The Observer, April 20, 2007
Volume XXXIX, Issue 25
Father helps plant Seeds for competitiveness for star outfielder
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A few weeks back, I asked Lauren Seeds, captain of the softball team, what her goals were for this year. Among them were: to become a great leader, to try and be more vocal, and to improve upon last year's record of 22-24-1. What I didn't learn was how she really felt about softball, or being an athlete in general, until just recently.
She was an athlete from day one. As a child Seeds played three sports, including soccer, tennis, which she played all through high school, and softball. Well, not always softball.
Growing up with three younger sisters, Seeds may have found it strange when her father signed her up for coach-pitch baseball at age seven, a league where she was one of only two girls.
"My dad is so competitive," she said. "He wasn't into me playing slow pitch softball, so I played with the boys."
While her father was not the type to stand at the fence during her games yelling obscenities at umpires or referees, she did say that he would let her know when she messed up.
"He would sit me down after games and be like, 'what were you doing on this play?' or 'you could have done this better,'" she said.
Her father ran cross country in high school and wrestled for a year at Miami of Ohio before blowing out his knee, so yes, it was in his nature to be competitive.
"That's probably where I get it from," said Seeds. "My mom wasn't much of an athlete, so it has to be my dad that gave it to me."
With her athletic build, it doesn't really matter which parent gave her the athletic gene, Seeds just knows how to use it.
In her second year as a captain on the Spartan softball team, Seeds has a stellar .388 batting average, with three home runs and 11 RBI, to go with her .973 fielding percentage after 24 games. She ranks near the top of the team in all these categories.
Leading by example has always been one of Seeds' best attributes, mainly because she hasn't always had a choice.
"My senior year of high school, there were only two seniors, so I had to step up and be a leader. It really hasn't been a problem for me," she said.
With that said, Seeds knows that there are many games left this season. The softball team will be playing numerous make-up games in a short period of time due to the weather the last few weeks.
"It has been hard playing in two, sometimes three layers of Underarmor. And when you hit the ball off the lower part of the bat, your hands are throbbing for a while," she said. "Last week we didn't play at all, so there's a lot of softball coming up. Hopefully the weather cooperates."
A lot of softball means a lot of chances for Seeds to demonstrate her athletic prowess and leadership experience. One of the responsibilities of being a leader and a captain is to express the desires of the team vocally. She emphasized that the team's concerns need to be voiced and heard.
"At a place like Case where athletics are secondary, it is tough to keep the competitive mindset because we don't have a ton of school spirit," said Seeds. "With the softball program only being around for 10 years, we don't have the support from the alumni or faculty, and sometimes it hurts you."
Keeping the competitive edge that Seeds talks about may be difficult. But, after having the support of her father for all these years, and now in her second tour of duty as a captain, Seeds knows that staying in charge and keeping her team focused are two of her biggest tasks.
"Coach (Jennie Amodio) stresses team cohesiveness," she said. "Part of my job is to keep the momentum going, keep the energy high, and make sure things get taken care of."
As long as Seeds keeps putting up the numbers she has been and guiding her team and the softball program in the right direction, she shouldn't have a problem taking care of business.
