Line Drive correspondent Grace White talks about her return to the game as a hitting and fielding instructor, the impact she hopes to make on those she teaches, and the influence they have had on her…

I played my last softball game on May 4, 2023.

I was a senior for Union University, and we were going up against the University of Montevallo in an elimination game in the Gulf South Conference Championships.

We got run-ruled, so it wasn’t too exciting, but I did get a hit in my last career at-bat. I don’t think I’ll ever forget praying that the Lord would help me to be present in those final moments at the plate.

When I touched first base after the hit, the feeling just kind of came over me that this was the last time I would ever be there… I think I had tears in my eyes.

But even though I was sad, I had made peace with the fact that my career would end when our season was over. Like I’ve said several times before, I have loved and always will love the game. God used that part of my life to teach me so many lessons and to bring me lifelong friends.

However, it was time for me to step away.

Recently, though, I have made my return to the game, albeit in a different way than before. I decided that I wanted to find a way to make some extra money outside of freelancing and my grad assistant position at Union University.

I knew that my sister Esther, who is a freshman at the University of Georgia, had given hitting and fielding lessons in the past, so I thought I would give it a go.

I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect since I had never given lessons before, and I’m not always the best at verbalizing exactly what I’m thinking in my head.

However, as a college athlete who played softball for about 15 years, I felt that I had something I could offer.

It’s interesting because I always said that I never wanted to coach. I guess the idea of being in charge and having anywhere from 10 to 20 girls looking up to you for knowledge and advice seemed daunting.

Plus, I played for so long that I figured I wouldn’t enjoy another 15 years or more of my life being taken up by a little yellow ball!

However, getting to work with Madison, Bree, Layla, Maddy, Abby, McKensey, and Teagan has been a joy for me.

I’ll never forget the first time one of them called me “Coach Grace.”

It was kind of a full-circle moment. I’ve had multiple different coaches throughout my life, but to have someone call me coach is proof, I guess, that I’m entering a different phase of life.

It’s bittersweet for sure.

And I know I’m supposed to be the one doing the instructing and coaching, but they have had just as much of an influence on me as I could ever hope to have on them. I’ve been working with some of them for about two months now, so it’s easy for us to joke around from time to time during the lessons or even to talk about things like mindset and frustration.

Working with these girls takes me back to the times that Esther and I did lessons with our hitting coach Steve Saunders. He was always so kind and patient with us and did his best to explain things to us in a way that we would understand.

I worked with him through most of high school, and I will never forget my junior year when I went through a period of several games where I had about four or five total home runs, including my first one that ever went over the fence.

I was so grateful that all the work I had been putting in with Coach Steve was paying off, and I could tell that he was just as happy about as I was.

I hope I can have the kind of impact on these girls that my hitting coach had on me. I’m excited to hear about all the successes that they will have, and if I can play a small part in that, it will just be icing on the cake.

I guess it’s true the idea that you never really know how much of an influence you have on someone, so you should always try your best to be mindful of that.

I’m thankful for the impact my coaches had on me. They weren’t perfect. None of us are.

Yet they helped me become who I am today. I hope I can do the same for this next generation of athletes, starting with Madison, Bree, Layla, Maddy, Abby, McKensey, and Teagan!

— Grace White/Line Drive Softball