Samford alum and former softball player Megan Curry picked up a team fearing failure and turned them into confident individuals both on and off the field.
Curry was a centerfielder for the bulldogs from 2013-2016 and was one of Samford’s most decorated players.
During her time as a student-athlete, Curry was at the forefront of the team in hitting for the majority of her seasons. She was also named the SoCon Player of the Year after helping lead the program to its first SoCon regular season title in 2016 and still holds the university’s single-season records for her batting average of .437 in 2015 and 24 doubles in 2016.
On top of her softball success, Samford holds a special place in Curry’s heart. It’s a place she’s been longing to return to.
“I feel like it’s a little bit of a dream. I mean, I met my husband here and it was such a fun four years, so I always had the dream to be back,” Curry said.
Now that she is, Curry has the team in a mix of eight and 20 hours of work. The 20 hours account for gameplay and the eight account for practice. In both, the team has been refining their skills in hitting, pitching, fielding and group play.
In terms of the upcoming season, Curry has her hopes set high. She feels confident that the team can make a good run this year.
“Ultimately, if we can be consistent for the entire spring, then that takes care of what we want to handle,” Curry said.
While the mechanics and wins are important, Curry understands that there’s more to being a softball player than athleticism alone.
Curry wants to develop the character and culture of the team into something Samford wants to stand behind; something they can take with them after they’ve left.
“Not just on the softball field but in life, I’m trying to build them up so they’re more prepared to take it all on,” Curry said.
Senior pitcher, Jordyn Partain, has personally been impacted by Curry’s style of coaching. She mentioned how in the past, the team didn’t feel like failure was ever an option when it was truly inevitable. This fear really limited the team’s improvement but has since found renewed confidence with Curry at the helm.
“She always encourages us to not be afraid of failure and it’s allowed us to play more freely.” Partain said. “Her coaching has helped me to become more confident in who I am as a person and as a player.”
It was vital to Curry that the team have a motto that would define them as people and players. They found it in a talk the team had with Drew Hall, who happened to be on staff when Curry played for Samford. This was a full circle moment.
“The phrase is ‘three feet in front’. It means we can’t look too far back, and you can’t look too far in the future,” Curry said.
With this motto in mind, the preseason at hand and the fear of failure behind them, the team is making strides in both personal betterment and athletic skillset.
Curry praises the growth the senior class has experienced in applying this tactic. This newfound culture has also brought out leaders in all classes across the team. They push each other, encourage each other and through this, they’re elevating their level of play.
“With the seniors and freshman on the same page, I’ve never seen a team where those two things happened, and good things didn’t follow.” Curry said.
Curry wants this team to be something special, something that stands out. She believes in this team and knows they can succeed; she wants people to invest in them just as she has.
“They can have all the success they want; we just need the support of everybody here and I think we’ll do great things,” Curry said.
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