BOONE, N.C. – It wasn't very long ago that Boone native Candace Collie was taking her usual spot in right field on Watauga High School's softball field.
In 2003, App State Softball started playing some of its first home games at the old Watauga High location, before the Mountaineers moved to an on-campus home in 2007.
A 2004 graduate of App State, Collie was a freshman member of the Mountaineers' first softball team in 2001 under head coach Wilma "Willie" Rucker. The site of her high school games as a Watauga Pioneer and many of her collegiate games in the early days of App State Softball is where the newly constructed Sywassink/Lloyd Family Stadium is located, giving her a unique perspective on the evolution of the program.
When the new stadium hosts its first game at the Appalachian 105 Complex on Friday, when a 25-year celebration of App State Softball will accompany the home opener against Georgia Southern, the area will look very different than when Collie played there.
The field faced the opposite direction, and the outfield fence wasn't a proper distance from home plate.
"We didn't even have the official parameters for the outfield," recalled Collie, formerly Candace Shelton. "If balls were hit over our head, we had to run all the way to the fence, which was at a slow-pitch depth. The field wasn't where it is now when I was in high school, but a lot of advocacy from parents and the community helped us get our field on campus instead of at the rec fields."
Not only was Collie a part of App State Softball's foundation 25 years ago, but her family helped build the first home for the team.
Collie's father helped build the facility with a red-dirt playing surface at the old Watauga High, which relocated from the Appalachian 105 area to a new spot on the eastern side of town in 2010, leaving behind land that has been re-developed by App State Athletics in recent years.
"It's really special to me that my dad helped build our first home," Collie said. "I think now I can appreciate that more than when I was young. It truly is special to me. My dad was a big part in building the dugouts for our new field. When they were built, we all wrote our names, numbers and position on the walls. That's a really awesome memory to me. He just wanted his three girls to play softball."
The Mountaineers began their 25th season overall — and their 11th in the Sun Belt Conference — on Feb. 7 in Auburn, Ala. Roughly eight months earlier, App State welcomed the sixth head coach in program history to the High Country with the arrival of
Whitney Jones.
Through the years, App State Softball has compiled seven top-five finishes in conference play, including a Southern Conference regular season championship in 2013. The start can be traced back to Rucker, who advocated harder for softball in the High Country than anyone had before. She coached the Mountaineers from 2001-07.
"I remember Coach Rucker being very passionate and very dedicated," Collie said. "She always pushed us to be better. I'm always going to be grateful for Coach Rucker."
Things can change a lot over the course of 25 years. The 2001 team would go through early morning weight training and wear clothes that didn't fit for practice. For road trips, the student-athletes packed into a small bus or passenger vans to go play on rough and bumpy fields.
Those are memories Collie still cherishes. She fondly recalls the long hours of being an exercise science major and taking 18 school hours a semester while also being a student-athlete. She remembers the deep bonds built with her teammates on those long, cramped bus rides. She knew the importance of the foundation she was helping to build.
"It was so fun to be on the team," Collie said. "It was a lot of hard work because we didn't know what we were building back then. We came in eyes wide open and knew that we were underdogs, but we wanted to work hard. I look back now and see a group of girls who supported each other and pushed each other to be better."
When she took the field for the first time in an App State uniform, she said she knew that she was a part of something big for the program. It meant being part of a framework that would continue to grow for years to come.
"I remember being really nervous that first time I took to my spot in right field," Collie said. "But I also remember being really excited and proud. I was just loving the moment. It was your normal emotions when you take the field for a softball game, but they were good emotions."
Collie said she felt embraced by the Boone community in those early years.
At the outset, before moving to what is now the Appalachian 105 site, the program played at the Watauga County Parks and Recreation fields. Residents would drive by and honk their car horns to show their support of the team.
"I feel like we were very supported by the community," Collie said. "We didn't have a stadium or stands for people, but I remember we had several people come watch our games. I just felt like the support of our community when we first started helped us out."
Twenty-five years later, the program's growth is evident.
When the new stadium opens Friday, the venue will feature the program's first videoboard and an AstroTurf Diamond Series playing surface.
The evolution of this program is something Collie has witnessed firsthand as a Boone native who still lives in her hometown.
"It's awesome to see," Collie said. "There is a strength in this program, and there's recognition of this program across the country. We didn't have turf fields when I played. Just seeing the players getting interviewed and being able to speak life into the softball program is special to me.
"To be a smalltown girl from a community where so many people advocated for us and worked really hard to build a program, there's so much gratitude. To be a part of that is what stirs me to emotion. I'm just so appreciative that I was able to be a part of the founding blocks of this program."
Attending games when she can, Collie remains an avid supporter of the Mountaineers. Being one of the program's first alums is something she doesn't take lightly.
"I tend to not be a prideful person, but I just feel honored," Collie said. "It's special for me to be able to stand here and have an opportunity to just show everyone what it was like and tell everyone what it was like here before this. It's incredible to see this community grow with women's sports and acknowledge that we are important. There's a lot more room for young girls to come and play ball or to watch games. It shows them that they can dream and pursue those dreams.
"It's amazing to see."
The picture is clear for someone who can vividly compare the past to the present in a tangible way, with a bright future ahead.
"To be able to share this old spot and make it refreshed and new in the middle of the community helps people get more involved, and this program is becoming more a part of us here in the mountains," Collie said.
"From my perspective, watching parents and other players and how they're involved is important to all of us. I just really appreciate all the efforts from every person who has come before and who have paved the way for me and other young girls to be a part of such an amazing program."
