Wednesday, February 5, 1997
SOFTBALL:
Senior first baseman Alleah Poulson defines ‘student athlete’By
Melissa Anderson
Daily Bruin Staff
The phrase student athlete encompasses, in the most literal
sense, anyone who plays a sport and attends classes
simultaneously.
In a day and age where many athletes leave school early to
pursue professional careers and others choose simply to focus on
the athletic rather than the scholastic, it is becoming
increasingly difficult to find a person who embodies the true
definition of the phrase.
Alleah Poulson does just that.
Starting at first base for the fourth consecutive year, the
senior member of the Bruin softball team has also been named to the
Athletic Director’s honor roll every quarter in attendance at UCLA
and maintains a 3.39 GPA.
Until illness kept her from starting the season opener at Loyola
Marymount last week, Poulson had started 102 consecutive games and
is coming off a season in which she received first-team Pacific 10
all-academic honors.
"I’ve been (coaching) for an awful long time and you don’t get
too many people who are strong in both arenas," UCLA head coach Sue
Enquist said. "There isn’t a very long list of people that have
done what Alleah has done athletically and academically and that’s
what makes her special.
"My job is to get kids to graduate and to win ball games, in
that order. It’s nice to have someone that’s so solid academically.
She’s very driven; she’s a perfectionist in that she sets very high
standards. As a coach, that’s the kind of player you die for."
This balance is nothing new to Poulson, who has played softball
since the age of six. Keeping it in tact at the college level,
however, has been no easy task.
With a strict practice schedule intermixed between classes and
games, Poulson has little time to concentrate on anything outside
of the classroom or the off the field.
"I think it’s hard, especially this year because Coach Enquist
is really strict about being here on time and it’s really hard to
make it to class and get everything done," Poulson said. "My whole
day is centered around softball  I can’t just go off and do
stuff."
As one of three seniors returning to this year’s squad, Poulson
brings experience to an infield which lost two key starters from
last season. According to Poulson, it is that experience  and
not her senior status  which makes her a leader for the
Bruins.
"Alleah really leads by example," Enquist said. "She is an
individual that comes in day in and day out and gets the job done.
She’s the type of player that is at her best when she’s needed the
most."
From the seats at Easton Stadium, an observer might think that
the Bruin first baseman thinks of nothing other than the task at
hand. And when she’s on the field, that is basically true.
Off the field is a different story.
Poulson sees laughter as a necessary ingredient for any team,
and says that her love of laughter and cracking jokes is what
surprises people most when they meet her off the field.
"In practice, I’m always joking around and laughing," Poulson
said, "but on the field, it’s all serious; it’s all business."
There is no question that being an athlete provides one with
privileges not available to the normal student. But what is often
overlooked are the things student-athletes have to give up in order
to play their sport at a collegiate level.
For Poulson, there are parts of the college experience that are
missing  things that she has only been able to watch her
friends do as she hurried up to the softball field for
practice.
"It crosses my mind sometimes how I am missing out on certain
things that I could be doing if I wasn’t playing softball," Poulson
said. "Free time, taking a semester abroad  you are limited
to things like that that I think maybe I might want to do."
In the big scheme of things, however, there are no regrets.
"I’m sure so many people would trade places with me in a second,
and if I had it to do over again, I would make exactly the same
decisions," Poulson said. "I do realize what a privilege it is and
I enjoy that. It’s so worth it."
Daily Bruin File Photo
Senior first baseman Alleah Poulson brings a balance of
academics and athletics to the softball field.