Q & A With Jennifer Nelson
What are the goals for the team this year and what are some of your individual goals?"Goals for the team would be to have a good record and to play together and also to make it to Oklahoma. For me personally, I just want to do good and help out the team."
How would you describe your playing style?
"Well with pitching I am more of a poised pitcher, I try to be intimidating."
Is there any significance to your jersey number?
"Not really, I was supposed to have No. 22 but someone else had it when I came here and I just thought it would be too much time to switch over, so the No. 9 was fine."
Can you describe your first sports experience?
"The first one I can remember was when I was playing in a game and I was pitching, and someone hit the ball right back at me and hit me in the nose. It was one of the first games I had ever played in so I really didn't know what to do, so I just kind of laid down and cried. That is the first one I remember, but now every time I get hit I just think 'Okay, don't lay down, just get the ball and go. I guess that kind of helped me in a way."
Who influences you the most on and off the field?
"Probably my dad because he has always been there for me through everything softball wise and he stood by me, so yeah pretty much my dad."
How do you prepare yourself mentally before a game and do you have any superstitions?
"The night before a game I do a lot of visualizing and if I am pitching I go through all my pitches. The day before a game I make sure I eat a lot because I get really tired if I don't. I don't have any rituals or anything like that, pretty much I just eat a lot."
What is your most embarrassing moment of the field?
"I don't really have a most embarrassing because I have a lot of embarrassing moments. I'm not the most graceful person in the world but not a lot of things embarrass me."
What attracted you to Mississippi State Softball?
"Mainly the other girls on the team, because the whole team is together and everyone is so much fun. That is what I wanted to be around and be a part of."
What were your biggest concerns when moving to Mississippi?
"None really, just nervous about moving to a new place."
What was your first impression of Mississippi?
"Everyone was really nice."
What advice do you have for girls that are aspiring to play softball on the collegiate level?
"Don't believe anybody when they tell you that you can't do something. Everyone told me that I wouldn't be able to pitch on this level because of my size, but I didn't believe them and I just kept trying. So don't listen to the negatives and just keep trying."
How tough is all the travelling you do for softball?
"It's really hard especially with school because you don't really think about schoolwork when you're on the road. After a while work starts to pile up especially if you are a procrastinator like me."
What is your favorite dugout cheer?
"It's called 'All Aboard' but I am not sure how it goes. All the other girls clap and stomp their feet and at the end I just yell 'All Aboard.'"
How much of an effect does Coach Jay Miller have on the team's unity?
"Right now our whole team is so excited about what we've learned and how we have improved. Last year at this time the team was starting to pull apart but this year with the practices we do it brings us all together. He really helps out a lot."
If you had 24 hours to live your dream day, what would you do?
"I would go as many places as I could. First I would go to New York, just because I have never been there. Then I would go to LA and try to get on TV somewhere. Then I would go somewhere out of the country, I don't know where though."
How do you kill time driving home?
"I sing. I don't have a very good voice but, in the car, I can sing well."
What other sports at Mississippi State do you like to support?
"I like basketball games because it is indoors, plus I know a lot of the basketball players."
What are the best and worst parts about a road trip?
"The best part is the pranks we pull on each other. Like me, Iyhia (McMichael), J.J. (Jennifer Jessup), Krystal (Tillman) will pull pranks on everybody and it's fun. The worst part is just being on the bus for so long and I get really bad carsickness."
What is your favorite kind of music?
"I like everything. I like classical, rock, rap and country. I like everything."
Do you listen to anything to get you pumped up before a game?
"I listen to what Iyhia (McMichael) and Krystal (Tillman) listen to and I don't know all the names of the songs I hear but seeing them get excited and hyped up before a game gets me excited."