The Clackamas print., April 29, 2015, Page 6, Image 6

6 CLACKAMAS PRINT • APRIL 29.2015
photo by ŒC «Nette
Ashley Culp, freshman catcher, has been playing softball
for most of her life. She enjoys being competitive. Culp
participates in other athletics when she’s not playing
softball, she knows the importance of working together on a
team and she feels that her team performs better when they
can laugh together.
by Lily Shaver
The Clackamas Print: How long have
you been playing softball?
AshelyCulp: 14 years.
TCP: Are there any other sports that you
enjoy?
AC: I do CrossFit. So it’s kinda just working
out, but it's a sport, so I compete in it. So
It’s just who can work out the best. Pretty
much, It’s a competition of who can work
out harder.
TCP: W hat do you think are the qualities
of a good softball team?
AC: Everybody working together, and go­
ing towards a common goal and meshing
well. I’ve been on so many teams th a t
had th e m ost ta le n t in th e w orld, and
then they couldn’t get along, and so we
ended up fizzling out and losing. Getting
along and just respecting one another is
so im portant
TCP: W ho is the most influential person
in your life?
AC: My parents, oh my parents. They work
so hard, and they’re so supportive. And
they’ve just filled my brother and I up with
so much positive reinforcement th a t we
could conquer the world w ith how high
they lift us up.
TCP: W h a t advice w ould you give to
someone w ho wants to play softball in
college?
AC: Focus on your schoolwork first, and
then talk to your coaches about it. So just
focus on your schoolwork, ‘cause if you
don’t then you’re not going to be able
to play.
TCP: Was It always the plan for you to
play softball in college?
AC: Yeah. I just like being really competi­
tive, and the higher competition I can get
to, the better. I mean I love competing so,
yeah, it was.
TCP: How do you incorporate homework
into your schedule?
AC: Our coaches are super understand­
able, so they don’t really cut practice that
long, and they give us a lot of tim e to do
it. So I either get up super early and go
to a Starbucks and do my homework, or
I’ll just go home and stay up pretty late.
But it gets done.
TCP: Do you have any other hobbies be­
sides softball?
AC: CrossFit. On my down tim e I just do
CrossFit, I competed in my first ever com­
petition and I sw ept it, so, I mean, I’m
pretty good at i t Doing CrossFit had made
me a better softball player, so I’ve gotten
stronger and faster and more mentally
tough, so when I’m put in hard situations
in softball, it’s a lot easier to overcome
than it was.
TCP: W hat does rtmean that you “swept
it"?
AC: I won every event I won five events.
I took first place in five different events,
so I ended up sweeping and getting firs t
TCP: Do you feel like your softball team
is pretty tight-knit?
AC: Yeah. We’re really goofy, and we do
so much better when w e’re funny and
having fun in the dugout We all have little
cheers th a t we give each other, just little
handshakes. It’s pretty awesome, so yeah
we get along so well. I think we’re going
to go pretty far because of it. We play for
one another. We don’t play for ourselves.
Jessica Buel is awesome, by the way, Jess
is my favorite coach I’ve ever had.
This article has been edited for clarity and space.
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