Nikki Lusnia
Nikki Lusnia is a senior at Freehold Township High School and a star pitcher for the varsity softball team. Her impressive talent on the mound landed her recruitment to Montclair State University, where she will continue her academic and softball careers. I had the pleasure of interviewing Nikki to discuss her experience with softball, the recruiting process, and her future aspirations.
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What drew you to softball in the first place?
– I started playing when I was, probably, seven because my mom played softball. She also went to Montclair State University and played softball so that kind of drew me to the school. I grew up with the sport. I did try others but it’s the only one I really like.
So there are family ties to it?
– Yes!
Is that what motivated you to become serious about softball? Were there other aspects to it?
– My parents motivated me the most and then I had one coach, her name was Coach Steph, and she passed away a few years ago from cancer. She was the one who really got me into softball and got me more serious about it. After she passed away, she was my inspiration that pushed me to become a better player for her.
What are you most looking forward to as a college athlete?
– I’m really excited for the trips. I know Montclair goes down to Florida over spring break, so I’m excited for that. Also, just getting to play all the different teams. NJAC is one of the toughest conferences there is so I’m very excited about that.
What are you most looking forward to in terms of just being a college student?
– The college experience just seems fun. Getting out of the house, living on your own, choosing what time you want classes so it’s not all scheduled for you, picking out what you want to do. I feel like it’s more fun.
Why did you feel that Montclair State University was the best for you as a student-athlete?
– For the student side of it, I was looking for a school that had a lot of different choices to go into for majors because I’m not sure what I want to do. Right now, I’m undeclared so with Montclair, they have almost everything there and have so many different majors so that’s why it was one of my top choices. I also grew up at the school. I used to always watch the softball team play growing up so that was one of my dream schools.
You visited it a lot?
– We didn’t really tour the campus. We mostly were just at the softball field to watch the games and then we would drive through the campus.
Did you do a tour? I know COVID probably made that less ideal.
– Yeah, I did a tour last March. That was the official tour for softball. I got a tour of the whole campus and got to see what some of the dorms looked like, the fields, the locker rooms, stuff like that.
What do you think will be your biggest challenge in adapting to college sports, since they are a lot more intense?
– College sports are definitely more intense. Managing my time will probably be one of the hardest things for me because I’m kind of a procrastinator. I’m the worst. It’s definitely the hardest thing and I talked with current players now and they said time management is the key to adapting to a college life.
How do you think you are going to address that challenge? What steps do you think you are going to take?
– Definitely planning out what I want to do, like scheduling out my classes and making sure I have the right schedule so I can have time for myself, studying, sports, this and that. Getting a set schedule and sticking to it while getting my work done is the way to do things.
What is the most challenging part of the college recruitment process?
– Getting in contact with the coaches is difficult because sometimes they don’t always see the emails that you send them so you have to constantly bug them to get them to answer. Also, it’s a lot of trying to reach out to all of the coaches, finding out what colleges you want to go to, staying in contact with them, and getting them to come to all of your games is difficult because you have to work around their schedule and yours for them to see you play.
What time period did Montclair start noticing and recruiting you?
– They started watching me, probably, freshman year, but then the coach started coming more junior year, high school season. She would come to the high school games and watch and that’s when she started focusing on me more and began thinking, “I kind of want her.”
For your last question, what advice do you have to those looking to play college sports?
– If you are looking to play a college sport, bug the coaches as much as you can when you are trying to get in the recruiting process. Just keep emailing, emailing, and emailing them and then eventually you will get their attention. Also, you have to put the work in, like you have to work as much as you can. I am doing something almost everyday that is softball related, particularly between lifting, pitching lessons, batting lessons, practice. It’s a lot of work but putting the work in gets you places.
What about for college in general like in terms of leaving high school and going somewhere else?
– I would say that it is definitely a change but it’s an exciting change because you are going off on your own and learning to become an adult. It’s definitely going to be difficult, like I’m kind of nervous about it, but I already am friends with some of the softball players that are there now. Just go into it with an open mind and be open to making new friends because they will be one of the biggest support systems you will need in college.