Aaron Lynch

The path to a college softball career had started at an early age for Dani Broshar.

Conflicting sports schedules meant a decision: volleyball or softball. She chose softball.

Broshar learned to love the sport through playing catch with her father as a young girl. As a senior in the Boulder Valley School District, Broshar was looking to get out of Colorado to seek her degree and play the sport she loved. She ended up in Brookings believing she was given a great opportunity and wanted to make the most of it. The coaching staff she met then was quite a bit different from what it is today.

“The way it is run now is way more laid back from what I had noticed from when I was a freshman,” said Broshar. “But it has always been about hard work, and I try to show that to the freshman now.”

The SDSU senior catcher is notable for her hard work, being the primary catcher for the Jackrabbits since her freshman year in 2007. Catching around 150 consecutive games is quite a feat. When watching one of the team’s games Broshar makes it no surprise that she comes to play.

“I would have to say (my hard work ethic came) from my parents, especially my dad. He has always had high expectations for me and taught me to be responsible, and playing a college sport is like having a job. You have your own responsibilities with practice and lifting and it all carries over.”

Some things didn’t change with Broshar’s move to the Dakotas.

“I love the (Colorado) Rockies,” said Broshar. “Every morning at the breakfast table in hotels, when we are on the road, I wear my Rockies hat.”

Growing up just outside of Boulder, Colo., Broshar can make the distinction between her hometown and Brookings. She found the hospitality different in the Upper Midwest, saying it was different to have people being so nice and helpful.

“I thought it was weird of how nice people were, walking by and saying hi when they don’t even know you,” said Broshar.

The road has only risen to meet Broshar as she embarks on her future. She hopes to be involved somehow with sports, though she is not sure to what extent. In the future, she has dreams of starting a family and puts Colorado as her number one spot to live.

Broshar likely remembers most of the games in her career, but a game against Iowa State her sophomore year sticks out.

“The fact that I was a sophomore playing made it that much bigger too because we hadn’t beaten them and it was the last game of the seasProxy-Connection: keep-aliveCache-Control: max-age=0

?I think we had two outs and we had a runner on second. I ended up hitting a double to win the game,” Broshar said.

A couple of her other memories at SDSU included:

“Softball as a whole. ? If I would have to pick a memorable game, I would have to say the first time I played NDSU. It was big, and also my sophomore year beating NDSU. ? My freshman year I got my car stuck in the snow. I cried. That had never happened to me before.”

When asked about what type of farewell Broshar would like to leave SDSU with and how she would like to be remembered, Broshar hesitated. Most likely recalling some of her most precious memories spent with friends and teammates at this university, she sat silent for a moment.

“I want to be remembered as hard- working and someone you can count on. I also would like to thank all the people that helped me through the hard times. People here care. I want to thank them for all of their support,” said Broshar.

“My fresham year I cried nonstop. Whether it was from stress or being homesick, I’m not sure.”

Broshar, however, countered her previous statement with something she may have never thought she’d ever say.

“Now that I’m getting down to it, I’m actually crying because I’m not ready to leave.”