Fresno State Athletics
Hard Work Still Paying Off: A Look Back at Former Fresno State Student-Athletes
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Jan. 31, 2000
FRESNO, Calif. - Standing at 5-2 with a 130-pound frame, Donna McDaniel had a lot to prove. If it was not going to be her intimidating stance at the plate that would make her Fresno State career memorable, she would have to find another, more suitable niche, to make her mark on Bulldog softball.
Redshirting her freshman year in 1988, McDaniel started out as many college softball players do, pinch running. Her playing time would materialize over time, tireless effort and determination- the one thing that McDaniel had on her side.
"There wasn't anybody that worked harder than Donna," head coach Margie Wright said about her former outfielder. "The ironic part is that she didn't become a consistent starter until her junior year and that never discouraged her. Those kinds of kids are hard to find."
McDaniel, as it would turn out, did not need the size and bulk to break her way into the starting line. The true lefty, and slapper, only needed the work ethic and leadership qualities she was born with.
"Everything she was about her teammates recognized, and they had a great deal of respect for her," Wright said. "She could pull the best out of her teammates with her actions."
Her work ethic and determination went so far as to premier in a 1993 game program featuring McDaniel. When asked what her biggest pet peeve was McDaniel's replied "people that don't work hard."
Earning that starting spot in the outfield in 1992, McDaniel never let down. Her work ethic not only helped the Bulldogs to a third place standing in the Women's World Series that year but also assisted the Bulldogs in earning the NCAA Regional title and the Big West Conference title, the third time in McDaniel's career at Fresno State to compete in the World Series and win both the Regional and the Big West titles.
Seven years have passed now since McDaniel reigned in the Bulldog outfield and she has since retired her fastpitch glove. But the love of fastpitch softball still dominates her life. She no longer stands at the left side of the plate awaiting that juicy pitch or anticipating the coming play standing in the outfield, but she is still just as much a part of the game. McDaniel has crossed over the chalky playing field lines to take her place in the dugout. She is now a Division I fastpitch assistant coach at Oakland University in Rochester, Mich.
"I still play softball for fun, but I play slowpitch," McDaniel said. "I haven't played fastpitch since 1993."-- Her final year at Fresno State.
After graduating McDaniel remained in Fresno to pursue her softball coaching career at Bullard High School while working at Cedar Vista Psychiatric Hospital. Two successful years passed before McDaniel knew it was time for a change. She applied to a graduate program in social work at the University of Michigan and has not looked back since.
"I've been here for five years now," McDaniel said. "I was working as a coordinator of softball at a sports academy for awhile and I knew that I wanted to get back into coaching so when I saw the position available at Oakland University I applied."
The rest is history. Working as a paraprofessional at Bloomfield Hills Middle School in Bloomfield, Mich. and assisting with the Oakland fastpitch team, which is propelling into its first season as a Division I varsity sport in the Mid Continent Conference at Oakland this year, is the realization of a dream McDaniel has held for most of her life.
"Coaching softball is my passion," McDaniel said. "They just added softball last year so this will be the first year and we are building the team from scratch."
Launching into a whole new season with a team of young athletes to shape and mold, McDaniel said that much of what she learned from coach Wright will carry over into her own style of coaching.
"The one thing I will always try to teach them is how much of a difference they can make in women's sports and that there is life after softball. Coach Wright taught us that everything we learned in softball could carry over to life- like how to succeed." Adopting coaching styles and philosophies is just the tip of the iceberg of things that McDaniel feels she took with her when she left Fresno State. She also left with a friend and mentor.
"When I look back at my time playing at Fresno State I remember Coach Wright and how she taught me so much. She was a wonderful person, surrogate mother, great friend as well as a coach. I really take that to heart. She's really a great person."
The impact that Wright left in McDaniel's life has developed into a valued friendship. McDaniel and Wright continue to keep in touch nurturing a friendship that McDaniel treasures and will surely refer to as her first season as a Division I assistant coach unfolds.