Paige Poissant Living Athletes Dream as She Begins NCAA Softball Career
Paige Poissant - Submitted Photo
Daytona Beach, Florida might be a long way from Thamesville, but for Paige Poissant, the sunshine of Daytona can’t come quick enough.
Poissant will be escaping the cold this Fall and Winter when she begins her studies at Bethune-Cookman University in Florida, where she’ll travel to study biology and play on a full ride softball scholarship.
After a long career of playing softball for the Chatham Golden Eagles, and this past summer in London, Poissant, a former Lambton-Kent Composite School student, was ecstatic to find out she’d have the opportunity to continnue playing the game she loves.
“I felt a huge relief. My goal was to keep playing competitive ball for as long as possible so another 4 years is a amazing,” said Poissant about her opportunity to play NCAA softball for the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats.
Poissant has been working on her pitching, and following a training regiment as perscribed by the Wildcats’ team trainer this summer. As well, Poissant has been talking to her new coaches throughout the summer to help her adjustment and to help keep tabs on her progression,
“When I was about to be signed for the school the coach would talk to me once a week because that was as much that was allowed according to the NCAA rules,” said Poissant. “Now I get a call every couple of weeks to check in and see how ball’s going.”
Although Poissant’s success has primarily come as a pitcher locally, she’s also aware that the adjustment to NCAA softball will at times come with a positional change,
“The role they are expecting me to take is to be primarily a pitcher but to be an outfielder when needed.”
Poissant, who boasts a variety of pitches from the mound, and is also a feared power hitter, says although leaving her home in Thamesville for a town 1,900 kilometres away is worrisome, her excitement to play softball overwhelmes any nervousness she’s had,
“Of course I’m nervous to leave what I have here, but I am also super excited to get down there and meet new people.”
“What I am looking forward to most is the experience and competitiveness. I know that my game will definitly improve because of the elite level that I will be playing at.”
With much hard work behind her, and even more ahead, one lesson Poissant has learned from her softball career in Chatham and beyond, is that no matter where you come from, even a small rural town in Chatham-Kent like Thamesville, the sky is the limit if you’re willing to committ yourself to the sport you love,
“Any athlete no matter how big or small your town is, can achieve whatever they want if they want it bad enough. There are opportunities for these things in sports you just have to work hard to achieve them.”