Catching Up With Claire Powell '18

On a spring day in 2014, Robby Turner, Collegiate’s head varsity softball coach, was touring a prospective student/athlete named Claire Powell around the school’s athletic complex at the Robins Campus.
Claire had begun playing softball as a 10-year-old and was now immersed in high-level travel ball. She was also about to graduate from St. Michael’s School and was exploring options for high school, so Turner, fully aware of her ability and passion for the sport, was addressing his program’s focus on fundamentals, fun, and teamwork as well as the opportunity to call a first-class softball facility home.
 
His presentation complete, he asked Claire if she had any questions.
 
“Just one,” she said. “Do you like to win?”
 
Turner was taken aback. Wow! he recalls thinking. And this is an 8th grader. That’s really impressive.
 
“I remember him being blown away when I asked that,” Claire said one day recently. “Then he said, “Oh, we’re going to compete. We’re definitely going to compete.’”
 
The die was cast. Claire became a four-year starter for the Cougars, at third base as a freshman, then in centerfield, the position at which she thrice earned first-team All-League of Independent Schools and All-VISAA honors.
 
After her 2018 graduation, she headed to Division III Denison University in Granville, OH, where she was a four-year starter at centerfield for the Big Red.
 
In her recently-completed senior season, she hit .421 with 18 runs batted in, five doubles, eight triples, one home run, 44 runs scored, and 19 stolen bases in 21 attempts. She had an on base plus slugging percentage (OPS) of 1.051. In the analytics of the sport, 1.000 is considered excellent. Her performances didn’t go unnoticed. She was selected first-team All-North Coast Athletic Conference and third-team National Fastpitch Coaches Association, All-Region VII.
 
Claire graduated in May with a B.A. in data analytics with a concentration in biology and economics, and before she headed to Chicago to begin work as a research analyst for NielsenIQ, she offered thoughts, insights, and reflections about her journey.

Speak of your Collegiate softball experience.
I was so fortunate to be a student there. In terms of softball, I was at tournaments every weekend with girls that were traveling all over the country trying to get recruited. At Collegiate, I loved being with awesome people who didn’t play the sport outside the season because that gave me perspective. I knew they loved it just as much as I did even though we had very different paths. The bonding was so fun. Coach Turner kept it loose but made sure everyone was on the same page. All the things we did off the field really paid off. I miss so much about Collegiate.

What attracted you to Denison?
When I first started looking at colleges, an assistant coach from Denison reached out to me. I looked into the school and thought, I want nothing to do with Central Ohio. When I did a tour, I loved it. The community, the smaller aspect, reminded me of Collegiate. Everything seemed so familiar. When Coach (Tiffany) Ozbun offered me a spot on the team, I didn’t hesitate. I called her back within the hour and accepted. Denison was beyond my expectations in the best way. My best friends are the other seniors I graduated with. There were five of us. We all ended with the sport on good terms. That made our experience that much more cherishable.

Were you prepared for college softball?
Absolutely. I was the only incoming freshman who had any experience with strength training. That put me a few steps ahead of other players. The softball program at Denison is very much about being a family, and if softball wasn’t there, you’d be just as close with these people you’re surrounded by every single day.

You started from the beginning. You were Denison’s lead-off hitter. In your first at-bat at No. 14 Pomona-Pitzer, you hit a home run over the 200-foot rightfield fence. That must have been incredibly exciting. Please narrate the moment.
I just remember being at the plate. I was so nervous. My hands were shaking. I had a full count. I’m not used to hitting home runs. I was flying out of the box. Then I heard all the cheering, and that was the moment of realization that I’d actually hit a home run. It was just a surreal moment, very unexpected. I’m very, very thankful for it. That kind of defined my experience with softball in college.

Certainly, there were other great memories.
There’re tons of things. Another big one was this past year. We were playing Mt. St. Joseph’s. They were ranked 19th in the country. We always played doubleheaders. They beat us in the first game 17-2. Our coach was, “I just want you guys to have fun this next game. There’re no expectations, but I want you to fight. I want you to show you’re better than how you just played.” We ended up beating them in the second game 5-4. We were tied 1-1. I hit a two-run home run. That was crazy. I don’t hit home runs. I was just trying to do my part. It was an incredible moment. Defensively, there were tons of experiences. One was my freshman year, I robbed someone of a home run in the first inning of the first game of our conference tournament versus College of Wooster.

What makes playing softball fun?
For a long time, I asked myself that question too. It’s an unforgiving sport. It’s reliant on failure. You’re going to fail every single game whether you want to or not. It’s who fails less will win. I came to terms with the fact that I refuse to fail. That’s what drove me to stay in the sport for so long. There’s literally no better feeling than a solid hit coming off the bat. It’s extremely satisfying even if you’re out. Just that feeling is something I chased for so long.

What are the best lessons you’ve learned from your experience as an athlete?
It’s taught me how to handle failure, what it’s like to be part of a team, how to have fun. It’s taught me how to make fun of yourself. That’s a fun way to deal with things that don’t go your way because things won’t go your way all the time. It’s helped me define myself. I’m very grateful to the sport and what it’s taught me.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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