Softball had always been Grace Uribe\u2019s identity. She lived it, breathed it, wore the softball player cap full-time. She left no room in her life for anything else. But in the blink of an eye, her world turned upside down when she learned that playing her fourth season at Texas A&M wouldn\u2019t be an option.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A plan that had been mapped out for her since committing during high school was squashed. Everything felt like it was crumbling beneath her. She was dedicated to still graduating from Texas A&M with a degree in psychology. That meant hitting the transfer portal right away as a senior was out of the question.<\/p>\n
Softball was forced to be put on the backburner until she could transfer as a graduate student and take her last year of eligibility. While pressing pause on the game that had consumed her every waking moment was unfathomable, it needed to happen.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy life was softball, and that was my only identity,\u201d Uribe said. \u201cWhen softball wasn\u2019t going great, I was in a low place. Although softball is such an important part of my life,I don\u2019t think you can be successful at something if you are not a complete person, and I just wasn\u2019t that.\u201d<\/p>\n
So, she took the year off to rebuild. The two-way player reconstructed her outlook on life and worked to find a healthy relationship with the game again. It wasn\u2019t easy at times. But while focusing on her degree and career dreams, she placed more value on herself as a person versus the softball player.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, giving lessons to younger players in her spare time allowed her to perfect her game while in the cage. She also joined the Golden Bay Collegiate League within the American Collegiate League (ACL) to gain live pitching and hitting experience again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI got the opportunity to teach lessons at this local softball and baseball travel organization,\u201d Uribe said. I paid rent to do lessons there and had a cage. And I would use the equipment for myself as well. (I was) pitching and hitting four to five times a week. In the summer, I signed up for one of the ACL leagues, and it just so happened that they opened up a new location right near my hometown, and I got live game reps back.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nearing the end of her year off, Uribe wasn\u2019t going to settle for just any program. San Diego State University was the last place she visited, but it instantly screamed \u2018home.\u2019 The California native is minutes away from her own family now. And the promises that SDSU made were the icing on top of the cake.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn my visit to San Diego State, sure, it was about softball, but I felt valued so much more as a person, and (the visit) was centered around that,\u201d Uribe said. \u201cDuring that time off, I placed more value on myself than being a softball player. Knowing life will go on after softball gave me peace of mind while on San Diego State\u2019s campus. I knew that would be something important to have for me to be successful.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Now, the right-handed pitcher and left-handed batter is having the time of her life and excelling at the game. Every ounce of mental and physical work she put in during her year without collegiate ball has paid off. What was once a setback turned out to be the greatest life lesson. She\u2019s as free and confident as ever, taking nothing for granted.<\/p>\n
Grace Uribe is making every pitch count (Crash Kamon\/Softball America)<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew that if I were going to get another chance to play softball, I would do it right and not because it was my identity,\u201d Uribe said. \u201cI used to play almost scared and just wasn\u2019t myself anymore. Now, I can\u2019t take it for granted. I go up to bat, and I am going to do exactly what I am supposed to do. And I am going to swing hard, and I am going to go out there and pitch my best because, at the end of the day, I have already won.\u201d<\/p>\n