I was able to catch up with Bailey Engel, the second year softball player, who enjoys her time with teammates both on and off the diamond. It was a fun conversation about being a student athlete, future aspirations, hobbies, and being a part of a team.

Carlos Peterson: What are some of the things you like to do in your free time?

Bailey Engel: Aside from when I’m playing softball, I like to hang out with my friends and listen to different kinds of music. I’m like obsessed with dogs. So I like playing with dogs too. Other than that I enjoy reading.

CP: Oh really? What kind of dog do you have?

BE: I have just the standard poodle so he’s pretty big. He’s huge. He’s about as tall as me standing up.

CP: You mentioned music, what music would you say you’re into right now?

BE: I like most genres. The only thing I would say that I don’t like is scream-o.

CP: Don’t worry, you’re in the majority.

BE: It can pump me up sometimes. If it’s thrown into the playlist, I’ll listen to it when I work out. But right now I’m very into country.

CP: Any particular artists? I know someone like Luke Bryan is a big name in country music right now.

BE: Right now my favorite artist is Kane Brown. He has a song, “What if’s.” That’s my jam.

CP: Is that like your workout song?

BE: It’s more of my driving around song right now

CP: If there was anything you could do over the summer what would it be?

BE: I’m trying to go to all four days of Lollapalooza. So that’s my goal right now. It’s running a little expensive so we’ll see if I can get that done.

CP: What are some of the challenges you feel student athletes face today?

BE: I’d say finding free time. Since we have softball, when it rains it’s especially hard because we have to pack so many games in on days that we can. There’s a lot of travel, and you’re gone a lot more time than you expect. It’s hard to get all your homework done and making sure that you’re doing everything. There’s a lot of things online, and you gotta make sure you find the time where you have internet. I feel, especially at COD, the teachers are super understanding.

CP: Do you feel that the relationship with your teammates has helped with the college transition and what you just described?

BE: Definitely, especially since I’m new here this year. I was a little nervous to see how I was going to interact with the team and how they’d help me transition, but I felt I fit when I got here. I feel it helped me feel more comfortable with the environment in general. That helped make it easier to get help when I needed it. So it made for an easy transition to COD.

CP: What would you say your favorite softball memory is?

BE: When I was younger I had this trip to (ESPN’S Wide World of Sports) at Disney in Florida, and it was this super cool experience. You get all these passes to Disney and play on these really nice fields. I was actually put into a magazine when I was there with a picture of me playing.

CP: Is there a COD memory?

BE: I would have to say our trip as a softball team down to Florida. It was whole 10 days, and I felt that it really helped bring us closer as a team. There was great bonding, and we were able to play some tough competition.

CP: What would you say is your favorite part of being on the field?

BE: Being a part of a team is my favorite part. So much of softball is individual plays. It’s nice to be contributing to a larger goal. It’s great to know that you can pick each other up and not worry about playing for yourself.

CP: Did you have aspirations outside of softball?

BE: I originally wanted to attend ISU to become a high school health teacher, but then being at COD has helped me refine my love for softball and made me want to continue.