By: Bethany Brewton
Brea Dickey is a person with softball intertwined within her DNA. As a daughter of a softball player, Dickey began picking up the game at only three years old. From rec. ball, to travel ball, to playing for Georgia in the beginning of her college career, softball has always been a part of her. Some of her biggest life lessons have come from the sport and gone straight into real world scenarios.
"Handling adversity, I would say, is one of the biggest things I have learned and been able to deal with," said Dickey. "When things aren't going your way and you want to be controlling what you can control, I think that's been a big one for me to just letting go of the things I am not in control of."
Transferring to Kennesaw State after her junior year of college to play for the Owls was the beginning of a new journey, one with many ups and downs but "one of the best decisions" she said to have made. This was partially due to the team she was on, but also her ability to grow as a player. During her senior year she led the team in average, at-bats, runs, hits, triples, total bags, and sacrifice hits. In the 2021 season, she made NFCA All-Region Second Team, ASUN First Team All-Conference, ASUN All-Tournament Team, ASUN All-Academic Team, and was an ASUN Player of the Week. Upon graduation, Dickey followed her goal of being a high-school teacher, with a high school softball team of her own to coach.
"I think the older I've gotten, the more I've grown to appreciate the game, appreciate what it's given me, and also the people that I've met from it," said Dickey. "It's been very rewarding to me in these past couple of years. I think that's been very insightful for me."
Dickey and head coach Tripp MacKay remained in contact after she moved on from college. The position for assistant coach was open and was offered to Dickey over the past summer. Dickey realized this was exactly what she wanted to do and took the job.
"I didn't think that I would ever be doing this. I think it's more surreal. I get to do something that I never thought I would be doing and I just want to live every single second of it because I really am enjoying it," she said.
Dickey says her biggest goal right now is focusing on living in the moment and being present. Watching so many of the seniors on the team now who were freshmen during her senior year has been so rewarding. Even with the freshmen now, she can see the growth after just a season. Seeing the work being put in and the smiles after accomplishing a goal is a huge encouragement and motivation for her.
When asked on what advice she had for others playing the sport and not quite knowing what their future may hold, she offered the following:
"I would just say to take a step back and really don't even think about [the future] softball wise. Just live like you get to play a game and it's only for a short amount of time," said Dickey. "You're really going to learn a lot of things through playing it, but also it's going to be really rewarding at the end.
"I felt like my biggest thing was I wasn't done playing and I didn't want any regrets. I think that time off for me, I really had to appreciate the game and it gave me a different perspective on it. It brought me back to where I was when I was younger and it was just a game and it was fun. But I was also going to compete hard and play my heart out every single game that I had left."
Even in just a season, Brea Dickey's light has shone bright for the Kennesaw State Owls. Her growth and wisdom in the game has added so much confidence and strength to the team with a sunny future ahead.
