POCATELLO, Idaho- After a record breaking 2014 soccer season,
Amanda Ellsworth wasn't content. The Bengal star needed a challenge. Instead of just going to class and working during the spring semester, Ellsworth joined the softball team as a pinch runner.
"It basically was I wanted to be back in a team environment," Ellsworth said. "I missed travel with the soccer team and being with them. I missed going to practices and being challenged."
Although Ellsworth hadn't played softball since early in her high school career she was confident that she could play a small role in helping the team succeed. After visiting with coach
Julie Wright on what that role would be, Ellsworth was added to the team as a pinch runner.
"Every role counts, no matter how small or how big it is," Ellsworth said.
Ellsworth's role as a pinch runner has been impactful as she has appeared in 24 games and scored eight runs.
Playing softball has brought growth and a lot of learning for the Bengal senior.Â
"There is a lot more to pinch running then just getting on the bag and running," Ellsworth said. "You have to learn signs, down angles, your players that are at bat and what type of player they are so you can see and read what the pitches will be like. You have to read out fielders and know how to slide. Head first sliding was a little hard. I have to always be ready as a pinch runner."
Ellsworth's love for competition extends beyond the soccer and softball fields. As a sophomore at ISU she competed with the golf team in the spring. Ellsworth said that when she plays golf she usually shoots in the low 80's but when she practiced with the Bengal golf team she was able to get her score into the high 70's.
With the success Ellsworth had in golf as an athlete she acknowledges that soccer originally wasn't her best sport.
"I like a challenge," she said. "Soccer was not one of my better sports but I also saw a lot of potential in myself of where I could be someday."
Her mindset proved to be right as she set school and Big Sky Conference offensive records in 2014. This season Ellsworth set the school record for most goals in a game (3), season (16) and career (39). Her 34 points in 2014 was also a school record. She also broke Big Sky records with goals (39) and points (87).
As Ellsworth prepares for her future after college she is quick to admit that while the records are nice it is not what she will remember.
"The friends and sisters that I have made throughout the years is what I will remember the most," Ellsworth said. "The memories of everything from laughing at the fitness things we had to do to all the hard times. Records are meant to be broken. It probably won't be long before they are broken again. I won't have the records forever but the friends and sisters I have made, I will have forever."
As Ellsworth's collegiate career starts to wind down, she will graduate this spring with a degree in electrical engineering. Originally, getting a degree in engineering was not in the plans of the Bengal striker.
"My first thought was to go to culinary school until my dad told me that you can't play a sport at a culinary school," Ellsworth said. "I then thought I wanted to be an architect. That quickly went away when I found out I had to go to school for seven years. I said why not engineering. I looked at the different types of engineering. Electrical is one of those that is so broad and it is one of the most expanding industries right now. It sparked my interest. I took a couple of classes to see if I liked it. The classes I took I enjoyed so I stuck with it."
Ellsworth said she hopes to play professional soccer overseas but if it doesn't work out she knows her degree will help her in life.
"It is like I am opening a new chapter and getting ready to close a new chapter," Ellsworth said.
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