Q: Why did you choose Bowdoin?

A: I chose Bowdoin because I knew I wanted to go to a competitive, high-academic college. Softball is obviously very important to me, and Bowdoin has a great program. But college is also about furthering my education and setting me up for success in life. Bowdoin is a great school for that. I wanted a college that I would be happy at for four years, even if I got an injury or something and could not play softball for a season. I also wanted to stay in New England so I was close enough to drive home, but now I’ll be close enough to walk home!

Q: What are you studying in college?

A: I’m still undecided, but I’m leaning toward an economic route. All I know is that I do not want to do science, and I’ll go from there.

Mt. Ararat senior Landen Chase is doing his senior capstone project on sports journalism. Submitted photo

Q: What are your hopes for college?

A: My hopes are pretty similar to most. I hope to learn more about my eventual chosen major and the world in general, as well as gain experience that will set me up for a successful job and a happy life. I also hope to make some connections with new people, and make some friendships on a deeper level. I really just hope that I become an even better version of myself. I want to maybe find out some new things about myself that I did not know, which will either add to or change how I view my role in the world. And of course, I also hope to get some wins.

Q: What is your favorite moment in softball?

A: My favorite softball moment was definitely beating Skowhegan last year. Brunswick hasn’t always had the best record, but Skowhegan has always been the powerhouse in our region. It used to be unrealistic to even think of beating it. Last year, however, our team did the impossible. We were mostly seniors and juniors who had been playing together since Cal Ripken, so we were really close and just worked well together, and I think we had been working all those years for this moment. It was a 0-0 regular season game, until in a later inning we finally broke through with some key hits; then we kept our lead with a strong defense until the top of the seventh saw three outs and we threw our gloves up in celebration. It wasn’t the Class A Championship, or even just a normal playoff game, but it still felt like we won the World Series.

Q: What do you plan to do after college?

A: I honestly have no idea. I hope to find a good job that I enjoy, but am willing to do the work to get to that point. One thing I have thought about is coaching. I love softball, and I would love to continue being involved in the sport, whether coaching a high school team, or just my children’s little league team.

Q: Who was your favorite teacher at Brunswick High and why?

Ellie Sullivan of Brunswick fires a pitch during the first inning of a game against Camden Hills last season. The Times Record file photo

A: If my high school coach, Mr. Dwyer, sees this, I’ll just pretend it was him in freshman year English! But this might be more accurate: I’ve definitely appreciated many of my teachers; they do such a great job connecting with kids and teaching us things that matter. It’s hard to choose just one, so I’ll give a couple. Mr. Pressley is my physics teacher, and he never fails to entertain the class. A day of notes is in no way boring, and his caring nature outside of class for the students and other teachers is inspiring. I’m not a science person, but I really enjoy going to that class. I’ve also really enjoyed having Mr. Williams for a variety of art classes. He connects to students and is good at understanding them and the many things they may be going through. He’s just a very kind and awesome person. He’s also never called my artwork ugly when he surely could have, so I appreciate that.

Q: What is it like to go from being coached by one parent to the other? (Of note: Elyse’s mom, Carrie, is the Brunswick High field hockey coach. Elyse’s father, Ryan, coaches the Bowdoin softball team.)

A: It is not as weird as someone might think it would be. Both have slightly different styles of coaching, but the sports are also not the same; field hockey and softball couldn’t be more different. My mom does a great job pushing us and challenging us as a team, and my dad does it great individually. Of course, both do it vice versa as well, but as I mentioned, the sports sometimes call for different things. With both, I still have to be careful of maintaining a player-coach relationship on the field, and then going back to a daughter-parent once off the field. That part can sometimes be challenging, and I’ve found that both sports consume conversation at home, but we normally get something good out of it. Overall, they both have their strong coaching qualities, many of which are similar, like building personal connections with the players, and listening before telling. There’s only a few small differences like how they show frustration or their types of pre-game and post-game speeches. Going from one to the other is no problem at all, and I find that I get something good out of both of their styles.

Q: Which parent is the better coach?

A: Considering that I don’t want to be kicked out of the house by one of them, I think I will refrain from answering this question.