DJ Sanders hasn’t had many “nerve-racking” experiences on the softball field.
Whether it is in the circle or at shortstop, the softball field is one place Sanders usually feels at home. It’s a place — much like the basketball court — that her power, speed, and athleticism can shine.
But last week Sanders had reason to doubt herself on the softball field for one of the few times in recent memory. When you’re competing for a spot on the USA Softball Junior Women’s National Team, it’s easy for those questioning
thoughts to creep into your head.
“If ever I had questioned my ability before it was that weekend,” Sanders said. “I thought I did terrible on defense and OK hitting. Someone asked me after the tryouts how I liked the experience. I told them if I made the team then I loved it. If not, I didn’t.”
It’s safe to say now Sanders loved her experience.
On Monday, it was announced that the former New Hope High School and Louisiana Lafayette freshman was one of 17 players and three alternates selected to the team. That squad will participate in the International Softball Federation (ISF) Junior Women’s World Championship in August in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and in the World Cup of Softball X in July in Southern California.
Sanders, who returned to ULL on Monday to begin practice for the upcoming season, said she received an email Monday afternoon informing her she had been selected to the team. She said she was in her dorm room when she received the email and scrolled down to find her name 13th on the list.
“I knew that only 17 were selected, so after I started scrolling through and didn’t see my name at first, I got discouraged,” Sanders said. “But I finally found my name and literally started screaming. I’m really surprised no one came to see if I was dying. Then I sent text after text after text to everyone who had wished me good luck and supported me to tell them the news. My phone was blowing up all afternoon.”
Last month, Sanders learned she was one of seven players invited to attend the USA Softball Junior Women’s National Team Selection Camp on Jan. 3-4 at Bill Barber Park in Irvine, California. She was the only player in that group from the state of Mississippi. Five were from the state of California, while one was from the state of Georgia.
Sanders was a five-year letterwinner in fast- and slow-pitch softball and basketball at New Hope High. She was a four-time state champion in slow-pitch softball as an infielder, and a five-time district champion and a state runner-up in fast-pitch softball as a pitcher under coach Tabitha Beard. She also played forward for girls basketball coach Laura Lee Holman, and twice helped the Trojans claim district titles. The team also won a North State Championship in Sanders’ senior year. Sanders was an All-State selection in all three sports as a junior and senior.
Sanders said the players fielded balls at their primary and secondary positions during the camp. She said the players were separated into teams for scrimmages the rest of the time. She said the players were evaluated 30 percent on defense, 30 percent on hitting, and 30 percent on character. She said she didn’t remember what the other 10 percent pertained to. She said coaches corrected the players and offered them instruction on how to improve their technique, but she said the players didn’t really get any feedback on how they did until they were listed on the final roster.
“I think I hit pretty well,” Sanders said. “I was really surprised because I have been learning and working on my new swing, so I didn’t expect my hitting to be the main reason I made the team over my defense. I can’t really tell if I made an impression or did well because the talent was so amazing that nobody stood out, or I guess we all stood out.”
Even though Sanders wasn’t sure if she made an impression, she certainly did.
“DJ showed tremendous speed and athleticism during the Selection Camp,” said USA Junior Women’s National Team coach Tairia Flowers, who also is the head softball coach at California State University, Northridge. “She did well at the plate, squared up and hit the ball hard, and was willing to play multiple positions, which showed she’s a team player.”
ULL coach Michael Lotief also was excited to have a player who hasn’t played an inning for him achieve such a prestigious honor.
“We’re excited. It’s awesome. Any time you get chosen to represent your country, I think that is an incredible honor,” Lotief said. “She is deserving. You can see that kid has the potential oozing all over her, and she has composure and confidence. When those kids get on that stage, and you know what is at stake, that is when those characteristics show the most. I am sure that is what what impressed them, her composure and her confidence. She just feels comfortable on that stage. She is not going to be intimidated by the fact she is going to be the first Mississippi girl to be in that position.”
Lotief said the past four months have been great for ULL. Late last year, former ULL shortstop Nerissa Myers was named the National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) League’s Offensive Player of the Year. She also was one of 19 players named to the All-NPF Team. Myers, who is from Petal, earned All-Sun Belt Conference first-team honors in 2012 and 2013 in her four-year career (2010-13). She also was named a College Sports Madness third-team All-American in 2012. While at ULL, Myers set the all-time record with 243 runs scored. In 2012, she led the nation with 83 runs, breaking the Sun Belt Conference record, and her mark from 2011.
Lotief said he sees similarities between Myers and Sanders. He even said Myers might have inspired Sanders, and hopes Sanders will inspire other aspiring softball players in the state of Mississippi. If and when that happens, Lotief hopes he will be there to help that player become a Ragin’ Cajun to complete the circle.
“We actively look for those kids every year (in the state of Mississippi),” Lotief said. “I would take 100 more like Nerissa and DJ.
“They may not have the numbers in Mississippi, but they certainly have got talented kids who when they have that softball dream, they have found an avenue to go pursue it. I don’t think kids are locked out of their dreams just because of geography. Those kids are starting to prove that to everybody out there. If you have a dream, there are avenues out there to make them come true. It may not be the conventional way, but there is certainly a way to do it. I think Mississippi has done pretty well for itself in the past five months. Taking home those kind of honors is pretty phenomenal.”
News of Sanders’ accomplishment also was celebrated in Columbus, where E.T. Colvin, the state commissioner with the Amateur Softball Association and a past president of USA Softball, and Roger Short, the Southwest Region 6 director and the deputy state commissioner and player representative for the state of Mississippi, talked about Sanders’ start in softball at Propst Park in Columbus. They said they remembered the first team Sanders played on, a squad coached by David Wilson that competed in a ASA Class A fast-pitch tournament in Clinton. Colvin said Sanders was 10 years old and pitched every inning to help lead the team went to the state championship.
“At that point in time, I guess that might have been what clicked on a switch with me and told me this kid has a chance to be (something special),” Colvin said.
Colvin said Sanders always has played against older girls coming up through the ASA ranks. He said Sanders “blended in” with the older girls, which he feels helped her development as she matured and moved on to the Gold level, or the highest level. He also believes Sanders excels in the four categories — character, ability, personality, and love of the game — ASA/USA Softball looks for when selecting players for the United States’ five National Teams.
Now that Sanders has taken the first step, Colvin hopes the state of Mississippi will feel the impact. He hopes to be able to have Sanders attend age-group tournaments so younger players, who possibly have the same dreams Sanders had, can see her wearing the colors of the United States. He knows that will mean more than he or Short ever could say.
“When you see that and her walking around — she doesn’t have to do anything — and being DJ, we know she will represent like we know she will represent,” Colvin said.
Short watched her for years, too. He said he and Colvin first talked about DJ’s sister, DeShuni, who also played softball at New Hope High before going on to East Mississippi Community College and Union (Tenn.) University. He said it didn’t take them long to tell DJ Sanders would excel.
“She is going to be a role model for all of these little girls who want to be where she is. It just shows those kids it is possible,” Short said. “It has worked out, and fate has taken control, I guess.”
Sanders, who is only 18, said it was weird to be recognized as a member of the Junior Women’s National Team. She said she doesn’t feel like it has been a long journey to this point, even though she admits she doesn’t have very many good memories about playing softball in Propst Park. She said he father, Donnie, coached her back then and he was “extremely hard” on her. But she said she “didn’t realize he was preparing me to do something great at a young age.” She said she is excited to have a chance at an opportunity she feels has come “unexpectedly soon.”
“I thought it would be toward the end of my career before I got to play at a national level,” Sanders said. “This achievement just shows and reminds me that (you need to do) more than what is required to reach special goals. If you want to achieve these goals, you have to put in a lot of extra work, and I think earning this spot shows I have done that.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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