It took one moment 24 years ago for Army Staff Sgt. Nichole E. Higgins, a spectrum manager for 101st Airborne Division Sustainment Brigade here, to know softball was the sport for her.
At age 9, Higgins made a solo double play by catching a fly ball and then tagging out another player on the field who had left first base prematurely.
“I ran back to the base and got a double play on my own,” said Higgins, a native of Swanzey, New Hampshire. “Everybody was cheering in the stands, it felt amazing, and from that point on, I knew I wanted to continue playing this game.”
Higgins, who initially enlisted as a musician for the U.S. Army band, said she found out about the All-Army Women’s Softball team in 2003 while stationed in Fort Drum, New York.
“The coach for the All-Army Men’s Softball Team was a command sergeant major [at Fort Drum],” she said. “I reached out to him for advice, and he told me exactly what to work on.”
New to traditional softball during that time, Higgins said, she began to work on her technique in the morning after physical training and in the evening after work to increase her chances of earning a spot on the team.
Player, Coach
Higgins, who has served 15 years in the Army, has now been part of the All-Army Women’s Softball Team for 10 years. For the last two years, Higgins earned the position of assistant coach, but this year she led the team as the head coach.
“I think I was presented with some challenges this year that will help me grow as a coach and [noncommissioned officer], but I also think the many years I have of playing [softball] on various of teams helped me get through those challenges,” she said.
Higgins said she believes her softball career has made her grow as a noncommissioned officer because, just like her soldiers in her section, the All-Army Women’s Softball Team contains players of different backgrounds, military occupational specialties and ranks.
“As a coach you are in charge of maintaining the Army values and watching for [the players’] safety and security on and off the field,” she said.
Army Sgt. 1st Class Ryan O’Leary, the noncommissioned officer in charge of information management for the 101st Airborne Division Sustainment Brigade, said Higgins’ participation in an All-Army sports team not only shows her physical capabilities, but also her ability to adapt.
“She brings diversity to our shop,” he said. “Hopefully [she] encourages others to look outside their daily jobs because there are so many other opportunities and programs for Soldiers to take advantage of.”
Oleary added that Higgins is a leader to imitate, because she is not only an asset to the section, but she always puts the welfare of her soldiers first.
Higgins led the All-Army Women’s Softball team to victory at the Armed Forces Championship in September at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, Texas. The team won the gold medal for the second year in a row.
The tournament serves as a selection vehicle for the U.S. Armed Forces Women’s Softball Team, which Higgins also helped to coach this year. The team -- the 2015 defending champions -- competed Sept. 30 to Oct. 2 at the American Softball Association/USA Softball National Championship in Oklahoma City, but failed to place this year.
Higgins said she hopes her journey will encourage soldiers to participate in the All-Army Sports Program, because it a great program that makes soldiers grow as leaders while participating in a sport they love.