Softball Player Determined To Make A Big Hit In Life

The way to ensure Brandy Nelson’s success is to tell her she’ll never succeed.

Nelson grew up believing that people expected her to come to naught.

Some children in her situation may have a tendency to fall apart, but Nelson felt she could beat the odds.

“I think it’s because everybody thought I wasn’t going to be anything,” the Rogers High School senior said of her motivation. “I’ve just wanted to prove (differently) to them all my life.”

Nelson was 2 years old when her father died. She had no siblings. Her mother worked nights to support the two of them.

Young Nelson quickly established her character with her baby sitters. When sitters asked her to stay up late and keep them company, Brandy would insist that she needed her rest.

These days Nelson unfailingly tackles her studies when she comes home to an empty house. Nelson’s 3.8 grade-point average (on a scale of 4.0) attests to time well spent when she could have lounged.

Circumstances beyond her control have forced Nelson to idle away important hours this spring.

Two weeks before softball season, the Pirates’ right-fielder slipped on ice on school grounds and broke her right ankle.

Nelson, whose .352 batting average was sixth-best in the Greater Spokane League last season, was forced to sit on the bench for league-favorite Rogers during the first few weeks.

“It was just a freak accident,” Nelson said. “I was all set. I had (attended) three camps and I was all in shape.”

Nelson became a cheerleader for the team and replacement right-fielder Jennifer Wells, a junior whom Nelson says has filled in admirably.

Nelson’s cast has been removed, and she was recently cleared to play. Her speed is greatly diminished, however, as is the time she’ll need to improve significantly.

“It’s been so hard for me because I’m not the same player,” Nelson said. “You can’t speed (the healing) up in any way.”

Nelson’s junior season ended abruptly, halfway through the season, when she bruised her left knee while sliding into third base on a triple.

The recent injury reminded Nelson of ties to her late father, Randy, a former Spokane Flyers hockey player and Shadle Park’s outstanding athlete of 1969. Randy Nelson had a big season for Shadle’s football team during his junior year but then, just like his daughter, hurt his ankle as a senior.

Randy Nelson died of a blood disorder that he apparently picked up after playing hockey with a cut hand.

His widow, Candy Nelson, a Ferris graduate, has worked in the restaurant business to support her daughter. The work ethic rubbed off, because Brandy has held down various jobs since she was 15.

Working forced Nelson to cut back on sports. She dropped basketball and volleyball but added horse gaming during the summer. She and her mother are award-winning riders.

“It gave us time together that we never had before,” Brandy said.

Nelson, Rogers’ Associated Student Body historian, was selected as the school’s outstanding business student after earning A’s in seven of eight classes.

She plans to attend Western Washington University, with veterinary medicine or engineering possible fields of study.

The process of selecting the Bellingham college was typical for Nelson.

“When I heard it was hard to get accepted (to WWU), I knew I wanted to try,” she said.