Bailey Snowberger once gave the Norwin softball team the advice, “Don’t expect to be perfect.”
It turned into the motto for her college career, which was interrupted last year by three knee surgeries.
After missing her second college season at Maine, a year that gave her pause and a chance to come to terms with the truth, the slick-fielding shortstop is transferring.
The former all-state player at Norwin announced she is entering the NCAA transfer portal with three years of eligibility remaining.
Snowberger has battled knee injuries, which forced her to voluntarily redshirt this season. She has applied to the NCAA for a medical redshirt. That comes after she made the America East All-Rookie Team as a freshman.
Ultimately, Maine truly was a long way from home.
“I don’t know if you can feel any farther away than when you’re in Maine,” Snowberger said.
Being injured and away from family and friends made winters much colder, much longer. There is homesick in the general sense, and then there is what Snowberger endured.
“I am a very open person,” Snowberger said. “I am big on mental health. I was 14 hours away from home, away from all the people who helped me on this journey, and they couldn’t come to watch me play. I didn’t choose Maine; Maine chose me. God had other plans for me and wanted me to see the game a different way. I loved my teammates there, but I felt a little disconnected.
“I want to play softball happy again.”
A coaching change took her from her initial college destination, Holy Cross. She followed Kimberly Stiles, the coach who recruited her at Holy Cross, when the coach was hired at Maine.
Still, though she looked the part, she didn’t feel it. She worked with a sports psychologist to gain perspective and build confidence to endure the setbacks.
“I didn’t want to make my last out in my last game (at Maine) and think, ‘What if?’ ” Snowberger said. “I had some long nights thinking about things. There were a lot of tears shed and hugs given. I always tried to look like nothing was affecting me, not be gloomy and sad, but that was my job. I showed up to do my job without showing how I felt inside.”
Snowberger had surgery last May to repair torn a medial patellofemoral ligament and meniscus in her right knee.
About six months later, she was preparing to return when she heard a pop in her knee while fielding ground balls. A second “clean-up” surgery was a “blessing in disguise,” she said, because it led doctors to discover a larger tear that did not show up on MRIs because of its position — a rarity in cases like this. That was in November.
After another six months and still-lingering discomfort, a third surgery in May repaired some fraying and a lateral release of her knee cap proved to be a game changer.
With her knee finally back together and in place, she is confident she can pick up where she left off at the college level and give her talents to a new program.
“That made such a difference,” she said of the third surgery. “I ran a mile. I am working out. It took all the pain away, and I feel as good as I have in a long time. And I am no longer on medication (for pain).”
As a freshman, Snowberger started all 49 games and batted .263 with 35 hits, including eight doubles and a home run.
She had a four-hit, five-RBI game against Bryant.
Playing closer to home, if that is where this transfer leads, will allow her family and friends to follow along and be around for face-to-face talks instead of long-distance phone calls.
Snowberger said she is open to any college program but will take a very close look at each and consider her situation before committing.
Softball coaches can begin contacting portal players June 8.
“My mom and dad have given me so much support over the years,” she said. “I love my mom to pieces. She is the same age to me every year, but I know she isn’t getting any younger and shouldn’t be (traveling) as much as she does. It’s the best decision for all of us.”
Snowberger has passed on her skills through training middle school players and her sharpened mental tools to aspiring softball players through the Athlete to Athlete mentorship program.
“It’s with young girls. It’s all virtual,” Snowberger said. “I have a fifth grader up to a freshman in high school. We might talk about what to do after a strikeout to how to handle making an error. I want to be a college coach, so this is helping me work with players now.”