Fresno State Athletics
Catching up with Haley Perkins
6/25/2010 12:00:00 AM | Softball
June 25, 2010
FRESNO, Calif. - After spending four years playing for her hometown Fresno State Bulldogs, former softball great Haley Perkins, a year out of head coach Margie Wright's program, talks about continuing her education and getting into coaching.
Gobulldogs.com: What are your plans for your education?
Haley Perkins: I graduated in December with a bachelor of science in general kinesiology and in August I'm starting my masters in sports psychology.
GB: Tell us about your coaching experience this past season.
HP: I'm coaching at Clovis West with the coaches that coached me when I played there. I've helped travel ball teams in the past but this is my first actual coaching job on a staff.
GB: What did you learn from your former high school coaches by coaching with them?
HP: It's fun coaching with my former coaches. They gave me a lot of responsibility. I played for them and they taught me a lot. I tried and didn't want to overstep but they pushed me and gave me the tools to succeed.
GB: What have you learned from being a coach?
HP: It was harder than I thought. I got into it to ease myself out of playing softball but I fell in love with it and I'm going back next year. It's so much fun to be able to pass on knowledge and see younger kids get it. It was frustrating because it's easier said than done. I understand where Coach Wright is coming from now. It was very rewarding.
GB: This past semester you didn't have any classes, tell us what that was like.
HP: It was weird to have a semester off. I've always had three constants: family, school and softball and the past semester two of those three were gone. I was still busy though with coaching every day and working at a local gym but it was a different reality then I was used too.
GB: We saw you at several Fresno State games this year, what was like to watch and not play for the first time?
HP: It was relaxing but hard to not to be able to be out there. I saw it from the fans perspective for the first time and as a fan you don't see the behind the scenes, you just see the playing and winning. It was hard to not to be out there with my teammates. I was very proud of them though.
GB: What are your plans for the rest of the summer?
HP: Just working. I'm teaching a kinesiology softball class and just want to have fun with it. Hopefully I'm coaching a travel ball team when I can but that's not a for sure thing.
GB: Did you watch this year's NCAA Tournament?
HP: I did. Of course I was rooting for Fresno State! It was great to have a WAC representative at the WCWS.
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