From now until the beginning of the 2016 season, the FIU softball team will be releasing a weekly blog with the intention of giving you, the fans, an inside-look at the team's preparation for 2016. We continue on this week with Hailey Tillapaugh.
 
Hey Guys!  Happy Holidays and greetings from sunny Naples, Florida, where today it was 84 degrees. My name is Hailey Tillapaugh and I am a sophomore. I hope that everyone had safe travels home and will enjoy well-earned time with their families.

At the end of every semester we have "Finals Week"…. which means NO sleep!  Almost every night leading up to our finals some of my teammates and I spent all night studying in the library. This meant lots of coffee, lots of great help from the tutors (shout out to all of the tutors in the SAAC) AND the occasional slice of pizza! Not to worry though, even with "all-nighters" we would still make sure to hit the weight room to stay in shape.  The bonds which I have formed and share with my teammates, not only help me on the field, but also off of the field. Their encouragement both on and off the field help me to be a better student athlete, a better teammate and a better person.  I will forever be grateful for their friendships and guidance.

With finals and winter break upon us we have a total of seven weeks off with four of them at home.  It's not really "time off" though.  With the type of commitment that my teammates and I have made with each other, to "STEP UP!" there is no such thing as time off. The weight room is always open. There is always a place to run 120's. There is always a softball field to take ground balls. And there is always a cage to take BP. In the next four weeks that we have off for winter break, I know what is on my agenda, which is to eat A LOT! (just kidding...) I am going to use this time off to get better... and I know my teammates will do the same.  To come back in January better than ever.

I'm going to miss my softball family while I am at home. But even when we are apart we still check up on one another to see how things are going. That's what teammates do. That's what family does. That's what we are. One team, one family, focused on stepping up!  I look forward to seeing all of you at Felsburg Field for the FIU invitational and our home opener again FSU on February 12^th! Paws UP!