Written by Bianca Galan
Ashley Roe moved from Dallas, Texas to sunny and sandy South Florida for more than just her love of the beach. After developing a passion for softball over the last 16 years, with experience in junior college softball at Northwest Florida State College, she is now a 21-year-old senior outfielder on the NSU softball team. She is about to graduate with a degree in athletic training, which she plans to put to use as an athletic training graduate assistant.
What encouraged you to play softball?
“I’ve played a lot of sports, but softball was always just so challenging, and there’s something new that you learn every single day when you play it, so I really enjoyed that aspect of it.”
What would you consider your biggest accomplishment in softball?
“I’ve never really won anything big but earning a scholarship would be my biggest accomplishment through it.”
Who’s your biggest influence?
“My most influential person would be my grandfather. He definitely turned me to baseball when I was young. He’s the whole reason I’m a huge Oakland Athletics fan. He was going to play for the Pittsburgh Pirates, but he got drafted right beforehand into the navy, so I definitely just stuck with it and it has always been a topic of conversation for us.”
What is your biggest challenge while playing?
“Probably my biggest challenge is to always stay mentally in it, to never overthink things and always remember to have fun while I’m playing.”
How do you balance being a student and an athlete?
“The student-athlete portion is not a challenge because I enjoy it, but it’s very tough because I have to balance my athletic training hours also…to attend another team’s practice on top of mine and school. It’s very doable [though], and I definitely recommend it to anybody who has the opportunity to because it is a lot of fun.”
Do you have a saying or a motto that you live your life by as an athlete?
“No, I really don’t. For the most part, my favorite Bible verse is Isaiah 41:10.”
Do you look up to any team or softball player? If yes, who and why?
“My favorite baseball player is actually Yoenis Cespedes from the Mets. He is my idol. He played for Oakland for a couple of seasons, and he was my favorite player. He made everything look so simple.”
If you could go back in time and give yourself some advice, what would it be?
“If I could go back now and tell myself something, it would definitely be to stop thinking that things are going to get easier. Whenever you get older, the things I always thought were like, ‘Once I get to high school, it’s going to get easier, I’m going to be better,’ and then I go to college and it’s even harder than ever before. ‘Always remember that you’re going to work hard, it’s going to get harder from here and the easiest day is yesterday.’”
