NCSA caught up with softball standout Chelsea Paprocki about her high school career and the opportunity to compete at the college level.
NCSA: What motivates you before a big game?
Paprocki: On the drive over to the game I usually listen to my iPod and try to get as relaxed as possible and get in the right frame of mind before warm-ups. About 75 minutes before game time, my travel team begins our standard warm-up routine that the coaches take us through that really prepares us and gets us ready. We treat every game in a similar manner whether it’s a team we’ve beaten numerous times or a team that may be nationally ranked.
NCSA: What are you looking forward to if and when you get the opportunity to play at the collegiate level?
Paprocki: Playing at the collegiate level is something that I’ve always hoped would happen and what I’ve strived for since I first started playing. What I’m looking forward to most is realizing the sense of accomplishment in reaching a milestone that I wasn’t sure would ever be possible, one that not all softball players get to realize. Once I get there, though, my goals will be the same as they have been for the last nine years which are to continue improving as a player and to help my team the best that I can.
NCSA: Why did you get involved in softball?
Paprocki: When I was little, I played both soccer and softball in local recreation leagues. At age nine I was asked by different coaches to join both travel soccer and travel softball teams. I was actually better at soccer at the time but my parents kinds of pushed me in the softball direction. I think they knew they’d be spending a lot of time watching practices and games and helping out so I’m sure in their minds they thought it would be more exiting watching softball versus soccer. Looking back, I’m glad we chose softball.
NCSA: Tell us about your interactions with college coaches so far.
Paprocki: The recruiting process has been both interesting and overwhelming. It’s a lot of work staying on top of it if you really want to play in college. So many high school players want to play in college and it’s very competitive so it takes a lot of effort to stand out and get noticed. I thought that being named all-district as a freshman or all-region as a sophomore would get me noticed but I soon realized how important it was to be on a top travel team, play in the right showcase tournaments and attend different skills camps in order to really get noticed. I’ve received mail and email from numerous coaches at the DI, DII and DIII levels and gotten to know both local coaches and coaches from out of state and out of the region and it’s been a great experience being able to talk with them.
NCSA: How are your team(s) doing so far?
Paprocki: My travel team, the Ashburn Shooting Stars, had a good summer. We qualified for ASA 18A Nationals in our first tournament of the summer so we played mostly showcases the rest of the summer. In June, we finished 25th at the Colorado Fireworks tournament and were the third highest finishing team east of the Mississippi which was an accomplishment considering it was our first year at the 18U level. We had a letdown at the end of the year though and were eliminated at Nationals a lot earlier than we thought we would be. I think we all learned a lot though as players and what’s required to meet our goals. The team is playing at the Gold level for the upcoming season and we just completed tryouts. From a personal standpoint, I improved my running times and SPARQ score significantly during the NFCA recruiting camps. My home-home dropped to 11.47 sec and I was finally able to get in the 60s for the SPARQ with a 63.26 at Rising Stars. My throwing speed was also measured at 65 MPH which is an area that I’ve really worked on over the past year.
NCSA: What are your goals - athletically, academically and in your community - for the rest of the school year?
Paprocki: My top priority is determining which college I will attend in 2008. Once the decision is finalized, then I feel a burden will be lifted and I’ll be able to concentrate on school and improving my softball skills. One area that I really want to improve on is my overall strength. Getting stronger with regular weight training and conditioning will increase my bat speed and quickness and make me both a better hitter and better base runner which hope to improve on before I enter college.
NCSA: Tell us about what you've learned since being with NCSA.
Paprocki: I’ve learned so much about the whole recruiting process since being with NCSA, especially with all the information that’s available through the NCSA web site and with the personal coaching sessions. Through NCSA I have been contacted by coaches and colleges that I never knew existed. I’ve also gained a lot more confidence in my chances of playing at the collegiate level just by knowing that NCSA will make sure that the collegiate coaches will see my profile and skills video. The biggest take-away from NCSA, though, is knowing that if I do have a question or there is something that I don’t understand that all I have to do is email or call my recruiting coach and I’ll have the answer I need.
