Hello and welcome back to Let's Talk Choctaws with Meeby and Kienna!

This week we had the pleasure of sitting down with Hannah Creel, a junior pitcher for the Lady Choctaws softball team from McComb, Mississippi. We were impressed with her diligence to her school and team as well as her outgoing personality.

This year, Hannah has a very busy schedule. She's taking 18 credit hours, working a part-time job, and is a collegiate athlete. With such a large class load, Hannah is grateful to have a support system in her housemates this year. She lives off-campus with three of her closest friends and they love to have movie nights, spend time together, and occasionally visit each other's hometowns. "We'll take turns cooking and making desserts," she said, "I love living with them." Hannah is majoring in political science pre-legal and is taking mostly upper-level classes.  She plans on going to law school after graduation. 

Hannah's spiritual well-being is at the center of her life. She has been going to Pinelake church since her freshman year and has found a great family there. She is also still committed to her church at home. She and her roommates frequently do devotions together, and will also host bible studies in their home. Hannah can bring this side of her life to practice, as well. "I'm on a team where we pray before and after every practice, it's not a conversation I have to shy away from. I'm blessed to be surrounded by people who have the same beliefs as I do," she said. Her love for the team and coaches is undeniable, and she is grateful to be able to be part of a team that is so Christ-centered.

As with the rest of the athletics this year, practice and training look a bit different for the softball team. "Now we have to wear masks during practice, which has been something to get used to, but otherwise it's been pretty typical," Hannah said. "We're doing a lot of intrasquad scrimmages and drills, and thankfully practice has been able to carry on as it has in the past few years." Hannah mentioned how great it is that softball still feels normal, as that brings a sense of consistency to her life. They practice and train three days a week in the afternoons. Hannah typically babysits from 8 to 12:30, then returns to campus to do weight training. After that, she changes into practice pants and then she goes to the field with the team until 6pm. "We don't have any morning sport commitments this year which is really nice," Hannah added. She is excited about the new season and for the potential she sees in her new teammates."Our team looks really good this year, and we have a lot of new people that I think are going to do a great job filling in the spots left by seniors," Hannah said. She is excited for her younger sister, Hallie Creel to be joining the Lady Choctaws softball team this year as a freshman infielder.

This season's softball team is full of diverse personalities and fun spirits. "I don't think I've ever gone to practice and not enjoyed it," she smiled. Hannah told us how her teammates were brought together by the sport, but have now bonded on deeper levels past the outfield. "When you put twenty-five girls together on a team, you wouldn't think they would all get along, but we mesh so well together. It's so fun and enjoyable to be around them." Because they have such great chemistry, traveling to and from games is one of Hannah's favorite parts of being on the team.  "My favorite trip we ever took was when we went to regionals my freshman year in Melbourne, Florida," Hannah recalled. The team got to fly there, and over the course of the three days came from behind and went all the way to the championship. She also enjoys road trips and playing games like Mafia with her teammates on the bus. "Going out to eat together, exploring different cities- spending time with the team brings us closer every time we compete," she said. 

Hannah started playing softball at age five at her local recreational buddy ball league, and began pitching when she was nine. "I wasn't super strong in any other position. So my dad was like, well, let's see if you can pitch and I turned out to be pretty decent at it," said Hannah, "I think I just loved it from the beginning. I started at five and haven't stopped. Now I'm twenty, over fifteen years later, and I'm still kicking!"

We enjoyed getting to know Hannah and her personality outside of the ballpark. She is bright and energetic, and has a love for talking about people that she truly cares about in her life. The softball team got their season cut short last semester due to the Covid-19 outbreak in March. We are excited to see Hannah return to the field and conquer the pitchers mound in the 2021 spring season.

Thank you for joining us this week and be sure to check in next Monday to see who our next guest will be!