Lewis plays softball at the next level for East Carolina University
December 8, 2009
“Can I get a drum roll please?” asked Athletic Director Chris Krisman.
Anticipation hung in the air as everyone in the Ivaldi Student Center watched the star of the hour flip through her contract. Students began tapping the tables, in response to Krisman’s request. The crowd’s drum roll burst into a roaring applause, chanting “Jor-dan! Jor-dan!” as the ink from her pen finalized her dreams.
Senior Jordan Lewis signed to play softball for Eastern Carolina University on Friday, Nov. 13. She was offered a full ride scholarship.
Although she was also sought after by San Jose State University, a visit to Greenville, North Carolina made her decision an easy one.
“The coaches are one, two of the most genuine people I know, and they were so interested in me,” Lewis said. ”When I went there on my official visit, I fell in love. I knew this was where I wanted to spend the next four years of my life. The school, the support, the team, the coaches, and the town just sold it for me.”
While ECU serves as Lewis’s ideal school, she proves to be ECU’s ideal player by posing as a triple threat on the field.
“I can hit for power, I can hit for contact, and I can bunt, and beat it out,” Lewis said, “I’m tall and fast, but I’m not a stick so I surprise people.”
Her passion for softball began when she first saw her older sister Brittany play. Lewis has been training with travel ball coach, the well-known Don Ford since the 8th grade. Ford’s expertise in the game has helped off for two other softball players, Alyssa Haber and Vicky Galindo, both of whom are currently on the U.S. Olympic softball team.
Although Lewis has been playing for the past 13 years, her official training began 5 years ago and has intensified this past year and a half. Over the summer, she woke up at 6 a.m. during the week and between 7-9 a.m. on the weekends if there wasn’t a game. Lewis’ training consists of lifting, leg and core work, sprints, batting practice, and catching groundballs at least two times a week. She would also run 3 miles a day, but because of school she runs when she can fit it in.
Lewis’s many years on the field has provided her with the necessary experience to not only conquer this sport physically, but also mentally.
“I have a purpose,” Lewis said. “Basically I just tell myself to keep going, no matter how much it hurts or how hard it seems to push through, because in the end it’ll be worth it.”
As head coach for the varsity softball team, Krisman has watched Lewis’s progress carefully for the past three years. Krisman has seen Lewis transform into a more thoughtful player, turning areas of weakness into regions of strength, and impulse into strategy.
“Jordan’s improvement comes from her ability to understand the not so obvious characteristics of the game,” Krisman said. “She can strategize, pick better pitches to hit, read better when she is at the plate, she has just taken a better leadership role as well as stepping up her knowledge of the game.”
Her incredible skills and tactical style has solidified her “beastly” status among her teammates and has made her advice golden. They seek out her constructive criticism, whether it is on their batting techniques or how to keep their spirits up during a tough game.
“I was kind of struggling on my batting and I asked her to watch me and give me tips,” varsity softball teammate, senior Alexandra Preston said. “She was really patient with watching me all the time and making little hints and suggestions to help me bat better.”
In agreement, Krisman said, “Jordan is the person everyone turns to for hitting advice. She is like a hitting guru.”
Lewis constantly thinks about her teammates and ways to keep their morale up and running. Her leadership and positivity will be missed by the Mariners, but will be greatly appreciated by the ECU Pirates.
“I cheer the batter on, my pitcher on, get over excited on plays just so other people feed off that,” Lewis said. “I want my team positive and feeding off my positive energy, if that’s not too cheesy.”
Cheesy? Preston doesn’t think so.
“She usually gets us to cheer in the dugout or make a comparison to another school. Just letting us know that we’re better than how we’re playing at the time,” Preston said.
Before every game, Lewis makes CDs full of motivational music to get her team pumped up, relaxes the infield with pep talks, and keeps the field full of laughter by telling jokes and sharing handshakes with her teammates.
Lewis’s assistance and encouragement to her team resembles the same support and guidance her mother, Tami Lewis, provided her with. At the ceremony, Lewis’s mother dedicated much of her ability to support her daughter to her employers, thanking them for allowing her to attend Jordan’s games and practices. Lewis is more than grateful for her mother’s presence throughout her softball career.
“My mom is the biggest help and support and is always there when I need her,” Lewis said. “She always went to games and practices, helps in school and just always has my best interest in mind.”
ECU has all the qualities of Lewis’s dream school, but is far away from the people she loves. Despite the separation from her family and friends, Lewis remembers what got her into ECU and recognizes what her future career in softball has to offer.
“I just know I have a goal,” said Lewis, “I have a lot of people who are jealous that I have this great opportunity and have a full ride to college, and I know all my work has paid off.”
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