the schedule wouldn't be so much of a change, but it was. We didn't have night classes at Chipola but we do here. All the individual workouts here were a big thing and knowing when I can and can't be at the field with NCAA rules was a lot, just scheduling-wise."
Looking ahead to the spring, what are some of your individual and team goals?
"As a team, we want to win. Whether it's the SEC, World Series, or whatever. The teams I've been on have always been very close to winning, like second-place close, but I feel like this team can do it. Beyond that, we decided that we really want to get to know each other off the field. I just want to be able to say that I took the field for the national champion team with my closest friends.
"Individually, I always have high goals for myself. Pitchers usually want to be All-Americans. But honestly, being on a staff that has five pitchers that are all good, I just want to help keep our staff ERA down. I feel like we're all different but we compliment each other very well. I just want to be able to help. At Chipola, my goal was to be an All-American and here, I want to do well but I also want my fellow pitchers to do well too."
What advice would you give a young player who wants to play softball in college?
"Focus on your mental game as much if not more than your physical game. Your physical skills aren't worth anything if your mind isn't in the right place. Also keep an open mind, don't be like I was and assume you'd never want to go to a JUCO. Also, focus on your academics because that's why you're in college."
