Once the playing careers of collegiate and professional athletes are over, many players attempt to continue their involvement in the game by turning their attention to coaching or the production of the game from the media side: commentating, analyzing and video taping games. However, few players have the opportunity junior outfielder and designated hitter Bethaney Wells had- the ability to do both during their playing careers.
After a tough freshman season in which she only hit .140, Wells was looking to bounce back in her sophomore season last year, but multiple knee injuries prevented that chance and forced Wells to redshirt the entire year.
Instead of sulking because she couldn’t play, Wells and her coach, Lisa Navas, came up with a plan for Wells to continue to be a part of the team and contribute by becoming the team manager and videographer for the 2010 season.
“She did what our manager’s doing this year,” Navas said. “She counted all of the pitches off of the video, saw where pitches were going and how people were doing some things.”
Wells notes that at first the idea of just shooting the games and not playing wasn’t something she was really interested in.
“[Navas] talked to me about redshirting, and initially I did not want to do it at all,” Wells said. “But, in the grand scheme of things, it was the best thing that could have happened.”
“At the time I was in computer engineering. So, she was like, ‘You are this smart, technologically advanced kid, so we are going to give you a computer and camera and tell you to go for it.’ “
Wells took over the videographer duties, becoming more of a coach than a player, by helping go over film with her teammates after games.
“We watched video a lot and for me I would sit down with people because no one knew how to work the equipment, so we would sit down and watch games together, talk through at bats and I would do it for myself a lot too,” Wells said. “And now, I just think back to all of the things I picked up on.”
Wells credits that valuable coaching experience with helping her bounce back and become one of the top hitters in the ACC this season. The junior is currently third on the team in batting average and ranks in the top-20 in the ACC in the same category, hitting at .342 in the season. She has also posted career highs in hits and home runs only halfway through the season.
”You learn a lot when you sit out,” Wells said. “She had me doing different jobs with cameras and videos. It’s amazing what you can learn from watching the game. Just be aggressive early in the count, that’s what I learned from that.”
Also, both Navas and Wells believe she has stepped into a leadership role this past season, and her enrollment in the College of Engineering has helped her on the field.
“She did a lot of computer work and everything else, and that really helped our hitters talking to them,” Navas said. “She saw when they were at bats if they were pulling out, so that really helped. She’s a mental kid.”
“She came in as an engineer, so I tease them because they think too much. We really worked on her staying positive and believing in what she can do. She’s such a strong person and when she gets a hold of it, it goes a long way,” Navas said.
As much as Wells learned during her season behind the camera, she is not planning on returning to videography any time soon.
“It is nice to be out of there,” Wells said. “It is so nice. It is frustrating at first, especially because of at first my multiple knee surgeries, and then you are finally back out there and you feel liberated. You kind of get sick of the camera after a while.”