直面本垒板

Mike White’s ’89 love and dedication to softball brought him all around the world—from his hometown in New Zealand, to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to the University of Texas where he serves as the Head Softball Coach.

迈克·怀特从新西兰来到美国时是一名半职业垒球投手。 他经常旅行，在北半球踢球直到夏天结束，然后去南半球重新开始这个赛季。

“Eventually, I decided I wanted to own my own business,” shared Mike. “I wanted to go back to school to achieve that.”

Mike was placed in Iowa to play fastpitch men’s softball, and he began taking classes at Kirkwood Community College. Mike decided to finish his bachelor’s degree at 皇冠体育. 作为一个非传统的学生，迈克觉得小一点的校园能给他提供所需的支持和机会。

In addition to pitching during his time at Mount Mercy, Mike joined the men’s golf team. 他从球队的经历中学到了很多。

“I just fell in love with the game,” shared Mike. “I think it’s the ultimate mental challenge.”

Many of Mike’s favorite memories from his time at Mount Mercy revolved around sports—whether he was playing golf, going to sporting events, or watching them on TV.

“In the summertime we used to pull the TV out and watch Harry Caray and the Chicago Cubs with a group of friends, that was always fun,” said Mike.

除了留下有意义的回忆外，迈克还在为成为一名企业主的生活做准备。

Mike’s management, businesses, and accounting classes all proved useful for his ten-year career as a franchise owner. 迈克和他的妻子在爱荷华州苏城拥有两个特许经营权，Play It Again Sports和Once Upon a Child。

当互联网被越来越多地使用时，消费者变得特别注重价格。 迈克与田纳西大学垒球教练拉尔夫·威克斯（Ralph Weekly）讨论后，他开始寻找其他途径。

“He said, ‘I think you’d be a great coach; you should look into it,’” said Mike. “That’s when I got into coaching and got a job in Oregon.”

2009年，迈克被聘为俄勒冈大学垒球项目的总教练。 当迈克转行做教练时，他发现他为成为企业主所上的课程为他提供了许多所需的技能。

“I can remember being in school, and I was frozen by speaking in front of people,” shared Mike. “我的课程给了我信心，让我走出去做我真正想做的更大的事情。”

During his nine seasons at Oregon, the team went to the Women’s College World Series five times and won five Pac-12 Conference titles—an achievement Mike continues to be proud of.

“Oregon had never won a PAC-12 Championship before and hadn’t been to the World Series since 1979, so those are some good accomplishments,” said Mike.

2018年，迈克正式告别俄勒冈，被聘为德克萨斯大学垒球项目的总教练。

“I had a great opportunity at a big school and national brand,” shared Mike on his transition to Texas. “现在是我搬家的关键时刻，我觉得我在德州的未来是乐观的。”

Throughout his life—as a coach, business owner, and overall person—Mike has stood by three main virtues: respect, effort, and attitude. 正是这三个特点帮助迈克建立了重要的人际关系，从而推动了他的事业。 迈克鼓励现在的学生也走这条路。

“Build your network, meet as many people as you can, get to know them, and respect them,” said Mike.