Aisha Weixlmann is a sophomore this year at Winthrop University. She’s a Sociology major and a pitcher on Winthrop’s softball team.
Weixlmann has been playing softball since the age of six. She’s from Charlotte, NC where she grew up with her mom.
“When I was a kid, me, my mom, and a coworker of hers went to watch his kid play,” Weixlmann said. “My mom encouraged me to play and I didn’t really like it at first. I was playing third base and I didn’t really like it.
“But then I saw this girl on [the] mound playing the pitcher position. And then that’s when I got into it. I just wanted all the attention to be on me,” she joked. “Sadly that’s how I was. But it’s what I’m good at and I enjoyed it so I continued to pursue it and hoped to earn a scholarship.”
Choosing where to go to school for athletes who plan on playing sports in college is a big decision. They’ll want to go to a college where they know they have the best chances, especially if they plan on going pro.
“I choose to come here because the [former] coach of our team, Coach Cook, recruited me, and because the campus is so close to where I live in Charlotte,” Weixlmann said. “I’m only about 20 minutes away from home.
“All my friend’s parents back at home talked about how they went to Winthrop, and how they described it as a challenging school, academic-wise. I think the challenge element is what made me choose to come here, to have a better education academically-speaking and for softball as well.”
Weixlmann said she has enjoyed her past two years here immensely.
“I like the vibe of this place,” she said. “Even though I’m a student-athlete and because of that it can be harder to get into extracurricular activities, I’ve [taken] some time to get into some outside [of softball] activities. And I’ve taken the time to experience how this campus is growing.”
Although Weixlmann is now a sociology major, she had thought about going the more “traditional” route for athletes, majoring in exercise science before she changed her major.
“I actually decided to change it when I was working at Carowinds over the summer and a police officer came up to me and said, ‘You have a really intimidating face.’ Which is a weird thing to hear coming from a police officer, but he started talking to me about what he does as a patrol officer and I started to get interested. I had never been interested in a job like that as a potential career choice.”
Weixlmann went to her advisor for some career guidance and decided she wanted to pursue a career as a crime scene investigator (CSI).
“When I talked to my advisor, we decided on changing my major to sociology with a concentration on crime analysis.”
Even though she has found a new passion outside of her original plans, she’s not tossing out softball either.
“I’m going to finish my degree, and see if I can go pro, but if not, I’ll enroll in the police academy and make my way up to being a CSI,” she said.
Weixlmann is currently coming off from last week’s games against Presbyterian College, in which the Eagles won three games to none. After every game, Weixlmann and the team go out to get ice cream.
“One of the most fond memories I’ve had so far being on the team is that after every game we go to PW’s Ice cream place, which is the best ice cream place in Rock Hill,” she said. “We just talk about the game, whether we win or lose. And we discuss plays and just have a good time. The friendships I’ve made on the team has been so important to me. These girls are my life.”
Although this season for Aisha has been great, it hasn’t always been easy.
“I’ve started out this season a little rough. This year was a rough patch — I had some personal issues going on within my family and it impacted my performance in a negative way. I had just gotten into my head a lot and I was frustrated because I had not felt satisfied with my performance. Earlier in the season it was just a breaking point. I actually just hit my peak last week when we played against [North Carolina] Central,” she said.
Weixlmann is also passionate about women in sports. She said she was disappointed when the news broke that the women’s basketball teams were receiving unequal treatment to the men’s teams at the recent NCAA Tournaments.
“It was really disappointing to see. I thought we were going up with women’s sports,” she said.
“That’s why it’s so important for women to be vocal about playing sports. Don’t let others tell you what you can’t do. If anything, if they say that, that can be motivation to prove them wrong. You can do it if you believe it and set your mind to it because that’s what sports are. It’s a very mentally and physically working sport,” she said.
Weixlmann and the softball team are back in action this weekend against USC Upstate, with a game on April 16 at 4 p.m. and games on April 17 at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.
Photo courtesy of Winthrop Athletics
