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Last Thursday, we referenced the NCAA.com article listing the “best 11 college pitchers of all time.”
Many of those names you probably know as they’re still active today, legends such as Monica Abbott, Cat Osterman, Keilani Ricketts, Rachel Garcia, as well as former playing greats like Jennie Finch, Lisa Fernandez, Nancy Evans, Michele Granger, Danielle Lawrie and our interview subject today, Courtney Blades (now known as Courtney Blades Rogers).
A week ago, Courtney—who now lives in Texas—was in Georgia with her daughter Britton, dropping her off to play softball with a familiar coach, Bulldogs Head Coach Lu Harris-Champer who coached Blades Rogers back when she was at Southern Miss in 1999 and 2000.
In 1999, the then-junior shattered several NCAA records including most strikeouts in a season (497) and most NCAA single-season wins (43).
As a senior, Courtney took it up another notch going 52-7 with 663 strikeouts and earning several national awards including USA Pitcher of the Year and Honda Sports Award (2000) as the best softball player in the country. Best of all, Southern Mississippi would finish 3rd at the Women’s College World Series.
Britton will be a second-generation pitcher to play for “Coach Lu” and brings a strong resume herself.
A Top 20 member of the 2020 Extra Elite 100, the 2020 grad from Cypress Ranch (Cypress, Texas) High has a strong riseball and tough off-speed pitch. She verbally committed to Georgia way back in December of 2016 and a week ago was dropped off by her family at the SEC school.
We recently caught up with Courtney, who has worked with us in the past including providing a Pitching Video on the Art of the Change-Up, and we asked her about how it felt to leave her daughter at Georgia, what it means to be listed as one of the top NCAA pitchers of all time and much more!
Here’s the interview…
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What was it like dropping Britton off at college?
Bittersweet. We have had this day in our minds for nearly 4 years…but nothing prepares you for leaving your child in a place 14 hours away and hoping it all works out. You prepare, and you pack, and you unpack, and then you stand there and say “see ya soon” and “have fun” and “do great”, but the feeling of knowing she isn’t coming home with you is gut wrenching. I still feel like I’m gonna puke thinking about those goodbye tears, but we know she will be just fine and she will get adjusted, but man oh man, it was hard.
How does she compare with you in terms of pitching style and strengths?
Britton is a natural leader and competitor, traits she gets honestly from both her father and I. Her dad also played college baseball and was a pitcher! Based on watching her throw, her motion is very similar to my motion in college, but that is her style. I actually have tried to change her motion while working on mechanics but she won’t have it. So she looks very similar to the way I looked when I pitched. I think her biggest strengths are her demeanor and ability to field her position. She has learned to not show emotion, no matter the situation. And competing for the best teams has given her an advantage moving into college as well.
Courtney in the circle gets a strikeout to end the inning…
What was it like being an accomplished pitcher and trying to help your daughter but not over-coach or over-teach her?
So I get asked this question A LOT and the answer is so funny…there were days of bliss and days of despair!! I can remember many times both of us crying and me thinking “what in the world are we doing, we are wasting our time!” But all those early years of tears and shaking of the head turned in to me sitting on the bucket and making tiny adjustments. I will say that Britton (or any of the kids I give lessons to) get a break from me during training. The way a pitcher trains is so important both mentally and physically. Many athletes can “do it in the cage” but have issues transferring their skills to the field. Being held accountable during training, in my opinion, will set you apart. So I guess I never even thought about how I did it when training her, I just trained her. The game taught Britton how to overcome anything I couldn’t teach. Some stuff has to just be learned.
You were listed as one of the Top 11 pitchers of all time by NCAA.com and you’ve made Top 10 lists before…. what did that mean to you when you learned you were on the most recent list?
Scroll down to read more on Courtney in our exclusive Q&A…