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You are a college softball coach. One day a National Scouting Report email arrives. Good news, you think. As you peruse the prospects listed on the screen, you decide to focus on freshmen, Class of 2019.
Why?
You will be replacing a first baseman in four years, so it’s time to start building your recruiting list for that position. Then a particular prospect catches your eye. The good news just got better.
Audrey Greely, a 5-foot-10, 140-pound, left-handed-hitting first baseman, Class of 2019, is on your screen. Good grades, too. You click on her NSR profile.
That’s the way recruiting begins. College coaches first have to learn about you to recruit you, and Audrey will get a lot of looks from college coaches. Not just because of her size, grades and stats. When they discover her story, they will be intrigued, impressed and want to know more about this exceptional young woman.
See, Audrey has Type 1 diabetes.
Hoy Cooke, NSR area director for Central Louisiana, first noticed Audrey at a softball tournament early this past summer. He followed her at subsequent events and continued to be impressed by her athleticism and on-the-field leadership.
“She’s nearly 6 feet tall, so she stands out, but she hit the ball like a grown man,” Cooke explained. “I noticed, too, that she wore a black belt with a pack around her waist. I didn’t know what it was at the time. Later I found out she wore it to regulate her diabetes. But you’d never know it to see her play. It doesn’t inhibit her one bit.”
Audrey’s dad, Jim, is her travel team coach. He met Cooke at a tournament and followed up with a phone call asking Hoy to conduct a recruiting seminar for his team. Afterward, Greely asked Cooke to interview his daughter. Hoy jumped at the chance.
“Audrey is a special kid,” Cooke said. “When I went to their home, her parents basically let her handle the whole interview. It was like speaking to an adult. I think it’s because she’s had to take care of herself and her diabetes, so that’s thrown a lot of responsibility on her at a young age. Remember, she was only 13 when I interviewed and enrolled her.”
But hold tight for a moment. Let’s go back to those college coaches that we said will be attracted to Audrey. Sorry to break the news, coaches, but you’re too late.
Seems that Cooke was not the only one to notice Audrey. During an unofficial visit this summer to Southeastern Louisiana University, coordinated by Cooke, the head softball coach offered Audrey a scholarship on the spot. With the full support of her parents, Audrey accepted.
“In today’s recruiting process, college coaches are recognizing prospects earlier than ever before that they believe will develop and fit their programs,” said Jim Greely, who played baseball at LSU and in the California Angels organization. He, along with Audrey’s mom, Julie, knew that making a decision so soon would cause a stir.
“A lot of people asked how we could let our daughter commit as an eighth-grader,” he said. “Look, we have 12 players on our team. The group has won several World Series, so we knew that we had a special group of girls. We put them in the position to showcase their talent in the best tournaments we could enter. As a result, five have committed already. While others may look at it as far too early, we don’t make the recruiting rules. If one of our players finds what she and her parents feel is the right school and program for them, we encourage them to do what they think is right for them.”
Yet, Audrey’s health issue was definitely a hurdle for her and her parents to get beyond. When the subject comes up, they all say when she was first diagnosed nearly three years ago, it was a time none of the three will ever forget.
“When Audrey was 11, she had a rash on her face which concerned us,” Jim Greely said. “Plus, she’d lost 10 pounds over a month’s time. We took her to the doctor and they did a finger prick to look at her blood. They found that her sugar level indicated that there was a problem. As it turned out, she had developed Type 1 diabetes. Her pancreas had shut down and wasn’t producing any insulin.
“It was a shock, but from the start, Audrey has handled it with the maturity of an adult. Of course, my wife, Julie, and I help her with it, but for the most part Audrey manages it on her own. She was forced into a disciplined world. She has to be aware of her sugar level 24/7 and she’s taken that on herself.”
Added Julie Greely: “That day when the doctor told us that Audrey had Type 1, it rocked our world. We wondered what it would mean to her life? It was scary. But now it’s the new normal for us. I remember that in the doctor’s office Audrey jumped up in my lap and asked, ‘Am I going to be alright?’ I told her everything would be fine, but truthfully I didn’t really know.”
The doctors explained the situation and immediately reassured Audrey and her parents that she would be OK and could lead a normal life. They also said the family would be making some changes, but if Audrey closely followed their prescribed protocol, she would be fine.
“Then Audrey turned to the doctor and said, ‘Can I still play sports and will I be able to have children?’ Julie Greely said. “It broke my heart, but it was an indicator that Audrey’s thinking goes deeper than most other kids her age.” The doctors told Audrey that she could lead a very normal life and that she could resume playing softball and her other favorite sport, volleyball.
When Julie, Jim and Audrey found out that a lot of people live normal lives with Type 1 diabetes, they were relieved. In fact, one of Audrey’s volleyball coaches has Type 1.
“I had no idea that her club coach was dealing with Type 1, too, until she raised her shirt one day and showed me her insulin pump,” Julie Greely said. “It instantly gave me a new perspective of the disease. Every time I see her, I know that Audrey will be OK.”
Today, the whole family goes out of their way to help other families facing the same fearful diagnosis they encountered. When they hear that another local child has the disease, the Greelys volunteer to counsel the child and the parents, too.
“We love to help other families through the initial difficulties associated with Type 1,” Julie Greely said. “We can sit down with them and tell them Audrey’s story, how we feared for her future, but how we learned that life goes on with few interruptions. And Audrey is especially sensitive to those kids who are scared and confused once they know they have Type 1. It has become a real passion for all of us.”
The impact on Audrey has been life-changing, her mother said.
“Audrey has embraced her condition from the get-go,” Julie Greely said. “Trivial things like what her hair or shirt look like don’t bother her. She sees the larger picture.”
Cooke is quite proud of Audrey.
“One of the great things about Audrey is that she wants to use committing early as a platform to let other youngsters know that having diabetes should not keep them from achieving their life dreams,” he said.
However, Audrey had her doubts at first.
“When I found out that I had Type 1, I didn’t think I’d ever be able to play again,” Audrey said. “Then I found out that a girl I played against also had it. I had no idea. When we talked, I realized that nothing had changed for her, so why did it have to change for me? I want other kids with Type 1 to understand that they don’t have to change because they have this disease. They can do whatever they want to do. I’ve been to summer diabetes camps and a lot of kids think they have to roll over to it. They can have a normal life. I’m proof of that and I want to reach as many kids as possible who have it to show them that they can do anything they want to do.”
When it came to committing to Southeastern Louisiana, Audrey talked openly about her decision.
“It felt right. It’s not too far from my home, about 45 minutes, and it has my major which will be nursing,” Audrey explained. “The coaches said that they will work with me to get in all my classes and labs and play softball. That’s very important to me.”
It’s also important to her parents.
“The head coach at Southeastern is the type of person who will watch over Audrey and keep her in the right direction, whether it is softball, scholastically or in terms of character building,” Jim Greely said. “See, for us and Audrey, college has always been about finding the right academic fit while allowing her to play softball. Southeastern and the coaching staff there give Audrey that kind of future.”
National Scouting Report is dedicated to finding scholarship opportunities for athletes who possess the talent, desire, and motivation to compete at the collegiate level. We’ve helped connect thousands of athletes with their perfect college.
We are so proud of Audrey and try to make all of her games in any sport she plays. It is such a joy to watch her. She has handled her diagnosis like the champ she is, and we are looking forward watching her at Parkview and Southeastern over the next few years. Thank you for a lovely article about our precious granddaughter.
Wow, what a great story and amazing young lady. My daughter was recently kicked off of her team because her coach felt her diabetes was a liability. My daughter believes she can do anything she wants and I can’t wait to show her this success story.