The senior starting shortstop for the Charger softball team, Kate Hoop, is a prominent leader on the team. She was named to the GLIAC All-American Academic Team last year. Hoop shares her story about the game of softball and her love for weight training and how the two have shaped her into the athlete she is today.
Your team just got back from playing seven games in Florida. How was that experience?
Well, while we didn’t have an ideal opening in Florida, our team did well in many aspects. Plus, we brought back other aspects of our game that we can learn from. After all, the reason we go down there is not solely to get wins; we are more focused on the experience and to see what we can learn—that’s why they call it spring training. Even though we didn’t go down there and win all our games, we did make daily improvements. Now we know what to work on for the remainder of the season.
This year the softball team started practice about two weeks later coming back from Christmas vacation than it did in previous years. How did you feel about the change?
It wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. We had less time in the gym, which made us more focused in a short amount of time. Practicing inside is very frustrating. It was a sprint to finish instead of a marathon for our trip to Florida. We were able to focus hard and get the most out of our indoor practices.
What is the conditioning like during spring training?
We do a lot of circuit training, ladders, hurdles, cone drills, resistance bands, and jump ropes. We also do a lot of suicides and sprint workouts that are good for building speed and agility.
With extra time in the off-season, what did you do personally to prepare for the spring season?
I personally enjoy doing some distance running, the occasional Insanity workout, individual softball practices, and of course, we have our team lifts during the week. I don’t do any weight training outside of our team lifts because we just don’t have the time and you can’t lift everyday if you want to give your body enough time to recover. I do a little more cardio, abs, and strengthening bands on my own time.
When did you start your weight training regimen?
I started going to a professional athletic trainer when I was 15 or 16. He started me on a weight training program and I’ve been hooked since. A lot of girls don’t do weight training because they are scared about getting too big and buff. Usually that doesn’t happen, but the mass I put on my arms actually did affect me negatively. As a pitcher in high school, I learned the hard way that big biceps aren’t ideal. They actually slowed my arm speed significantly. Pitchers are far better off lanky, not muscle bound. While each position is somewhat different, softball players in general want to have strong, flexible arms, not only for power, but also for decreasing the chance of injury. Most importantly, softball requires full-body exercises that develop powerful legs, butt, and core while maintaining a balance between muscle and agility.
How did you transition from pitcher to shortstop?
I was recruited as a middle infielder that could also pitch as an added bonus. But tricep tendonitis kept me from pitching the fall of my freshman year so I played shortstop. I went from throwing backward to forwards and I’ve been throwing forwards ever since.
Would you go back and change your weight lifting in high school to prevent getting so muscular now?
I maybe wouldn’t have pushed it with the arms so much, but other than that, the leg lifts, core, and other exercises were all softball-related and good.
What do you think about the softball lifting program?
Overall, I think our lifting program is seasonally appropriate. In the offseason we try to increase strength and power and during season we just try to maintain.
After softball season and graduation, what are your plans?
I want to go to law school. So far I’ve been accepted to Ohio Northern and Michigan State. I’m still waiting to hear back from two other schools. Once I hear back from them, I will weigh my options and pick the best fit.
-Compiled by Matt Melchior
