Boston College Athletics
Q&A with Allyson Frei
October 19, 2017 | Softball
Frei discusses balancing her many commitments at BC
Senior pitcher Allyson Frei balances many different activities as a Boston College student-athlete. On top of being a captain of the softball team, Frei is the president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and she is a double major in economics and communications.
On balancing many commitments.
I think a lot of it is scheduling. When you have free time, how to fit things in and set time aside for the work that I need to get done on my own. Everything I'm involved in is very accommodating to everything else. With SAAC, I'm able to work around softball and Ashley understands if I have to go to a SAAC meeting. Everyone really helps me out a lot, but it is also a lot of planning.
On what inspired her to get involved in activities on top of softball.
My freshman year, I pretty much just did softball and school and I kind of felt like I was in a softball bubble. So I decided to branch out my sophomore year and I joined SAAC to get to know some more people in the athletic department and more athletes. My involvement grew from there, so then I got involved in ACC SAAC so I got to meet student-athletes from every school in the ACC, which allowed me to make some friendships. This year I get to be president, which is going well so far.
On how red-shirting last season gave her a different perspective.
I think it was easier to take myself out of the game and see how certain situations played out. I got to think about what I would do in a situation and as the season went on, I started making a list of the things I wanted to do and the kind of pitcher I wanted to be when I came back from a year off. So I think it helped me get a new perspective on the game, rather than being right in the middle of it all the time. I got to step back and look at what I wanted to be.
On how she plans to use that new perspective moving forward.
I've worked out the mindset I want to have going into games. When you sit out for a year its tough because you want to be out on the field, you want to help your team and be a part of everything. I'm just really excited to get back out there and help everyone out and have a good year.
On how she can be a leader on the team.
I feel like at this point I know what to expect in practice every day and I know what we need to do to be successful. I know what doesn't work. I know how to motivate people better than I did in the past and I think that experience helps a lot with that. Hopefully I can share some of that experience with everyone. We have a new freshman pitcher, so I'm looking forward to trying to help her along the way and be ready to go for the season.
On how being at BC specifically has provided her with the opportunity to be very involved.
Boston College is much more than athletics. My coaches are encouraging of me having a double major and they are encouraging of me taking on big leadership roles. I think they understand that it's not all about the game. While helping the team win is hugely important to me, I also get the opportunity to get more leadership experience or do certain things in the classroom that BC as a whole allowed me to do.
On her goals for the upcoming season.
After a year off, I want to come back and be a huge role player in the lineup and on the pitching staff. For this team, I feel like we have a really great team this year. We have some really good young players and some really good experienced players, which I think is going to make a great mix. Our goal is to win ACC's and go to Regionals and I feel like we can achieve that this year.
On balancing many commitments.
I think a lot of it is scheduling. When you have free time, how to fit things in and set time aside for the work that I need to get done on my own. Everything I'm involved in is very accommodating to everything else. With SAAC, I'm able to work around softball and Ashley understands if I have to go to a SAAC meeting. Everyone really helps me out a lot, but it is also a lot of planning.
On what inspired her to get involved in activities on top of softball.
My freshman year, I pretty much just did softball and school and I kind of felt like I was in a softball bubble. So I decided to branch out my sophomore year and I joined SAAC to get to know some more people in the athletic department and more athletes. My involvement grew from there, so then I got involved in ACC SAAC so I got to meet student-athletes from every school in the ACC, which allowed me to make some friendships. This year I get to be president, which is going well so far.
On how red-shirting last season gave her a different perspective.
I think it was easier to take myself out of the game and see how certain situations played out. I got to think about what I would do in a situation and as the season went on, I started making a list of the things I wanted to do and the kind of pitcher I wanted to be when I came back from a year off. So I think it helped me get a new perspective on the game, rather than being right in the middle of it all the time. I got to step back and look at what I wanted to be.
On how she plans to use that new perspective moving forward.
I've worked out the mindset I want to have going into games. When you sit out for a year its tough because you want to be out on the field, you want to help your team and be a part of everything. I'm just really excited to get back out there and help everyone out and have a good year.
On how she can be a leader on the team.
I feel like at this point I know what to expect in practice every day and I know what we need to do to be successful. I know what doesn't work. I know how to motivate people better than I did in the past and I think that experience helps a lot with that. Hopefully I can share some of that experience with everyone. We have a new freshman pitcher, so I'm looking forward to trying to help her along the way and be ready to go for the season.
On how being at BC specifically has provided her with the opportunity to be very involved.
Boston College is much more than athletics. My coaches are encouraging of me having a double major and they are encouraging of me taking on big leadership roles. I think they understand that it's not all about the game. While helping the team win is hugely important to me, I also get the opportunity to get more leadership experience or do certain things in the classroom that BC as a whole allowed me to do.
On her goals for the upcoming season.
After a year off, I want to come back and be a huge role player in the lineup and on the pitching staff. For this team, I feel like we have a really great team this year. We have some really good young players and some really good experienced players, which I think is going to make a great mix. Our goal is to win ACC's and go to Regionals and I feel like we can achieve that this year.
Players Mentioned
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