Interview with softball player Erin Miller Thiessen
Erin Miller Thiessen played softball for the University of Oklahoma. She graduated in 2016 with her degree in Visual Communications. She is a 2 time national champion, All American, and Big 12 player of the year.
Erin is currently an ESPN Analyst, Sooner Sports Manager of Business Development, and Cycle Bar Tulsa instructor. She is happily married to Hunter Thiessen.
Below I have written most of what we talked about but you can listen to the full podcast HERE.
Q: Has softball been the only sport you’ve played?
A: Growing up I tried to play basketball but that didn’t last long. I was a pretty good golfer but when I was a freshman in high school I gave up all of the other sports to get serious about softball.
Q: What is the story behind your number 48?
A: Me and my best friend Kaitlin were always the smallest on the team. We created a bond over that when we were young. We had this fantastic friendship and we created an inseparable bond playing softball together. She was number 8 and I was number 4 through high school. When we went to college, our numbers were taken. We decided to combine our numbers to 48. It’s connected us through the years and it represents our bond, friendship and connection through softball.
Q: Have you ever faced any injuries or setbacks?
A: I mainly struggled with feet issues, especially being in metal cleats. I had plantar fasciitis for 2 years and then the plantar tendon tore in my foot. When that tore, honestly I had immediate relief because the tension finally was relieved in my foot. My senior year I struggled with back pain. It’s an injury that requires you to rest and it was tough while being in season. I decided to push it to the edge and ended up winning a national championship but after that I had to really take care of my back.
Q: What was the transition out of playing competitive sports like for you? What did you do in your newfound free time?
A: Outside of softball, I was super creative and very artistic. I tried to lean into things that interested me. The biggest struggle coming out of college as an athlete is that you have every second of your day planned. After you hang your cleats up it’s this initial shock of “what am I doing?”. There’s no North Star anymore. You’re trying to create a new routine and structure. You’re not under NCAA restrictions anymore and no coach telling you what to do. I struggled to separate the identity of sports and know that I’m more than an athlete. I am going to have to do that inner work to find out who Erin is. It required a lot of self reflection and finding out what is next for me. I got into group fitness and became a cycle instructor. I love music, painting, drawing, doing art, trying to express creativity. I tried out television after having a lot of on camera interviews during the Women’s College World Series. I was thrown into that and I was like a deer in headlights. I tried to navigate those waters having never had formal training in television. I was drinking out of a fire hose after graduation figuring out who I was and trying to understand how my life was going to unfold after college sports. It isn’t easy and I’m still doing it and still peeling back the layers trying to figure out who I am outside of putting on a jersey. When you lose home base, it’s very hard to know where to go and what to do. It’s a humbling feeling to start from square one. Starting from the starting line and not sure where to go, that’s a terrifying feeling.
Q: Do you feel like you would have done a different degree if you weren’t a student-athlete?
A: I don’t think so. Hindsight is always 20/20. I’ve been with ESPN for 6 years and I did stumble into that. I understand the role my degree played in my life. In those 4 years I needed my degree path because it was a creative escape. It was what I found solace in. Knowing what I do now, it might have been more productive to get a different degree. It was the best degree for me at the time because it served a large purpose in a large portion of my life.
Q: Did you consider being a full time / team coach?
A: I think every athlete has that thought at one point. “Okay, I’m done playing, do I coach?”. That was not a thought that lasted long for me. If I’m being honest, I was blessed to have played for one of the best coaches in the nation. Coach Gasso is in the Hall of Fame and I have a very close relationship with her. She is very maternal to me. I have witnessed the amount of sacrifice she’s had to make to not only be a coach but to be as successful as she’s been. Her induction to the Hall of Fame was the same day her youngest son was graduating. She had to decide which event she was going to attend. That is just the tip of the iceberg witnessing the sacrifices she’s made. When I witnessed that, I respect her for it but I think I don’t think I could do it.
Q: What was one of your favorite moments while competing?
A: I have so many. While competing on the field, I think of the national titles, those are hard to top. A personal moment that I will always hold extremely close would be my senior day my whole family was there and we were playing Texas. Bottom of the 7th, 2 outs, full count, we were down by a run or two, and I hit a walk off homerun. That was very storybook, I couldn’t have scripted it any better with all of my loved ones in the stands. Most of my core memories weren’t even on the field. The locker room connection, going out with teammates on the weekend, belly laughs on the bus, and the crazy stuff we would do as teammates. Those are the core memories that I hold very very close.
Q: What advice would you give to someone who is recently done playing a sport?
A: I could really get on a soapbox here. Giving yourself space and grace. I was in such a rush to get it figured out. I was thinking to myself that I have experienced such success, I should have things figured out. My biggest advice would be that it’s okay to breathe, slow down, sit in silence. As an athlete, we’re used to a high paced environment. It’s normal and it’s okay to feel restless and antsy but trust the process, you’re not behind, you’re exactly where you need to be.
Q: What advice would you give to someone who is currently playing a sport?
A: Don’t blink. It goes by really quickly. I can remember wishing practice would be over because I was tired and I wish I would have slowed down and just savored every last drop. You will never be able to recreate this environment, even if you play pro. There is a euphoria with college sports and you’ll never be able to taste that again. When I watch I just want to rip my shirt off and put a jersey on. My biggest advice is to savor it. Every aspect of all of the senses just savor it.
My second piece of advice would be survival and how to make the most out of it. Get off of the emotional roller coaster. It’s easy to let the outcomes control how you show up in that space as a teammate, as a player, as a woman, as an adult. Dictating how I’m acting, my facial expressions, my body language. If you want to be elite, get off that emotional roller coaster. I can control how I feel right now. This is a game of failure. Until I started to grasp that mental side of controlling what I can control, that’s when I started to reach a new level. Control the way you show up and be consistent. That’s the best you can be for yourself and your teammates to be level headed.
Q: Do you have anything else to add?
A: What I want to reiterate and scream to the rooftops that it has been fun to watch the growth of this sport. Our fanbase is rowdy and they are a feisty group and I am excited for the future of softball. We have some amazing things ahead.
If you have any more questions for Erin, please leave comments below or contact me. If you or someone you know is struggling, please call the Suicide Hotline. It’s toll free and available 24/7 at 800-273-8255.
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