College Softball Superhero!

I have a passion for helping athletes develop and have been involved with coaching/training for a long time. It is not often the "deserving" ones get to shine in the spotlight. The spotlight is for grabbing story lines that everyone knows of because of mainstream media coverage. Mainstream media does not do a good enough job in recognizing the ones who represent the majority, they promote and build up the exceedingly small minority. Lauren King is a coaches dream come true. An overachiever who has a unique passion for the game.

Lauren King is a Senior. graduating from Rhodes College in June. Lauren is a "Superhero" who should be awarded the recognition for her efforts while establishing the bar for what a college athlete should strive to be. After watching the NFL draft tonight, I am thinking sponsors should be calling offering Lauren a sweetheart deal to represent their company. If companies are looking for a true Superhero to promote, her name is Lauren King.

In my opinion, Lauren represents most aspiring softball players who dream of playing college softball and who also dare to dream to play international or professional softball. Why do you only hear about the Division I college softball programs when you never hear about NAIA, Junior College, DII, and DIII programs? Since the Costal Carolina Baseball Team won the College World Series a few years ago, it would seem people would understand there is great talent all over the country and not just in the power 5 conferences.

Check out Lauren Kings INSANE career stats at Rhodes College.

Check out Lauren's accolades to date as a two-way player:

2019 : Fastpitch News Pitcher of the week, 2 x SAA pitcher of the week, 2nd team all-conference utility, all-tournament team. 15 wins in a season which ranks 2nd all time for a single season.

2020 : SAA pitcher and player of the week, led all D3 in hits, Rhodes Junior female athlete of the year, first COSIDA academic All-American in Rhodes history (second team) Florida Gulf Coast League All Star Team

2021: 2x SAA player of the week, SAA player of the year, SAA first team utility player

Rhodes College Records:

Two-Way record holder in many categories...

#1 Career batting average .450, #1 Career winning % .707, #1 Career ERA 2.67, #1 Season batting average .538 #1 Season Slugging % .897, #2 Season Hits 63

Lauren is proof the good guys win. Lauren completed one of the most impressive Mental MRI's I have ever seen. I intuitively knew when I saw her complete her athletic profile to play in the summer, she was special. Very driven, and smart! I was so impressed with her I became an instant fan. Lauren proved her worth as a D3 player in the Florida Gulf Coast League where there were plenty of top-notch DI players.

Lauren most likely will be a top-level DI Head Coach quickly after her playing career is over only if she decided not to be President of the United States. She is a great teammate and approaches the game the way you would only dream your child would do. She makes everyone around her better and will grind away never complaining.

Lauren fractured her wrist pitching. She has injury issues she has battled through and still achieved incredible numbers. Again, her drive and high IQ allows her to do what is necessary to stay in the game and compete as you can see by her career to date with number of games played.

What's next...Oh Yeah Covid... Good news for Lauren, she has been offered and accepted a scholarship to University of Wisconsin Green Bay a DI program that will pay for her to get her masters. With two more years of eligibility, Lauren has a chance to prove that she can compete at the DI level and provide credibility to every softball player who is not a DI player. She will have an incredible education and experience that will take her places (hopefully she will come to work at Stars and Stripes Sports)!

Academic achievements along with athletic accolades do not come easy and only special people can achieve what Lauren has and is achieving. DI players that complete their softball careers and do not apply themselves may have a hard time moving forward as the importance of being a well-rounded person is often lost in the shuffle when people only focus on the softball achievements.

I wish the entire country would reach out and support Lauren and follow her career as she is good for the game...sorry...Great for the game. We need to attract more young ladies who can dare to dream and compete while truly playing for the love of the game and not for the social benefits of a DI program. This is not a knock-on DI player, however, I do see many families that overvalue the title of a DI player who have careers that are a disappointment.

How many DI players that struggle and never make an impact could blossom at a D3 school and or one or the other non-DI schools. There is no shame to be a Superhero like Lauren King, one whose name is in her school’s record-books and who has enjoyed a highly successful college career. Even if Lauren never played a DI game, she would have already accomplished everything she could have hoped for.

Beware there is a Superhero on the loose, she is going to continue to put up some good numbers, just you wait and see. I already see the "Head Coach" potential and if I were an Athletic Director, I would take her name down and give her a chance early. Can you imagine playing for a Superhero? Players would sell out and do what it takes to play for someone that achieved so much.

The Carolina Collegiate Softball League (CCSL.info) is excited to have Lauren King play in the league. She is the CCSL player representative and has already been instrumental in forming the specific details involving the CCSL policies. I am excited we can showcase Lauren to the world this summer as LiveSportsTV will be covering all of our games. Softball fans to follow and appreciate Lauren and the many other girls like her that have a deep passion for the game and who will show everyone how to approach the game.

Kelly Ahrens is the founder of Stars and Stripes Sports/Test and Train Sports and the Carolina Collegiate Softball League, he provides testing and development services for athletes, high schools, colleges and professional organizations. You can reach Kelly at [email protected]