For most athletes, playing college sports means leaving home. For Addie Roberts, it is the contrary.  

After growing up in Martin, Tennessee, and attending Westview High School, junior infielder Addie Roberts now plays for the UT Martin Skyhawk Softball team. Her parents and grandparents attended UT Martin, and her father works on campus as a professor of animal science.  

Roberts is playing in the same community that watched her grow up, and she has learned that can come with some challenges.   

“Some days it’s really good with the community’s support. There are other times where I just really want to hide my face, but for the most part, I’d say it’s really good,” said Roberts. 

Roberts has not let the added pressure of playing in front of her home community hold her back from striving to improve her craft.  

Dylan Scott, Roberts’ teammate during her sophomore season, recalled how determined Roberts is.  

“A lot of people can earn opportunities, but you have to succeed in order to get more, and that’s just what she did,” said Scott.  

Roberts started playing softball at the age of nine and started to take it more seriously when she was 14 years old. After winning a state championship during her junior year of high school, Roberts decided she wanted to push herself to be her best.  

“I really want to push, and I really wanted to play after that because winning is so great…I want to keep winning,” Roberts said. 

Much of Roberts’ inspiration comes from her father, Jason, who was her first hitting coach and assistant coach in high school. Her father had a heavy influence on her performance and the mental side of the game. The father/daughter duo had to navigate the separation between being her coach and her dad and the challenges that came along with it.  

Jason Roberts recalls having to find a balance between father and coach.  

“There’s just a lot of pressure,” said Jason Roberts. “Walking that balance is tough, and I definitely wasn’t perfect with that. But I think overall we did well.”

Despite all the challenges, Roberts has support from her family as well as the community around her. She’s thankful that softball has taught her useful skills both on and off the field and has given her the opportunity to grow. 

“Softball has taught me about life, teamwork, how to deal with difficult people, how to survive under pressure and not have the fear of failure, and how to use failure as feedback,” said Roberts. “I’m going to use that for the rest of my life.”