The end of November and beginning of December can be one of the bleakest times for baseball fans. A month after the end of most professional leagues in North America and four months away from the start of the next season, the short days and biting cold make sun-soaked diamonds and the pop of a ball in a mitt seem a world away (which they usually are, in winter Caribbean leagues). The Varsity decided to keep the hot stove sizzling by sitting down with one of U of T’s softball standouts, Karlene Headley-Cooper, fresh off a silver medal at the European Championship this past summer.
The Varsity: What is your background in softball?
Karlene Headley-Cooper:
I started playing in Mississauga when I was really young. I eventually moved through all the different levels, from house league to all-star to rep. Later on, I played for a team in Brampton that made the national tournament, and then I got to go back a couple of other times. That was really my introduction to high-level softball.
TV: Tell us about your experience playing for Great Britain this past summer.
KHC: Actually, one of the coaches that I played for in Ontario was the head coach of the Canadian team, so I got involved that way. I went through a lot of the Canadian tryout process, but I didn’t wind up making the team. After that, I knew I had two passports, because I was born in London, England, so I thought it would be worth it to look into playing for Great Britain, and things wound up working out.
TV: Great Britain isn’t traditionally a softball powerhouse. Where did their success come from?
KHC: It’s true, Great Britain probably has one of the smallest percentages of their population playing softball compared to the rest of Europe and probably even the world, too. It’s a bit like cricket in Canada. We went into the tournament hoping to finish third, because that would allow us to play in the World Championship in 2010. But once we clinched at least third, our thinking kind of shifted to “okay, let’s go out and win this.” And the Netherlands, the team that beat us in the final have a really good national program where a lot of girls play competitively and professionally, so we really gave them a great fight even though they beat us. We just had a really great week and built off of our strong play early in the tournament.
TV: What is U of T’s softball program like and what role did it play in your development?
KHC: Well, the team actually formed in my first year at U of T in 2002. They’re trying to show they’re a viable league so they can be accepted into OUA. Usually for softball players in Canada, once September starts and you go back to school, the season is over. But the U of T team gave us a chance to play into September and October, as well as our workouts throughout the winter. That really helped put me on even footing with players from the States and European countries with professional organizations. That makes a huge difference in international play.
TV: What role does U of T’s facilities play in your day-to-day training and overall development as a player?
KHC: It’s great to have the Athletic Centre and the track and weight rooms and everything so close to me. In the winter, it’s important to keep up cardio and weight work. I actually started playing squash so that I could do my cardio work in a way that was a bit more fun than running around the track, and I’ve wound up moving through the ranks and getting to play provincially and nationally, and now I help coach one of the teams as well.
TV: What are you currently doing, and do you foresee a future in softball or sports management?
KHC: I’m working on my Masters in the faculty of physical education. I’m looking at coaches’ attitudes towards a new model of thinking about coaching that has emerged lately, where the emphasis is on the athlete as the individual rather than the athlete as just a physical body that plays sports. So I hope that from that, athletes will wind up in programs that take care of them in a more complete way. I also TA some undergraduate courses in our faculty because I have a background in education.
TV: What advice would you have to young softball or baseball players at U of T on how to maximize their time on campus and at school?
KHC: Use the facilities. People don’t realize the kind of facilities they have in the Athletic Centre, Hart House, and the Varsity Centre, and that they pay for them through their incidental fees. The other thing is, people don’t realize that there are so many resources available at those places to help with training. A lot of people, especially athletes, feel as if they should already know how to work out and know what to do at the gym, so they won’t ask for advice on specific problems. The people who work in the weight rooms know a lot about training, and if you have a specific problem or question they are always friendly and accessible and give great information.
