When you compile a list of the greatest softball players ever to take the field, you won’t go very far down it before seing the name “Laura Berg.”

OC Batbuster Head Coach Gary Haning, the club coach whom she played for from 1989 to 1993, put it succinctly today when he said, “There has never been a better outfielder that has put on softball cleats than Laura Berg.”

“You build a mold for the player you want to build a team around,” Haning continued, “and everything in that mold Laura fits into. She was a fierce competitor and if you put her on the right field line and a ball dropped onto the left field line she would be offended she couldn’t get to it.”

“Those who watched her play club ball back in the day remember her making defensive plays that would make Willie Mays jealous. She would know where the ball was going before it left the bat and Laura would lay out and make an incredible play before landing soft as a feather.”

Berg excelled at every level and her softball resume is impeccable:

• a National Championship at Fresno State
• a four-time All-American (three times a 1^st Team selection)
• a medal in every Olympics that hosted softball (three gold and one silver)
• Gold medals in World Championships and the Pan American Games as well
• induction into the Olympic Hall of Fame

The former Fresno State star is still second all-time in NCAA history with 396 career hits and 12^th with 245 runs scored and, amazingly, went 160 consecutive games without an error in the field.

Laura retired as a player in 2008 after the Beijing Olympic Games and in 2011 she joined the Oregon State softball staff becoming the head coach the next year and, also in 2012, was an assistant coach for the U.S. Women’s National Team.

This past year was her second at the helm of the Beavers softball program and the team set a school record with a .287 hitting average.

I caught up with Coach Berg today to learn more about her early days in softball and what she thinks of major topics like early recruiting, the Olympic future of softball and playing multiple sports vs. softball specialization….

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FullCountSoftball.com: What’s your earliest softball memory?
Laura Berg: I remember playing tee ball and actually remember my first home run in Little Miss—I can take you to the field in Norwalk, Calif. where I hit the home run, it’s right behind an elementary school. It was a little rec league. I also remember back then my nickname was “Bones.” I was so little my parents made me put down protein shakes to try and gain weight!

FCS: What was it like growing up playing softball with your twin sister, Randi?
LB: I absolutely loved it because I always had someone to play catch with and hit me ground balls. She would always go to the ball field with me and hit balls and field grounders I hit. Randi would play catch, too, when I was rehabbing my shoulder and after she retired and I was still playing.

FCS: How involved were your parents in your development and also the recruiting process?
LB: My parents were so supportive; they drove to every game and every practice. My poor dad would work eight hours and then take us to the field and hit ground balls until the sun went down. Every Friday night we would also drive 45 minutes and hit in the batting cages until we were done. Gary Haning would meet us there.

FCS: It sounds like Coach Haning was not just your coach, he was also very hands-on in your development…
LB: Definitely. If there was something he’d see that I would need to fix, he’d give me tools to help, be it with bunting and slapping or teaching me to shuffle and hit. My career is what it is because of Gary Haning. I remember being in Mission Viejo where we had a lot of our tournaments and after a game we’d sit and watch another game and Gary and I would have a conversation about softball, about what to do in certain situations. I’d pick his brain and, even to this day, I’ll see him and ask him questions about situations like what he’d do with runners on first and third.

FCS: What drove you to succeed: was it pride, fear of failure, wanting to please others or simply the love of competition?
LB: I think it was a little of all of that. I was also a competitor, whether it was racing my mother to get the mail or driving at a stoplight. I was always smaller than others and had to work harder to succeed. Later in my career, I was older than other players and had to work harder to compete and keep my spot. There was also always a sense of pride in wanting to be the best at everything I’d do. There was the fear—although I don’t know if that’s the right word—of letting my teammates down.

FCS: Did you play other sports when you were growing up and what are your thoughts on the decreasing number of multi-sport athletes these days… or do you prefer softball specialization?
LB: I played basketball and volleyball and, when even younger, we all played kick the can and hide and seek. I think athletes need to play a variety of sports. There’s definitely the burnout factor; you need time away from softball, time to rest and recover physically and mentally. Also, playing multiple sports makes you a better, more well rounded athlete. It’s certainly different than when I played. Nobody when I was growing up said you had to play one sport; I don’t know where that came from.

FCS: Having played and coached at the college level, what is the best advice you could give young players today to get ready for the next level?
LB: There are several little things, with the first one being to get rid of the feeling of entitlement. I tell my team, “The only thing you are entitled to is a butt whipping if you don’t bring your ‘A’ game!” Don’t walk into a program thinking you’ve earned it, you haven’t earned anything. It’s kind of a cliché, but go out there and work hard, earn the position and the respect of your teammates. Earn what’s given to you. A lot of times with recruiting game, it’s the same thing: keep your blinders on—your story is your story so don’t compare yourself to others’ situations. Some may commit as a junior, others as a freshman, but don’t panic if you’re a junior and haven’t committed somewhere.

FCS: What is your biggest concern about today’s club players as you follow them?
LB: They play too much, way too much. When they get to me, a lot of times they’re injured. The hard thing is they need a down period like in the fall, but if you hurt or decrease their club play you get into peoples’ livelihoods and I understand that.

FCS: Other than obvious talent, what’s the one thing that catches your eye when you walk up to a game?
LB: Passion. Passion and swag. I also look to see if there’s confidence and hustle and if the player wants to be out there. Then you look at their physical ability.

FCS: You must have a strong passion for softball getting back into the Olympics… what are your thoughts here and what’s the latest you’ve heard?
LB: They will decide in December, I know that. I have a really good feeling that we have a good shot to get in. The IOC President wants to increase the number of sports and with the 2020 Games in Japan we have a great shot at it.

FCS: What’s one thing that people don’t know about you that might surprise them?
LB: I am very, very shy. Being in sports I’ve had to get out of it, being shy, but my sister used to have to speak for me and she would be me on the phone when calling people! I also remember at the 1996 Olympics being with Dot Richardson in the back of a 15-passenger van and her sitting next to me and pretending to be a reporter. She’d ask me questions and help me with my answers.

FCS: Where do you think the early recruiting trend will wind up?
LB: I think it will end up like football: a lot more transfers and a lot more decommits.

FCS: If you could change one thing about the sport, what would it be?
LB: I wish we could all make a living at it. You have certain names like Jennie Finch, Lisa Fernandez, Jessica Mendoza and a few others who can but most can’t even though we put in as much work as the baseball players. We definitely should be able to make money at it.

FCS: When you’re in front of a recruit you really want, what’s the strongest sales pitch you have to get her to play for you at OSU?
LB: Oregon State is a small-town college atmosphere where everyone knows and loves you. It’s truly a family atmosphere where everyone supports each other. If you’re an athlete at OSU, you’re a rock star here.