April 28, 2004
Amanda Burke, an all-conference and all-region midfielder on the nationally-ranked Texas A&M soccer team, will spend some time visiting this spring with fellow student-athletes in a regular feature here on AggieAthletics.com. Amanda sat down this week with Jana James, a junior outfielder on the Texas A&M softball team. James, from Mesquite, Texas, is a career .325 hitter and set a school record for doubles in a season last year with 21.
What were some of the team's goals going into the season, and especially going into conference play?
"Well, the whole year it was that we wanted to win, go to regionals and possibly to the World Series, because we knew we had a good team. But then we battled through injuries and stuff like that. The weekend before Big 12 started, we went to California and had a rough tournament. We watched OU play (out there), so we were really ready to play them. We knew that we could beat them. We just took that and played really well and beat OU. After that, we knew we had a good chance to do really well in conference."
What does the game against Texas on Wednesday night mean for you guys in terms of rivalry?
 Jana James has been the Aggies' starting left fielder the past two seasons. |
"Well, Coach Evans tries to really not get us too hyped up about it in that way, because if we get really hyped up then we play really tight...because our main focus then is beating them instead of going out there and doing what we need to do. So, she kind of gets us calmed down to make it not such a huge game, but it really is. Plus, we want to go in Wednesday, get a "W" and then head into this weekend against Nebraska. Hopefully those two games will decide the conference champion."
Why did you pick the number 1 to wear on your jersey?
"(Laughing) Well, I've either been 7 or 24. In high school, I was 24. When all of the freshmen came in here, we tried on our uniforms, and we were looking at numbers. 24 was available, but Nicole (Robinson) and all of them were like, 'That looks really big on you!' It's a big number; I was kind of a small girl. So, I thought I'd just try on number 1. Plus it's cute, and you know, cute people wear number 1! That's pretty much why I picked it! How funny is that?! (Both of us laughing)"
You're really competitive in terms of softball. Do you find yourself being competitive in other things outside of athletics?
"Like dominoes?! Oh yeah! Definitely! I love dominoes. I just get really into what I'm doing, especially when other people are involved. They like to talk trash, and of course, that makes it even more competitive because you don't want someone talking trash to you and then you can't do anything about it. I'm really competitive when it comes to that stuff."
I've heard you're known to be the trash talker or the heckler of the team! How do you do that from left field?
"Yeah that's hard. I really don't do it in left field. I don't do it unless someone provokes me. But when that happens, I'll either do it when we're on the bases or in the dugout or just somewhere like that-if there's any one place they can hear me."
What is your best memory or moment playing here at Texas A&M?
"Well, right now I'm going to have to go with sweeping OU this year. It was really big, and we definitely needed it. I think that was more the turning point right there. We were so fired up. We won the first game 1-0 and then just took it from there. It was really exciting coming out with two W's."
You're kind of a random person, so I was wondering what kinds of things you think about in left field during a slow game?
"I used to look in the stands a lot, especially when it's a slow game and I don't really do anything. You just kind of check out who's here and who's not. Lately, I don't do that as much since conference games are such big games. I try to keep myself focused, sometimes by keeping myself in the game by how many outs we have, who's up, or just moving around a lot."