Year: Junior
Major: English- Editing, Writing, and Media
Hometown: Chester, VA
Her Campus (HC): How did you get into softball?
Lacey Waldrop (LW): I started playing softball when I was eight after I had danced for four years and also played soccer. I didn’t really love either of the two activities, and my mom and dad had given me a small wooden bat when I was younger that I loved to swing in the yard at home, so the next sport I wanted to try was softball. It just stuck with me.
HC: What is your favorite part/thing about softball?
LW: I love the skilled aspects of the game. In softball you don’t just need to be athletic to be successful. You also need to be highly skilled, especially at the collegiette level. Another thing I love about this sport is the ability for all different kinds of players to find their niche. You have power hitters, speedy slappers, and everything in between, so the sport truly doesn’t discriminate.
HC: Do you play any other sports?
LW: I play just about every other sport there is just for fun, but I especially love playing tennis and I also love to wakeboard.
HC: How did you decide to go to FSU? Was it your dream school?
LW: I came on my first visit here and truly fell in love with the school. I thought the campus was beautiful and loved the coaching staff and facilities, so it just seemed like the perfect fit for me. Growing up in Virginia, FSU wasn’t my dream school because I didn’t know a lot about it, but I know I ended up in the right place.
HC: What’s the coolest part of being a Florida State athlete?
LW: I love being able to represent the storied history of this university. There have been so many All-Americans and just outstanding people that have worn FSU across their chest with pride. I love being able to represent all of the hard work they put in and to be able to leave behind my own legacy as an FSU student-athlete.
Are you involved with any other organizations on campus?
LW: I’m not involved in any other organizations on campus specifically, but as a team we do a lot of community service around Tallahassee, so I try and get involved as much as I can. I just recently got involved with Dare To Dream Young Girls Network, which is centered in Tallahassee. The organization helps tutor young girls and provide them with afterschool care.
What are your favorite things to do in the offseason?
LW: As I mentioned I love to wakeboard and I’m a total river rat in the summer. I love going out on the boat, tubing, and just enjoying family time. Since I go to school so far from home I like to spend my summers catching up with my friends and family back home in Virginia.
Are you single or taken?
LW: I am taken and have been for the past three years. It’s actually a pretty interesting relationship because we only really see each other about four months out of the year right now. I met my boyfriend, Phillip, in high school and we started dating during our senior year. I came here to Florida State and he attends Virginia Military Institute, so we don’t get to see each other very often. At VMI they have what is called the “rat line” for freshman that involves a lot of military training and things of that matter. During the first semester and half of the second semester, the VMI freshman aren’t allowed to have their phones, so we really didn’t get to talk much during that time, but we’ve made it through three amazing years, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. He’s actually studying abroad in Ireland this semester, which makes it even harder to communicate than usual, but even from 4,000 miles away he still puts so much time and effort into our relationship. I think I got pretty lucky to meet someone so special so early in life.
What are your plans after graduation?
LW: My plans are a little up in the air. There are so many things I would like to do, and only time will tell, but my dream job would be working for ESPN as a sports telecaster. I’m also considering a career in education, so I’m really trying to figure out what exactly I will be doing, but at this point I think I’m going to try and go to grad school for either education or marketing communications. Also, I know my future will involve giving private pitching lessons and working softball camps. I give lessons now during the summers to girls of all ages, and I love sharing the game with them. If I can help them improve and love the game even a little more I feel so accomplished and I would want to share this experience and this game with anyone I could.
Being an athlete and a full time student you must be pretty busy. Any advice to fellow hard-working girls on how to balance time and schedules?
LW: It’s all about time-management. There are so many different strategies, but I feel like it’s different for every person. For me, I have to prioritize and just tell myself that I need to get my work done before I do anything else. Also, it helps me to wake up early and try to get things done before I have time to do anything else. Sometimes I also make little checklists of things I need to get done for that specific day and I cross them off as I go along. It makes me feel accomplished when I get to cross an item off the list. Now there are times when I don’t do a very good job of that, but if I need to finish homework or study for a test I generally stop whatever it is I want to do and get my schoolwork done. Sometimes that means losing a little sleep, but I’m a student before I’m an athlete. I know the game will end for me one day, and it’s going to be my education that prepares me for the future.