Rutgers-Newark Athletics

By Jim Hague

It’s amazing how roles can change in such a short period of time.

Two years ago, Nicole Odell joined the Rutgers-Newark softball program as a green freshman. Odell was just trying to fit in with her new surroundings, coming from a solid high school program in St. Joseph of Hammonton.

“Everyone looked down to us when we were freshmen,” Odell said.

Now, just two years later, it’s exactly the reverse. Odell is one of three juniors on a roster that features no seniors and has a group of eight promising freshmen. Now, Odell is being looked at as a leader.

“We went from having a bunch of seniors when we were freshmen to having no seniors at all,” Odell said. “We’re the oldest ones now. We’re the ones that the freshmen have to look up to. The freshmen are very talented, so we have to prove to them that we deserve to be looked up to. It’s a big change for me, but I like it.”

Rutgers-Newark head coach Patty Clarke knows how important Odell is to a young team.

“She’s pretty much the foundation of our program,” Clarke said. “She’s such a big part of our program. She’s such a great leader and in reality, I’ve been asking her to be a leader since she was a freshman. She’s a quiet kid and certainly not loud. Maybe I demand more from her, but it’s a little outside of her comfort zone. But it’s extremely important to us.”

Odell is an inspiration to her younger teammates, because she has managed to play through major pain over the last two seasons.

Odell suffered a torn labrum in her shoulder last year, but she didn’t want to have the surgery until after the season was over.

“I went to three different doctors and some of them wanted me to have the surgery right away,” Odell said. “It was definitely torn, but I needed to wait until after the season. I couldn’t sit and watch my teammates play. It was really difficult to go through at first.”

Odell had to endure months of physical therapy, stretching and heat stimulation just in order to take her position in left field.

“We had to make adjustments on the field to have my teammates come and get the ball from me,” Odell said. “I didn’t want anyone to know I was injured. The trainers really love me, because I pretty much live in the training room.”

Clarke was amazed that Odell was able to continue to play through the pain.

“I thought with that kind of injury that she would be in some sort of a supporting role,” Clarke said. “But not Nicole. She wanted to be out there every day. She challenged me and said to me, `I’m going to make you start me.’ Every single day, she was in the training room. She spent so much time there, just to get a chance to play.”

After undergoing the surgery in May, 2011, Odell has worked diligently to rehabilitate the injury.

“She’s doing so much more than what I imagined after the surgery,” Clarke said. “It’s exciting to see what she’s doing how. I can’t ask anything more of the kid. There isn’t a thin that she won’t do. She defines team. She defines what we’re trying to do as a team. What she’s done has been an inspiration to everyone. Every day, she makes me say, `Wow!’ and she proves me wrong.”

With the injured shoulder, Odell batted .244 with 12 RBI last season, including four doubles. She vows to improve on those numbers now that she’s finally healthy.

“Because of her injury, she had to change her hitting style,” Clarke said. “She’s changed her batting stance and the way she hits the ball. It’s really helped her.”

“We have freshmen who can do so many things,” Odell said. “They’re all so talented that I really don’t have to try to do much. They’ve fit in so well, almost to a tee.”

Clarke knows that Odell will do well in a lineup that features the freshmen.

“She’s going to fit in nicely,” Clarke said. “I’m really excited about our lineup.”

Odell didn’t mind leaving rural Hammonton in southern New Jersey for the hustle and bustle of the state’s largest city.

“When I came here for the first time on a visit, I knew that this is where I wanted to be,” Odell said. “It hit me right away that this is where I belonged and I wanted to stay.”

Odell is a criminal justice major. She eventually would like to pursue a career as a federal air marshal, a position that her father, Bob, already has.

“He’s been able to see the whole world with his job and no one knows who he is,” Odell said. “That’s pretty neat.”