When co-Captain Karen Hersey '96 talks about Big Green softball this year, the first year of softball as a fully-funded varsity sport at Dartmouth, she likes to talk about the spirit of the team and how much it has improved.
"I think we have a lot of character," she said. "We went through a rough season record-wise. We have a very young team and that was one of the things that hurts us."
As the only senior on the 16 member team, Hersey is a link between the past when Dartmouth softball was a club sport and its varsity future.
"We have had some kind of mission for the last four years," she said.
Hersey recalls her past playing softball very fondly.
"I played softball since I was eight," she said. "It was one of my three favorite sports including basketball and soccer. In high school I was the captain of my team."
Hersey has been a member of the softball team since her freshman winter when the softball team only held club status.
"I joined [my freshman year] because I wanted to be playing the sport at Dartmouth," she said. "I missed it from high school. The first year we did not have varsity status and had to squeeze in playing times in the fields between other teams. We had to take leftover slots and we would be practicing at midnight."
"It was fun that year," she added. "Not really competitive but we had a lot of fun."
But even back in 1993, the softball club had bigger and better plans for the future. Under the leadership of Erika Beisler '93 and Lauren Greenberg '93, the team had begun to look at full-fledged varsity recognition.
"The captains were really progressive and started talking about wanting to go varsity," she said. "We started a petition to get softball to go to varsity status."
"They looked into the athletic program here and actually got the program started. We just followed through with it for the next four years," Hersey said.
Hersey was not that concerned with being captain of the varsity team at that time, though.
"I was a freshman and I didn't know what was going on in terms of varsity status or club status," she said. "I just wanted to be playing."
But the work of the 1993 captains carried onwards, Hersey added.
"Every year the captains would keep pushing for varsity status. By sophomore year we were given upgraded club status which meant that the College gave us some money," she said.
Despite the slightly upgraded status, opponents still could not take the Big Green softball team seriously, Hersey said.
"Teams played us for the competition ... and to help us out," Hersey said.
The next year was an exciting foreshadowing for the Dartmouth team.
"The College gave us unfunded varsity status," she said. "But we didn't receive as many funds."
"Each year we got progressively more competitive," Hersey added. "The way we approached practice got more and more serious."
During the unfunded varsity year, the Big Green placed fourth in the Ivy League, Hersey said.
"We had a good year Ivy League wise. We beat Brown, Cornell and UPenn and we were pretty excited about that," she said.
Finally, in her senior year, Hersey got to see the Dartmouth softball team acquire its hard earned varsity status with full funding.
"I'm excited to be part of this new program," she said. "The College supported us this year and that actually felt good after the four years we had been through. We went from very little support to being recognized like the other teams."
But the work on becoming a varsity team had started a lot earlier, Hersey said.
"The College had, back when we petitioned for varsity status, implemented a three or four step program to becoming recognized," she said. "We knew ... that 1996 would be a varsity year. We needed to time to find the head coach and to build [Sachem] field. The decision was made three years ago, but we actually didn't feel it until this year."
Sachem field is the official Dartmouth softball field located at Sachem Village.
Practice began early for the new varsity team this season.
"We had 10 to 12 days of practice in the fall allotted by the NCAA then we started in January with preseason and two weeks of captain-run practice in the Leverone Field House," she said.
"After that we have regular practice with our coach," she said. "We worked for a month in Leverone before we went to Florida."
During spring break, the Big Green team travels together to Florida for spring-break training.
After the brief respite, the full consequence of being fully-funded varsity was felt in 42 scheduled games.
"We played doubleheaders each time so there were only about 20 actually trips," Hersey explained. "Our furthest trips were to Cornell, UPenn and Princeton by bus."
A psychology major, Hersey admits that balancing playing with studying is difficult.
"Most people bring their work on the bus and try to get something done. All of our weekends are taken up by softball. During the week we have two or three games so we miss a lot of classes. It is a strain for the term," she said.
"It does end up being a term of intense practice and playing but most people find that they manage their time better under those circumstance.
"Almost all the people who play sports are used to that kind of juggling from high school. It is stressful but manageable," she said.
The coaches are helpful when it comes to this balancing act, Hersey said.
"Academics come first," she said. "They would be easy on us and let us miss a practice. They have tried to accommodate us as best they could. Same as professors."
But Hersey still admits to some time needed for recovering.
"When the season gets done, you end up taking the next weekend to catchup," she said.
Despite the poor record this year (6-34 overall), Hersey described the team as having a lot of talent.
"I think we had more talent this year than last year. Last year's team had more experience. They had a lot of seniors on the team. I was the only senior [this year]. We also had a new coach."
"It was hard to focus and get into a certain groove," Hersey added. "It took a lot for them [the team] to come into every single game and play their hearts out."
"They may not seem like a very good team because of the record but we were in every game and the experience they gained will help next year," she said. "Record wise it looks like the season was not much of a success but over the years this season will help them out and they will be very competitive in the Ivy League."
The team will be voting at their team banquet this week for next year's captains.
"It is kind of sad," Hersey said. "I'll probably miss it since I will not be playing competitive sports ever again. It was such a part of my life up to this point."
