Humble at Every Step: Payton Gottshall’s Journey from Bowling Green to Rocky Top and AUSL
Payton Gottshall: Humble at Every Step
In yesterday’s Fastpitch Wire Softball Podcast episode with Payton Gottshall, the biggest word that stood out to me was humble. In today’s world, where popularity and being well known can sometimes give people a false sense of being better than others, I found Payton to be refreshingly down to earth.
Even when I first reached out to her, as I mentioned in the episode, Gottshall never hesitated to make me feel appreciated and welcomed. That will always go a very long way with me. Decent humans who show humility and kindness are needed more in today’s world, and it is something far too many have lost touch with.
I am not here to preach, so moving on to a couple of my points from yesterday’s conversation. I asked Payton, from Massillon, Ohio if she felt she was destined from the beginning to be a Power 4 or 5 pitcher.
Her career at Bowling Green University before arriving in Knoxville, Tennessee, where she shined for the Lady Vols, was outstanding to say the least. Records were set, stats were stacked, and accolades mounted for Gottshall as a Falcon.
So, why the move to Tennessee? Everyone deserves the chance to work for something better. Payton is grateful for her time at Bowling Green, as she mentioned, but it was time to take that next step.
Gottshall absolutely flourished at Tennessee for Coach Karen Weekly and the Lady Vols. In two seasons, she pitched to a 36-7 record, a 1.49 ERA with 294 strikeouts, and a .172 opponent batting average in 257.2 innings pitched across 64 appearances.
Payton talks about how Karen Weekly pushed her to be herself when she arrived in Knoxville. She admitted she was holding back a little.
“She had talked to me. She was like, hey, like you’re not bringing the passion and everything that I saw when I, because I actually played Tennessee when I was at Bowling Green and pitched against them. And she was like, where, where is that girl? Like that’s why I brought you here because I love who that was and I want that.”
After that, the transition to Tennessee was in full go and the rest was history.
So, Payton’s answer to my original question was just as you would expect from a person that sees the bigger picture.
“I always felt maybe, but I’m like, I love how it kind of went for me because I felt like if I would have gone into that right off, I wouldn’t be as humble in a way. I was never really full of myself to begin with because that’s not how my parents raised me. I feel like starting off at a mid-major, it just made me a lot more grateful for everything that I had gotten.”
She went on to mention the big differences between Bowling Green and Tennessee, and even after living that life of being well taken care of and having the best of the best, she still never lost touch with that humility.
Fast forward to this year. After being drafted by the Volts in the inaugural Athletes Unlimited Softball League season, Gottshall was a bit starstruck and at a loss for words, and who could blame her?
Imagine being in the same space and interacting with someone you have watched and admired for years. Even more, that person is now your general manager, an Olympian, and one of the best softball pitchers of all time, the same position you excel at.
“It was so cool. I wanted to cry the first day because we have Cat (Cat Osterman) as our GM. I’ve always watched her, always looked up to her and just watched her play the first year of AU, and I’m like, now I get to talk to her. It was so cool because you always watch and then you sit there yourself and you’re like, how cool would that be to actually talk to them? Then you get to do it.”
“I was just like starstruck and I was so scared to actually talk to her. Cause I’m like, I don’t even know what to say. Like I have so many questions, but I don’t know how to ask them.”, said Payton.
Like a dream come true, I would feel the same way. I can recall a few times being starstruck around greatness, and it is a nervous feeling at first. Then you see that they are great humans and have no issue being that, and from there it gets easier and you loosen up.
Payton is now building her own story in the pro game with that same humble approach and relentless drive that has carried her from Bowling Green to Tennessee and now into the Athletes Unlimited stage. If she keeps going at this pace, the same way she has her entire career, she is going to make a very nice career for herself at this level.
You can catch my full conversation with Payton, including more on her journey and life in the pro game, on the Fastpitch Wire Softball Podcast. Watch it now on YouTube or listen wherever you get your podcasts.
