Darrell Moody: Allen doesn’t regret choice to stop playing softball

Bailey Allen insists she has played her final school-sanctioned softball game; maybe her last fast-pitch softball game ever.

It’s hard to believe. I’ve been at the Appeal since 2003, and I can honestly say I’ve found few student-athletes who have played the game with such joy and enthusiasm.

If you know Bailey Allen, you’re a lucky person. She has that bubbly personality you wish everybody had, but few possess. I’m not sure her charismatic smile ever leaves her face. I remember a basketball game during her junior year when she got a shot swatted. Mortification? Hardly. Smile and laughter? You bet.

Allen, who concludes a very good four-year career at CHS on Tuesday against Douglas, has been playing softball for at least 10 years. She played for the Sharks organization, and then, as her game evolved, she ventured over the hill to play travel ball in the Stockton-Sacramento area.

So, when Allen decided she wouldn’t pursue softball at the collegiate level, I found it difficult to believe how somebody so talented could walk away from something she had spent so much time at.

Initially, Allen said she was burned out which is why she didn’t want to play in college. Now, it’s something different.

“I like softball here (at Carson),” Allen said. “It’s fun. I’ve talked to people who play in college, and they say it’s like a business. I want to have fun. I don’t want it to be like a job.

“When Brandon (her older brother) decided not to go to Lassen to play there, I figured it would be OK if I didn’t keep playing.”

There were several JC and NAIA schools interested. College of Idaho and University of North Dakota also showed some interest. One of those, Simpson College, was just two hours away, but the distance and cost factors caused Allen to pass.

Allen would more than likely continued her career had Western Nevada decided not to disband its program.

It would have been ideal for Allen, who could have lived at home, gotten two tuition-free years of education and played some softball. It would have been a great match.

Yes, college sports is a business, especially at the higher levels. Coaches’ jobs depend on the performance of the student-athletes, so yes the stakes are higher at four-year schools.

Allen, now that she has decided to walk away from the sport she loves, doesn’t have any regrets.

“I made a lot of friends playing softball, more than doing anything else,” Allen said. “I don’t have any regrets at all. Lauren (Lemburg) is one of my best friends, and I would love to be able to play another year with her.”

So, for the first time in several years, she will have student and not student-athlete attached to her name next fall.

“I think things will be a lot easier,” Allen said. “It will give me more time to put toward my studies.”

Allen said she’s thinking about becoming a teacher and a coach. She has proven how smart she is on the softball field, and no doubt she would be a good instructor down the line.