Alabama Softball Newcomer Q&A: Karla Hice
2/3/2020 3:13:00 PM | Softball
Heading into the 2020 season, we will be posting Q&A's with each of the six newcomers on this year's Alabama softball team. The fifth Q&A is with freshman catcher Karla Hice, an Ardmore, Ala., native who helped guide Ardmore High School to a 2018 regional championship
How did you get your start playing softball?
"I started playing tee ball when I was four. Back then there was no softball, so I played baseball until I was five or six and then I just stuck with it. My dad introduced me to it. He played baseball in high school and my mom played softball, but it was not as competitive as it is now."
Did you play any other sports besides softball?
"I played basketball up until my junior year and then decided to just stick with softball. I started catching when I was eleven and I played AAU basketball up until I was twelve. I decided then that basketball was not my thing and that softball was what I wanted to do.
"I was definitely better at softball then I was at basketball. I feel like softball is more competitive than basketball and I like that. Basketball is running up and down the court and making a basket, two or three points, but in softball anything can happen."
When did softball become a serious pursuit for you instead of just a hobby?
"When I was twelve, I thought that I may have a chance to go to college for this. Recruiting started when I was thirteen or fourteen and that was when I realized I could do it. Alabama was my dream school and when they offered me, my dream came true."
Had you been to an Alabama softball game as a fan prior to being recruited?
"My school softball team came to a game together a year before I started being recruited. That was the first game I had ever been to. I watched it on TV but hadn't actually come to Rhoads Stadium until then."
When you first started looking at colleges, what were the main factors in narrowing down your choices?
"I really wanted to stay in the southeast. I really wanted to stay in the SEC, but if I didn't do that I wanted to be somewhere in the southeast. I wanted to be far enough away from home where I could live by myself and learn how to be an adult and close enough where I could go back home in emergencies. I'm around two and a half hours away so that is not bad."
When did Alabama come into the picture?
"When the recruiting process started, I think I was 13 or 14 but they did not offer me until July 3, 2016. It is funny because I went to the week-long summer camp and [UA Head Coach Patrick] Murphy told me after the camp that they were interested in me. He told me we would talk after the Colorado tournament. I went to Colorado and my coach called me afterwards and told me to call Murph because he wanted to talk to me. We had driven to Colorado, so by this point on the way back we are in the middle of Kansas and there is no phone service whatsoever. I called him and he offered me, but the phone reception was so bad I could barely hear what he was saying. My dream school just offered me, and I did not hear a single word he just said. So, we stopped on the side of the road in Hays, Kansas and I called him back and asked if he could repeat what he said because I am out here in the middle of nowhere and I can't hear him. He repeated it and said it was up to me. My family and I talked it over and we were still in Kansas four hours later and we were still talking it over. I said I think I do want to commit to Alabama and mom and dad said it was up to me. So, I called him back with better phone service and committed. He was with his family for the fourth of July and he had it on speaker phone. You could hear his whole family cheering. It was so cool."
Besides being your dream school, what else about Alabama attracted you there?
"I had been on other visits and it was definitely the best facilities of them all. That was one of the biggest things to me. Of course, you are here for sports, but academics come first. I liked how everything on campus was laid out. Everyone says you are a family but at some colleges that isn't true. Here at Alabama that is actually true. You really feel like a family. That was a big key for me."
Was it a relief to commit early and get the process over with or did it add extra pressure to live up to some expectation as an Alabama commit?
"I committed in 2016, the summer after my freshmen year. It was a mix of both because I had my college decision made and everyone else my senior year was struggling with figuring out where they were going and I had that out of the way. In travel ball they have all these pamphlets and it tells people where you're going and you have all these college coaches watching you. You're basically wearing an Alabama logo on your back so you have to represent the school as best as you can. You don't want to go up and strike out three or four times. You want to do your best, which you obviously want to do that anyway but you definitely have more urgency once you commit somewhere that big.
"It gave me a sense of motivation because once you get here, you want to play. Sometimes that doesn't happen but you look forward to it like you have a chance. Everybody has a chance to start. It definitely made me work harder."
What has the transition to college life been like so far?
"Time management is definitely the biggest thing. There are study hall hours, eight hours a week plus workouts at 6:30 in the morning and then practicing later on; It is a lot. You learn real quick when to take a nap. I am a real homebody type of person and I am going to be honest, it was tough the first two and a half weeks I was here. It was rough but after those weeks I was fine.
"Coming in, you know the girls but you don't actually know them. After two weeks you can get a grasp of people and everything just clicked. Everything was good and I knew I could handle it. I knew I was fine down here by myself."
Is there a big difference on the field?
"It is definitely quicker. Everything is more focused. You have to be focused all the time now. Pitching is different. Even though the fall games aren't exactly the same as the spring, you still have to get your timing down. Even in travel ball you did not have this many pitchers throw 68 consistently and have good spin on the ball. That was definitely an adjustment."
How helpful was it to have Bailey Hemphill as a senior catcher alongside you in the bullpen?
"Bailey has a lot of catching experience and that really helped. She would tell me different situations to help me out this fall. She would tell me when to do this or when to do that or when to call a certain play. In games, I don't call pitches but I did during scrimmages and she helped me out with that."
What was it like stepping on the field for the first time in uniform this fall?
"It was nerve-wracking because this is my dream school. I had always dreamed about walking out there. I was just like, 'oh my gosh this is actually happening.' Of course, I was nervous. I don't even remember what I did my first at-bat. I was just so nervous, but it was definitely a dream come true walking out on the field.
"My family came to all of the fall games. It was a dream come true for them too. Ever since I was four years old and started playing tee ball, I grew up saying I want to play softball for the University of Alabama. They got to see their kid's dream come true."
What are your goals for the 2020 season?
"Everyone on the team wants to win a national championship, but we want to take one step at a time. We need to take it one game at a time no matter what. Personally, I just want to be the best teammate I can be no matter what position I am playing or even if it's in the dugout."
What advice would you give a young softball player who wants to play in college?
"Work as hard as you can. Even though your friends are out doing other things, the hard work will get you where you need to be eventually. In middle school all my friends got to do all these things and I couldn't because I had softball all the time. Eventually it is all worth it. In travel ball you don't have a summer, while everyone else is going to the beach. It's worth it once you get here though."
