University of Georgia Athletics
Quick Chat: Sydney Chambley
May 18, 2023 | Softball, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
Sydney Chambley has wisdom and perspective beyond her years. The Georgia softball junior wants to win, wants to play well, but she's not going to let the result of one game or at-bat define who she is.
Chambley — not to be confused with the other Sydneys on the team, Sydney Kuma or Sydney Osada — is one of the Bulldogs' most versatile players. She'll play the outfield, she'll play first base, she'll be the designated player. And at the plate, she has contributed to Georgia's home run-heavy season with eight of the team's 81, while also batting .299, slugging .614 and her 12 doubles are tied with Sara Mosley for most on the team.
During a Quick Chat on Tuesday, three days before the No. 14-seeded Bulldogs host the NCAA Athens Regional and kick off play against North Carolina Central on Friday, Chambley talked about her positive mental approach to the game, who she is today versus when she was a freshman, and more.Â
Here's some of what she had to say:Â
Frierson: We did one of these two years ago, and it seems like that time has flown by. Does it feel that way to you?
Chambley: Very much so. I feel like I blinked and I'm two years older. I think it's a good thing.
Frierson: Has softball ever been more fun than it is now?
Chambley: It's always fun. I think if it's not fun then we're doing something wrong, but Georgia does a great job of keeping it fun. That's what (coach Tony Baldwin) always says: "College softball should be the best time of your life." That's his No. 1 goal, and I can very much say that he's exceeding it very well.
Frierson: When you look at the player you were as a freshman compared to now, where is the biggest change?
Chambley: I would say my mindset about softball, of not making it as big of a deal as the world wants it to be and just kind of letting it be a game. So much of our lives are wrapped up in what we do instead of who we are, and so I think, if anything, I've learned that softball is a small piece of what I do. It's not who I am.
I think settling in to that has freed me up from the pressure that the external world puts on the performance piece of it. If I make an out (while batting), it's not the end of the world. I'm not less of a softball player.
Freshman year, I think it was so easy to dramatize the outcome, but now that I'm older I'm just like, I've been blessed to be here and play. It's something I get to do for the little girl in me who always wanted to do it, instead of putting pressure on yourself and making it way harder than it needs to be. It frees you up from the pressure that the world puts on you.
Frierson: That seems like a very healthy approach to have and a very modern, mental-health-aware approach to the game. I looked back at our interview when you were a freshman and one of the things you talked about was figuring out who you are. So, who are you as we sit here today?
Chambley: I would say I'm a very spontaneous person who is only concerned about what the Lord thinks of her. That's about all that I love for nowadays. I've learned that life itself is a gift, and I've learned that the things in the world are fleeting. ...
I think I felt that way freshman year, but doing two more years of life has allowed that to settle more into reality. It reframes the mental piece of softball to, this is something that I'm gifted to do, but it is not who God says I am.
My identity has grown in understanding that I am not my sport and I am not my accomplishments in my sport. And I'm not my failures in my sport, either. That gives me the freedom to just play softball and have fun playing softball.
Frierson: Would you have an interest in coaching one day?
Chambley: I've been getting asked that a lot recently [laughs]. My answer is no right now, only because I'm so excited to try new things. But I also don't want to not give back to the sport that I have received so much from.
I remember the older girls that invested in me. I went to the Jessica Mendoza camp when she was in the Olympics, the Jennie Finch clinics — I remember the college softball camps I would go to and the players that took the time to actually get to know me. Or the random travel ball teams that would come help us at the rec fields.
That's why I don't want to say no, because I have been greatly impacted by people that have helped me. But I also am just excited for what else there is out there. Who knows, maybe I want to learn how to do potter? I don't know [laughs]. But I think it would be sweet to give back to the community.
(This Q&A was lightly edited for length and clarity.)
Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
