Meet our Athlete of the Week, St. Olaf softball player Stephanie Borndale!
1. Hometown: North Saint Paul, MN
2. Year/Major: Junior/Nursing
3. Sport/Position: Softball/Shortstop
4. Favorite music to work out to: Brantley Gilbert, Florida Georgia Line and Jason
Aldean (really anything country)
5. Best sports memory: In high school, we beat the best team in the conference in extra
innings. It was extra special for me because I grew up playing for the feeder program of the team that we beat, so everyone I grew up playing with was on the team. It was a really
great, competitive game and great memory.
6. Favorite part of playing on a college sports team: The friendships and connections that
you make with your teammates. It sounds cheesy, but I know that many of the
friendships I have developed through the softball program will be lifelong friendships. It
is also really great to have people around you who understand what you are going
through if you are having a hard week because being a student athlete is difficult enough,
but being one at St. Olaf, I think, is especially challenging.
7. Inspirational athlete?: My dad. He played baseball in college and had an amazing
career so it is easy to look up to him. He also has always been a coaching figure to me so
to have someone so close who knows the game so well has really helped me develop as a
player.
8. Any pregame rituals or superstitions?: I do not have any pregame rituals, but I am
extremely superstitious. If I did poorly in a previous game I might switch my batting
gloves, or the pattern in which I warm up or which bat I use while swinging on deck.
However, if everything went well the previous game, I keep everything the same.
9. Favorite food after a hard practice: Steak or seafood!
10. Other extracurriculars or activities you’re involved in on campus: I am a part of the
Student Nurses Association.
11. Any sports-related advice?: I think it is really important to be involved in an extra
curricular activity just to be well rounded and lead a healthy life. If your extracurricular
activity is a sport, then really focus on devoting your time equally between school and
your sport. If you are feeling burned out, then take a step back and refocus yourself so you
do not start to look at your sport as a job rather than a privilege. Playing a sport should
be a fun way to release some energy and tension while taking a break from the rest of the
world. The day you start to look at your sport as something that you have to do instead of
something you get to do is the day you need to take a step back and refocus. I would also
say to persevere through the hardships, because there will be times in which you do not
succeed and times that really challenge you. However, those times are there to make you
a stronger person and a better athlete. And finally, live in the moment. Although sports
are something you can do your whole life, there is only a short period of time in which
you can compete at a distinct level and once that time is gone, you do not get it back, so
always focus on living in the moment and being present.