Pilot - Meet Your Author

Hey, I’m Alex Booker! Also known as Booker, or any other sporty variation of my last name. I am extremely excited to finally start blogging about my experiences in sports and the life afterwards. As I was building this website, I realized that there is zero transparency regarding what it is actually like to be a college student-athlete, a professional athlete, or even what happens when the cleats come off. So here I am, wanting to provide full transparency to my readers. Wanting to provide an inclusive environment for all and wanting to eliminate the barriers to entry for softball as a sport in whole. Get excited because this blog will not only tell you the ins and outs of recruiting to help prospective student athletes get to the college level of softball, but it will also provide insight into what it was like to balance the student and athlete lifestyle in college and beyond. What happens after sports you ask? How did I get to where I am at now? This blog will tell you, so stay tuned!

So that you know a bit more about the perspective I am coming from, I wanted to kick things off by providing a deeper look into my background. Growing up in a single family mother household, my athletics career started off in day camp and playing sports in backyards and in front of my house in Chicago with my brother. After a very short few years living in Chicago, my family moved to Lake County, IL where I continued to live the active lifestyle of participating in multiple activities as a young lady. Anything from my more delicate and precise sports side of ice skating, ballet, and cheerleading, all the way up to my rough and tumble activities with my male counterparts of roller street hockey, football, and basketball. You let me get my hands on it, you can count me in!

Soon after transitioning out of playing baseball until I was 12 years old, I entered high school and participated in Volleyball, Basketball, and Softball - being asked to play up in level for each sport and playing varsity softball as a freshman. With a small speed bump along the road of a torn ACL, I was able to achieve a high level of play (and athleticism) for all 4 years of my high school career. At Warren Township High School I graduated as a three sport varsity athlete, lettering twice in Volleyball, three times in Basketball, and and four times in Softball, all concluded by earning Female Athlete of the Year honors.

After competing for the Lake County Liberty and with the help of my all time favorite coach, Mike Maguire, my softball playing career continued on at the University of Illinois. Illinois is an experience that I am sure I will blog about many times in the future so you’ll hear more about my specific experiences there but in brevity, I started school as an architecture major and ended school 4 years later with a bachelor’s degree in Science, concentrating in sports management. My career in the orange and blue concluded with All-Big Ten accolades as well as several Academic honors.

Post collegiate softball, I followed my dream of playing for the local Chicago Bandits professional fastpitch softball team in 2014. As season came to a close, I then began my collegiate softball coaching career with an inaugural program, Texas A&M University – Commerce. In just one year at TAMUC, I completed my master’s degree in Science, concentrating in Athletic Administration.

​Little did I know, the next summer would be my last to put on my jersey. I started the 2015 summer again with the NPF Chicago Bandits and finished it with a ring on my finger as the 2015 National Professional Fastpitch Champions. Again, I want to provide transparency to my readers about the professional level of sports and the day in the life so please continue to read on for the weeks, month, & years to come!

​I could not stay away from the game for long and began a second collegiate coaching position at Arkansas Tech University. Most recently, I have moved to the Bay Area to pursue a career as an Account Executive by day and a travel softball coach by night!

This is a brief view of my sports lifespan. Although I went through a major identity crisis when being met with stepping away from the ball field in a playing manner, I am coming to the realization that I love the life outside the lines. Coaching and teaching have always brought me joy in life so I am excited to create this platform to spread my knowledge nationwide and connect on limitless levels with my softball network.

Follow along as we deconstruct softball privilege and bring this sport back to being more than just a game. I am here to teach you how to cheat the system, eliminate bias, and to give the majority middle class access to equal opportunity to success at the sport they love!