Softball is a true team sport — one in which every player must exert confidence in their positions and maintain a consistent mental and physical alertness when called upon in order for the team to win. For the shortstop, however, there is the highest demand for these qualities, and every movement requires great agility.
Enter Danielle Raison, SFU’s starting shortstop and one of the most vital cogs to the Clan outfield. The senior member of the team is entering her final season, and recalls her transition to the position from third baseman during her years of club softball.
“We had a couple of third basemen and fewer at shortstop, so I decided to make the move over there,” says Danielle. “I had a strong enough arm and was still on the left-hand side of the field, so it made for a pretty easy transition. It stuck with me, and I played all the way through to university.”
Danielle’s love of the outdoors and being active stems from growing up in her family acreage and spending time riding her horses. Despite attending an arts school with no sports teams, she spent as much time outside of the classroom as she could playing soccer and softball.
“I played metro soccer and high-level softball as well, so I was active as a child!” adds Danielle. “I’ve always played very competitive and medalled at three nationals for youth ball.
“Time commitments made me choose one [sport]. I think I was better at softball, and that’s why I chose it; you get to play in the summer and it’s nice.”
With a wealth of experience playing at such high levels, the Langley native began a strong commitment to her sport and to training harder to open the door to joining a university team.
Thankfully, Danielle became a Clan player, and faced a new level of competition within the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.
“[Moving to] shortstop at a university level from club ball is a big move. There are so many more things to incorporate into your game — not just fielding the ball and throwing the ball. You need to know the plays and be aware of the game a whole lot.”
Every aspiring player needs expert guidance and leadership to advance their game, and Raison feels that head coach Mike Renney has helped her game improve each day.
“He’s a really knowledgeable softball coach, [. . .] There is always something you could be working on and he always pushes you to do better,” she notes. “As soon as you reach one milestone, he has another one to make you continuously get better.”
Since her arrival in shortstop zone, Danielle has proven to be a key part of the Clan’s success. An unfortunate knee injury kept her sidelined for a majority of the 2014 campaign, one in which the team struggled into last place in the conference with only four wins.
Regardless of the setback, Danielle took every step to return to full fitness, while also helping her team weather the storm without her.
“After my surgery, it was nice to just get back on the field and into normal practices. It was a pretty awful feeling having your girls do their normal routine while I was on the sidelines doing something a lot less,” she explains. “I like getting back to the swing of things. As one of the few upperclassmen last year I was still there helping out the younger girls and still playing a part in the team.”
With her emphasis on helping her teammates, it should come as no surprise that Danielle has chosen Health Science as her major here at SFU; following her upcoming fourth year of study, she will pursue a nursing career. She is confident that she possesses the skills necessary for yet another demanding position.
“I want to use the skills I’ve used here to be a team player and carry that into the health field and a career setting that I really enjoy.”
Her contributions as a team player have already made an impact in preseason play, as the Clan returned from their recent 12-game road trip having already beaten the wins record of last season.
“I think we’ve got off to a great start going 7–5,” she says. “We’ll use this to identify things we need to work on and get ourselves rolling for the season. Making the playoff spot is a goal of ours, and definitely attainable.”
The future indeed looks bright with Danielle back on the field, where she continues to both improve her game and lead her teammates into a brand new season.
Fun Fact:
Inspiration:
“[Former] senior Leah Riske was starting shortstop when I came into the program and she taught me a lot. Pretty much all my upperclassmen passed the torch down to me, and now hopefully I can pass it down and share that experience with the girls now.”
