Sophomore infielder Alisha Frederick decided to come to Eastern Illinois a week before school started.  

Frederick played softball at Parkland College last year; she transferred to Lake Land College over the summer. Current head coaches Dan and Kristi Paulson were planning on coaching at Lake Land before switching to Eastern over the summer.  

“It was probably maybe a week before school started, maybe two weeks,” Frederick said. “We talked about it. Then, they convinced me.”  

In one month, Frederick went from practicing at Lake Land to playing at Eastern.   

“Straight A student, a leader; there’s not a bad bone in her body,” Dan Paulson said. “She’s just an all-around great person, and that’s the type of people we want in the program.”  

When the Paulsons first went to Eastern, Frederick originally was not going to join as she already had a lease by Lake Land. Frederick said she prayed on it, hoping that a sign would show her what to do.  

“I had to talk to my parents and pray about it,” Frederick said. “I literally was like, ‘If I’m supposed to go, just make the path so clear that I don’t even have to question it.’ Then, a girl from the year before decided to come back to Lake Land and play.”  

Frederick started playing softball when she was 8 years old in Arthur. She started playing at Moultrie County Rush, a travel program in Arthur.   

“One of my best friends I met playing travel ball; I’m going to be her bridesmaid coming up in a year,” Frederick said. “That’s where most of my deep-rooted friendships came from, so I learned a lot about friendship and communication and playing as a team and all those big life things.”  

Frederick also played volleyball and basketball in high school. She said that softball was always her main sport, and Frederick said she did not really think about playing in college though.  

“Honestly, it was just something I always did, so it wasn’t even a question for me,” Frederick said. “I was just going to go as long as I could. I think I didn’t have a specific big goal like some of my friends did, wanting to play at a specific school. I was just letting it work itself out.”  

Frederick ended up choosing Parkland because her sister played there, and she already knew the Paulsons. She said she wanted to play at four-year school, but Parkland ended up being the perfect choice for her.  

However, at the beginning of the year, Frederick went through a tough time many softball and baseball players experience: the yips.   

Yips is when an athlete suddenly cannot perform simple tasks in their sport. Examples are not being able to throw a ball or field a ball correctly.    

Frederick said the change from high school to college affected her.  

“What I was going through personally came onto the field through that, and that’s when I realized I need to do something,” Frederick said. “I actually went to therapy to talk about it, when I started talking to people and stuff, it was really just God. I just started reading my Bible, and he opened my eyes and gave me peace about everything and helped me literally through everything.”  

Frederick is now at Eastern after getting over the yips and having a good season at Parkland.  

Last year, she finished with a .475 average and 52 RBIs.   

“She had an outstanding year,” Dan Paulson said. “We knew she was one of the best hitters we had ever coached at that level.”  

At Eastern, Frederick said the hardest part of the change this year was connecting with the new team as a lot of changes happened over the summer.  

“I think it took a little bit, just because of also having new coaches and everything,” Frederick said. “Everyone had a crazy summer of they had an expectation of this year, and now it’s totally different. I think it took a little bit for our team to grow together, but I think we definitely have gotten so much better than at the beginning, for sure.”  

Eastern is in first place in the Ohio Valley Conference and Frederick has been helping lead the charge with a .277 average and 22 RBIs. 

“Yeah, I definitely think the rest of our goals is obviously to win conference, but also just finding that consistency,” Frederick said. “Not rollercoaster up and down, just a consistent level with everyone all together.”  

Patrick Schmitz can be reached at 581-2812 or at pfschmitz@eiu.edu.