![\"Ashten](\"http:\/\/www.nsr-inc.com\/scouting-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/ashten2.jpg\")
<\/a>Robby Wilson, National Director of Softball Scouting for NSR, recalls the first time he saw 2016 catcher and infielder Ashten Graves from Pocahontas, Arkansas.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was one of the most athletic kids I\u2019d ever seen,\u201d said Wilson, state director for Arkansas. \u201cHer ability and quickness behind the plate was like none I had seen before. Strong arm with accurate throws consistently. The balance, ankle sway and lateral movement to block poorly thrown balls. Awareness and field control like I\u2019d never seen. Home-run power, 3-hole hitter, who was skilled at placing the bunt and a 2.76 home to first to beat most of them out. Then see her hit the infield AND outfield, and look 100 percent natural. I struggled to find a flaw with this kid \u2026 until the obvious poked out at me: She\u2019s a 5-3 catcher and, therefore, doesn\u2019t \u2018fit the box.\u2019 As freakishly talented of a game-changer this kid is, I couldn\u2019t let the box bother me. A small town kid with big-time dreams, who had been working her tail off all her life for this one dream, I had to help her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Graves was 3-4 inches shy of the \u201cnorm\u201d for what a catcher should look like if they fit the box. Wilson explained to Graves and her parents about the difference. He let them know it would take some different approaches and different college programs whose coaches were willing to look \u201coutside the box.\u201d But Wilson was confident that Graves was an NCAA Division I prospect.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve worked with tons of prospects and families in the recruiting process, but rarely do you have an athlete like Ashten willing to do whatever, whenever, in order to achieve her dream,\u201d Wilson said. \u201cLuckily, she had the support of mom, dad, grandpa and grandma, and was able to travel to all of her personal camp invites and visits throughout the process. It was scary at times for her and them, but her perseverance paid off in a big way a year into her process when the offers started coming.\u201d<\/p>\n
As good a catcher and game manager as Graves was, she had begun to train a lot of her infield skills in fear of not \u201cfitting the box\u201d as a catcher. But as her first several Division I and II offers started rolling in, she noticed something.<\/p>\n
\u201dIt was different,\u201d Graves said. \u201cSome coaches wanted me to catch as a freshman. Some said I would never catch for them and play shortstop mostly. It was confusing but interesting.\u201d<\/p>\n
As the offers started pouring in for Graves, Wilson said this about her decision: \u201cThe same thing basically I tell all my girls every year:<\/p>\n
- \n
- When you wake up one morning and decide, yep, I want to go here 110%, that\u2019s the right place.<\/li>\n
- When you layout your criteria for a dream situation, and grade each program, who wins?<\/li>\n
- Considering it\u2019s a 40-year decision, not just the next four, who wins academically?<\/li>\n
- If you couldn\u2019t play softball, would you still attend the school?<\/li>\n
- Which coach is going to challenge you and not hand it to you on a silver platter?\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
As Wilson advised Graves on her difficult decision ahead, it didn\u2019t take long before she committed to a school.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I looked at what I was looking for in a school academically and a program\/coach athletically, I couldn\u2019t quit thinking about playing for coach [Rick] Fremin,\u201d Graves said. \u201cHe was the first coach to really step up and say, \u2018I don\u2019t care how big she is; that kid is a winner.\u2019 Considering my occupational therapy major didn\u2019t really affect the school of choice, I committed to Coach Fremin.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the time, Fremin was the head softball coach at Jackson State University, a Division I school in Mississippi. Of all the other offers Graves had to consider, and more coming in the coming months, she just knew this was the right one.<\/p>\n
Shortly after, Fremin received an offer to become head softball coach at Southeastern Louisiana University, a Division I program in the Southland Conference. Because Graves\u2019 commitment to Fremin at JSU was only a \u201cverbal commitment,\u201d she had the option of changing her decision. When Fremin took the new position, Graves decommitted.<\/p>\n
A few days later, Graves got a phone call from Fremin informing her that she was one of a few commits whom he wanted to take with him. By the end of the call, Graves had plans to play in a showcase and visit Southeastern Louisiana. During her time on campus, Graves remembered why she committed to him the first time.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe not only has a demeanor about him that makes me want to give 120 percent, he believes in me,\u201d Graves said. \u201cHe makes me feel like there\u2019s nothing I can\u2019t do on the field. Your experience with your coach in college can determine whether you\u2019re happy or not, or even finish your full four years of playing. So I\u2019m extremely happy that I have a coach that I connect with like we\u2019ve known each other all our lives. He makes me want to give my all and be better every day.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"NSR](\"\/\/www.nsr-inc.com\/scouting-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/ashten3-300x269.jpg\")
<\/a>NSR Softball Director Robby Wilson poses with Ashten after she signed her National Letter of Intent last November.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Graves made a verbal commitment to Fremin and Southeastern Louisiana, and last November signed her National Letter of Intent.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s been training hard in all aspects,\u201d Wilson said of Graves. \u201cCoach Fremin is confident she\u2019ll start out in the infield, then possibly move into a catcher role, and possibly even move out to outfield if needed, in that order. Coach Fremin was confident that Ashten\u2019s offensive prowess and speed on the bases was a must-have as a freshman, and defensively in the lineup, she\u2019s a problem-solver because she can cover eight out of the nine positions on the field legitimately.\u201d<\/p>\n
Graves said she learned a valuable lesson about \u201cfitting the box.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t let anybody tell you that you can\u2019t,\u201d Graves said. \u201cMake the decision that you are going to do what you want and achieve what you want, regardless of what they say is \u2018not normal\u2019. Don\u2019t follow trends, set the tone. Don\u2019t try to go through the recruiting process alone, especially if you don\u2019t fit the box. I learned, there are some college coaches who absolutely want a certain size for each position, and some who will overlook it if you have other things to \u2018bring to the table\u2019. Having a scout made it easier because Coach Wilson knew what coaches were and weren\u2019t OK with \u2018not fitting the box\u2019 and made targeting the right programs easier. My parents and family were huge for my support during the process, too, so make sure you remind your family how important they are to you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wilson learned a lesson, too.<\/p>\n
\u201cAshten defied all odds and logic,\u201d he said. \u201cShe\u2019s undersized, doesn\u2019t fit the box, she\u2019s from a small town in Northeast Arkansas, where nobody had ever signed a D-I softball scholarship NLI, and it had been years since anyone had signed an NLI for a D-I program in any sport. She\u2019s a testament to the fact that work ethic, faith, and family will always defeat all odds.\u201d<\/p>\n
With 1,600-plus college softball programs out there, if you have the talent, academics, family support, and other qualities of a legitimate college prospect, there\u2019s a home for you. Find your home. Be scouted. Get recruited. Go to www.nsr-inc.com\/softball<\/a> and fill out the request to be scouted.<\/p>\n
See more of what Graves and her mother had to say about NSR and the recruiting process in the video below.<\/p>\n