Q&A with Lindsay Wilhelmson

Junior pitcher/designated player Lindsay Wilhelmson is coming off a season that saw her earn first-team All-Big 12 honors on the hill. Recently, she sat down with AggieAthletics.com and talked about the mental approach she takes to the game of softball, overcoming some early season struggles, being both a hitter and a pitcher at the same time, and more.

Lindsay Wilhelmson was named Big 12 Pitcher of the Week on March 5 after helping lead the Aggies to the Stanford Classic title.

Can you assess the team's performance through the first month or so of the season?

"We're doing well. We've had some rough times but I think it's looking up. We played really well this weekend. (We played) solid defense, the offense is definitely getting a lot better, and I'm excited. I'm real excited for conference. Still, not everybody's up to where they want to be, and that's always a plus when you're not into conference (play) yet because you don't want (to be peaking) there now. It's exciting."

Off-season surgery may have set you back some, and you struggled a bit out of the gate this season. Was that tough, especially because you played so well last year, and do you think you've turned things around?

"That was the thing, because I did do it last year. It was more like I was doubting myself. I was getting mental, and I was thinking about why (things) weren't working. Why can I not just go out there and hit the ball? Or, why did I forget how to pitch, you know? My dad, and pretty much everyone, told me, 'You've done this so many times.' That was a big thing. It was a matter of getting out there, getting a good game under my belt (and showing myself) I can do this. Everyone's growing. You (see that) everyone's playing and just getting back on track. For me personally as a pitcher, I had to realize, 'Wait. I'm a pitcher that gets ground balls. I don't strike people out necessarily.' I just had to get back in that mindset."

Sometimes a lot of the success one sees in athletics is mental. How much more confidence will this give you now that you've gotten over the early season struggles?

"It's always good. Yeah, you never like to struggle, but you know, getting through it early...not that it won't happen again, but now I know how to get through it. I just have to stop, and relax, and play the game. It's more like whenever I'm out there having fun then that's when I do the best. And that's when everybody does the best. When we go out there and we're tense, you can see it. You just have to remember to loosen up. We're out there because we love to play the game and (we should) just enjoy it. That's what I was lacking."

Hitting and pitching in the same game is more common in softball than it is in baseball...Can you talk about the mental approach you need to have to do that?

"It's more of coming back (out to pitch). Going in to hit, I don't think about it, I just go do it. It's more of going back onto the mound after, say I grounded out or struck out. You have to tell yourself, 'Okay. I'm not a hitter anymore, I'm a pitcher.' That's the hardest part for me is dropping something. Like this weekend (for example), I was so excited after the Stanford hit (grand slam) and the Georgia hit (3-run double in extra innings), I just wanted to scream as loud as I could, I was so excited. I had to compose myself because I had to go pitch again. You have to calm yourself down, either way-good or bad-and get back into it."

This team has a span of nearly a month of not playing at home. You'll be back in Texas off and on during then but you won't play a home game. Is that tough to deal with? Will the trip to Italy help in that you've already taken a long road trip with this group?

"It's really not that bad. Yeah, we're gone a lot and we're pretty far from home. But, we're such a close-knit group and we get along really well...better than any team I've played on. I think Italy did help, you know? We were in Italy, a foreign country where no one spoke our language, but we still all got along. I remember spring break my freshman year, everyone was at each other's throats. But this is a 10-day road trip we're about to go on and we're excited. We're just going to have fun. They say it's hard to play away...but whatever. I guess we've just gotten used to the mindset because were gone so much, and just go and do our thing there."

Does the number 23 on your jersey have any significance?

"I've been that since I was little. My older brother always had a thing with Michael Jordan, and that developed to me because I look up to my brother."

What do you like to do in your spare time?

"Of course I like hanging out with my friends, but I go home and sleep a lot. It's kind of cool to be with everybody, and then just go home and relax. I'm a big 'relaxer'."