Summers Spent In Starkville

STARKVILLE – Josey Marron wasted no time. She went home for two weeks in May, but by the first week of June, she was already back in Starkville preparing for her sophomore season at Mississippi State.

She wasn't alone. Kat Wallace and Saleyna Daniel also chose to spend their summers getting an early start on the 2024 season, by putting in long hours in the weight room with strength and conditioning coach Lauren Collier.

For Collier, it was an opportunity to build upon a foundation laid in her first season with the Bulldog softball team, and like Marron, she was determined that an early start in the heat of June and July would pay off in the cool of spring.

"Year 1, for me, is getting to know my team," Collier said. "That was all last year. Going into Year 2, the more you know each other, the more your relationships grow as a coach and a player, the more you're able to get out of them long-term. That was the goal this summer, not just personal relationships, but how can we get stronger, how can we get faster, how can we keep working on what we already worked on throughout the year last year?"

The simple answer is to hit the gym, put in the work and reap the results. But Collier's approach to her student-athletes has never been to simply demand more effort in increasingly grueling workouts. She places a large emphasis on setting individualized goals with each athlete that can translate directly to movements and areas of focus on the field.

For Marron, the goal was to build power in her legs for pushing off the rubber. Daniel wanted to get faster while staying a strong power hitter. Collier had plans for both, but they were never going to be easy.

"Whatever you tell her you want to get better at, she will make you do it," Daniel said. "She will get you to where you want to be. There were days when I didn't want to get up or work out, and she's like, 'No, you're going to get up this morning.' I think she really understood me more from a deeper lever. We were always really close, but I think I really opened up to her."

Collier's top priority is always technique and making sure no athlete is put in a situation where they might injure themselves. Even with incoming freshmen who reach out to her before arriving on campus, she'll focus on proper technique first. But she also recognizes the importance of trust.

"If they reach out before they get here, I'll give them guidance," Collier said. "They'll send pictures, text messages or sometimes Facetime me to watch a set and ask if it looks okay. If they already have a trainer at home that they trust and their technique looks great, I'll tell them to keep that up, keep working with who you are. I'd rather they be coached one-on-one than trying to learn on their own and get hurt before we can get started."

That emphasis on trust can be seen and felt amongst the Bulldogs. Almost every single one of them echoes Collier's words around knowing them as people before trying to push them as athletes.

"She wants to understand how your brain works, how to motivate you and how to push you to get better," Marron said. "You're not going to be at 100 percent every single day, and it was never an immediate jump to 'You're lazy. You're not motivated.' It was always, 'Hey, what's going on? Is everything okay?' The respect is there for sure, and we all have a huge amount of respect for her. We want to push ourselves, and she drives and fuels us to get better."

From a foundation of trust came the chance to impact a culture. Marron, Daniel and Wallace began to sit down and have some tough, challenging conversations. They talked about what they wanted their team to be and how they could get them there with Collier's help.

"I would spend a lot of time in her office just talking about where things may have gone wrong last year and what she was planning on changing and also what we could do from a player's standpoint to just up the standard," Marron said. "We talked a lot about everything matters, even just the intent behind everything. If we see something wrong, call it out for what it is and just really hold ourselves to a higher standard individually and as a whole."

The trio spent their evenings at Wallace's house, where she'd grill for them and make sure her teammates had the fuel they needed for the next day's workout. Looking back, Marron said it just made sense. They had nothing else to do during the days other than work out, grow closer and push each other.

"It was literally so fun. It made this summer the best summer," Daniel said. "I worked out every day and was tired, but they just made it fun. They made me want to stay here. It was genuinely a sisterhood."

A rising sophomore, a junior and a graduate student from Iowa, Texas and Mississippi spent every day together for two months. Not only did they come from different classes and different states, they also brought together all three areas of the team – in the outfield, on the dirt and in the circle.

"I think it was actually pretty interesting, seeing different perspectives. We all have the same ideas. It just came from different points," Daniel said. "It was very interesting to see how Kat would approach something rather than how Josey or I would, but we all got to the same goal. We're not split. We're not different. We all come from different areas, different ideas, but we're all here to get to the same place."

It's easy to look at Collier's work and see how her workout plans and motivation improve the athletic abilities of the student-athletes. What can be easily missed is how the little moments along the way can radically shape a team.

"That's going to go a long way not just in their play on the field, but also in being a veteran on the team, setting the tone and standard for the group," Collier said.

Mississippi State University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Saleyna Daniel

Josey Marron

Kat Wallace

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