Timeout with Devin Steelman

JL: You graduated from Spanish Springs in 2006, what have you been doing since?

DS: Yes I am an old lady. I went over to California (Sonoma State) and played some ball there, had an injury so I came home, tried to get better and I heard this program was opening up and I didn't want the opportunity to pass me by.

JL: How was it playing at Sonoma State?

DS: It definitely was a lot of maturity going to a bigger school like that, a lot more than I thought it was going to be. So I think I grew a lot as a player and I definitely learned a lot more about the game.

JL: Was it good for you to come back here where you're closer to home?

DS: I do miss it there because it didn't snow. I liked that a lot. But I love where I'm at. I'm here and I'm in this program and I want to be a part of the start.

JL: How many of your teammates did you know when you came here, either from playing with or against them?

DS: Most of the team. I've seen them all, played with them. Some of the girls are younger than me so they're a little bit out of my age group.

JL: What's next for you after WNC?

DS: It would be great to play Division I. I'd love to keep playing, it's so much fun. But if it happens, it happens. If not, I've got Nevada I can always go to afterwards.

JL: How do people receive athletes around school?

DS: I think there was a lack of communication between us and the faculty when we first got here, but Kevin Burns, our athletic mediator, he's really helped us out a lot. People have started to turn their perceptions of us around.

Everyone looks at an athlete as a typical athlete, but we have been working hard to change that perception.

JL: What do you want to after your softball career is over?

DS: I'm a bio major, I'm taking pre-med classes. It's just awesome to have my school paid for because I've got a lot ahead of me....Hopefully I can become a doctor and get into graduate school.