By VICTORIA ADDISON
Sports Editor
As her time as at The College of Saint Rose comes to an end, softball player Anna Carey continues to thrive, both on and off the field.
Carey, 22, began playing sports at the age of four. She has been a member of the softball team at the College of Saint Rose since her freshman year.
“I dabbled in soccer and baseball before I started playing softball,” she said. “My brother played baseball, and we played on the same team.”
Growing up, Carey continued to play baseball because her parents wanted her to compete on the same team as her brother. It was not until middle school that she began to focus solely on softball. Although she was not attracted to it at first, Carey played throughout the remainder of her middle and high school education.
With her high school career coming to a close, Carey began to plan for her future as a collegiate athlete. Besides St. Rose, she also looked at conference rivals Le Moyne and Saint Anselm. Despite the fact that her siblings attended Le Moyne, Carey did not think it was the right school for her.
“I wanted to choose a school that was close to home and that my parents could come to a majority of my games,” she said. With St. Rose being 15 minutes away from her hometown of East Greenbush, Carey had found the perfect fit.
Fortunately, Carey did not find the transition into collegiate athletics very difficult. Thanks to a travel league she participated in her junior and senior years of high school, she was already familiar with competing at a higher level of play. For Carey, the hardest part of freshman year was managing softball and her studies.
“It took a lot of late nights and early mornings to juggle athletics and academics,” she said. “Time management was my friend as I was adjusting to college life.”
Despite difficulties, Carey credits her family as her main support system.
“My parents and siblings are my biggest fans and have given me a lot of support throughout my time at Saint Rose,” she said.
As her final season at St. Rose comes to a close, Carey remembers her walk-off hit against New Haven as her favorite sports-related memory. The hit happened a week after she dislocated her shoulder. Although St. Rose was not favored to win the game, they did anyway.
Fellow senior Alexis Williams has known and played with Carey for the past four seasons.
“She has been extremely dedicated to the program and has been an outstanding teammate and friend to play with,” said Williams.
Despite the many memories made during her collegiate career, Carey regrets not becoming more involved in the many campus opportunities that St. Rose has to offer. Due to softball, she did not have much time for other activities.
“Take advantage of all opportunities that are provided to you,” Carey said. “Four years of sports goes pretty quickly, so enjoy every second, because it’s over before you know it.”
For junior Nicole Wickham, playing with Carey has been a wonderful experience.
“Anna is an amazing individual who is dedicated and determined both on and off the field,” said Wickham. “I value her as a teammate and friend.”
With graduation approaching, Carey has made plans to further her education at the University at Albany in the Advanced Standing Master of Social Work program. Eventually, she hopes to work as a school social worker.
