{"id":3343,"date":"2026-04-22T08:20:23","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T13:20:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/?p=3343"},"modified":"2026-04-25T03:45:49","modified_gmt":"2026-04-25T08:45:49","slug":"cleats-commitment-and-courage-inside-kennedy-glassfords-13-year-softball-career","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/2026\/04\/22\/cleats-commitment-and-courage-inside-kennedy-glassfords-13-year-softball-career\/","title":{"rendered":"Cleats, Commitment And Courage: Inside Kennedy Glassford&#8217;s 13-Year Softball Career"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em><strong>Freshman outfielder and pitcher Kennedy Glassford (#11) poses with her bat in the dugout.\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>(Photo by: Jasmine Mills)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Could you imagine doing one thing for over two-thirds of your life? Kennedy Glassford has played softball since she was six years old, spanning a total of 13 years of her life. Glassford is a Liberal Arts major and plays for the softball team.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Despite playing multiple sports growing up, Glassford stayed loyal to softball, explaining that it came the most naturally to her.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cI had always been blessed with amazing teammates and fabulous coaches throughout my career that I couldn\u2019t even dream of quitting. They helped me develop my craft and further my love for the game, [so] I stayed engaged in it,\u201d Glassford said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Glassford balances her school, softball and social life by prioritizing tasks and using her time wisely. This may look like doing homework before practice or on the bus on the way to an away game, or using her days off to catch up or get ahead on work.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cI may have to sacrifice hanging out with friends or watching the latest TV shows every now and then. However, I\u2019m still able to have a pretty good social life even with my hectic schedule,\u201d Glassford said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Glassford explained what a typical practice would look like.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">9:00 a.m.: Going to classes in the morning (8:00 a.m. &#8211; 12:00 p.m. for softball athletes).<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">10:00 a.m. &#8211; 10:40 a.m : Working on homework and getting caught up in online courses in the locker room.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">10:40 a.m. &#8211; 11:00 a.m.: Eat lunch and change into practice attire.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">11:00 a.m. &#8211; 11:05 a.m. : Head down to the field.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">11:05 a.m. &#8211; 11:15 a.m.: Set up practice machines and equipment.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">11:15 a.m. &#8211; 12:00 p.m.: Warm up for pitching.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">12:00 p.m. &#8211; 12:45 p.m.: Pitching workout.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">1:00 p.m. &#8211; 3:00 p.m.: Team practice.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">3:00 p.m. &#8211; 3:10 p.m.: Field clean up: sweeping, organizing the shed, putting equipment away and picking up trash\/leaves.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">3:15 p.m.: Drive home for the remainder of the day.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Glassford explained that the softball team&#8217;s atmosphere and culture are inclusive and fun. With how much time they spend together, they have quickly become each other&#8217;s family.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cWe\u2019re all here to get better and progress in the sport, and yet, we\u2019re able to enjoy our time together on and off the field, regardless of practice intensity or gameday pressure,\u201d Glassford said. \u201cThis culture is very unique and special, and very few get to experience the accountability, love and unity that comes from a group like this.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Jayla Green, a fellow student and one of Glassford\u2019s teammates, says that Glassford is bubbly and lights up wherever she goes. People naturally gravitate towards Glassford.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cOn the field, she is very competitive and determined. She works very hard and wants to be her best. Off the field, she is still very enthusiastic and provides a lot of comedic relief,\u201d Green said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Green has known Glassford since they were in middle school, and tells The Messenger that she has become one of the hardest workers she knows.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cOut of all of my past teammates, I would say she is one of the most determined people I know. She is always putting in extra work, and does every drill and rep to its full potential,\u201d Green said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Green explained that what makes Glassford such a good teammate is her consistent attitude. She has a great voice on the field and never lets how she performs dictate how she interacts with her teammates.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cNo one is more deserving of the season that Kennedy is having. She is one of the best people I know, outside of the softball field. She is extremely empathic and caring, and it shows constantly,\u201d Green said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Glassford explained that softball is especially significant to her because for eight out of the 13 years she had been playing, her dad was her coach. She also says that God has been with her through every step of her career.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cSoftball has brought us even closer together than we were before, and we continue to bond over its miraculous features to this day,\u201d Glassford said. \u201cGod is the one [who] has led my path throughout my career and blessed me with the many opportunities I\u2019ve been given. Had it not been for his loving hand, I wouldn\u2019t have these gifts and skills to compete at this level with more dominating athletes and women.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Glassford is also a part of FCA, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes club, and has met with them once a week for the past two semesters.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201c[We] dive into God\u2019s word, pray for one another, share our testimonies and bond over fun games like volleyball, knockout, four-square and kickball together,\u201d Glassford said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The softball program is full of intent, standards, expectations and success. Glassford explained that every single one of her teammates puts in the work day in and day out, competing at the highest level. They make their coaches, teammates, parents and friends who have encouraged them throughout their careers proud.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cWe may be individual women who have different \u2018whys\u2019 for playing this game, but we wear the same name on the front of our jerseys to signify that we\u2019re one, that we rise and fall together, and that we represent a program much bigger than ourselves,\u201d Glassford said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Could you imagine doing one thing for over two-thirds of your life? Kennedy Glassford has played softball since she was six years old, spanning a total of 13 years of her life. Glassford is a Liberal Arts major and plays for the softball team.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":3344,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[332],"class_list":["post-3343","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"author_meta":{"display_name":"Saul Epstein","author_link":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/author\/sepstein\/"},"featured_img":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/files\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-22-075249-195x300.png","coauthors":[{"link":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/author\/mya-roberts\/","display_name":"Mya Roberts"}],"tax_additional":{"categories":{"linked":["<a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/category\/sports\/\" class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Sports<\/a>"],"unlinked":["<span class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Sports<\/span>"]}},"comment_count":"1","relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 5 months ago","modified":"Updated 5 months ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on April 22, 2026","modified":"Updated on April 25, 2026"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on April 22, 2026 8:20 am","modified":"Updated on April 25, 2026 3:45 am"},"featured_img_caption":"","series_order":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"authors":[{"term_id":332,"user_id":0,"is_guest":1,"slug":"mya-roberts","display_name":"Mya Roberts","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&r=g","author_category":"","first_name":"","last_name":"","user_url":"","job_title":"","description":""}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/files\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-22-075249.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3343","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3343"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3343\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3368,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3343\/revisions\/3368"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3344"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3343"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3343"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3343"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=3343"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}