Green Bay Packers former head coach Vince Lombardi once said, “Leaders aren’t born, they are made.” In the case of senior catcher Alyssa Allbritten, she has made herself a leader despite her humble nature.
While the quarterback is the leader in football, the catcher position is considered the typical leader on the field for any softball team. And Allbritten’s teammate, junior pitcher Morgan Peeler, believes no leader is more humble than the senior.
“She is one of the most humble people I have ever met,” Peeler said. “She knows how to lead this team, and she is one of those people who just loves the game and doesn’t talk too much about herself. But she is also one of those people who loves to win and hates to lose.”
Allbritten said that while the team may consider her as a leader of the team, she still doesn’t consider herself as a leader on the team.
“I’ve never really thought of myself as the star of the team,” Allbritten said. “I try to be a very humble person. I’m not someone who likes to talk about myself, even if I know I’m doing well.”
Being a catcher can be physically and mentally grueling. A catcher must stop the ball on wild pitches, make close play by blocking off the plate and call pitches.
With all of these responsibilities resting on Allbritten’s shoulders, she said it can be difficult to focus on anything but defense when she comes to the plate to hit.
“Some days it is a struggle mentally to play my position,” Allbritten said. “It’s mostly because I am so focused on what pitch to call in any situation, but I have to remember that I’m out there to have fun. It’s all about seeing the ball and hitting the ball, but sometimes it’s not that simple.”
This year has also been a much different year from the past three for the senior catcher. With fresh new faces pitching for the Pack, including freshman Kayla Cox and junior transfer Jade Hennig, Allbritten has had to make several changes to her pitch calling.
Even with all of the changes this season to pitchers, Allbritten said the transition has been easy and she knows what each pitcher wants to do in the circle.
“You have to work really hard to train with them,” Allbritten said. “When we were in the bullpen earlier in the season I could catch better with Morgan [Peeler] than I could Kayla [Cox] or Jade [Hennig] because I knew her better. But now I know their strengths and weaknesses and what pitches they want to call in certain situations.”
While Pack pitchers rely on the catcher for decisions in the circle, Allbritten relies on her teammates for much more than just decisions on the field, she also asks them for help off the field.
Allbritten called out to her teammates to find out if they had anything interesting to say about her that would no one else would know. Her teammates response made her laugh on the bus coming back home from the Maryland series.
“Apparently I laugh like a five year-old,” Allbritten said.
But Peeler thought Allbritten had many more secrets that should be told to the students of State.
“Not many people would know that she likes to line dance,” Peeler said. “We share a lot of the same interests, like watching the Disney channel and country music. If you meet her, you would think she is hardcore, but that is the total opposite of what she is. She is a real softy and a big goofball off the field.”
Peeler also said that while Allbritten is fun to hang out with off the field, she also has a way of inspiring her teammates in peculiar ways prior to each game.
“Before every game that I throw, we all get together in a circle and say our team goals,” Peeler said. “And every time she doesn’t want to say much, except for, ‘Be awesome.’ And I think that describes the way she is at all times. She tries to keep everyone up and not put too much pressure on anyone or herself.”
