When SBHS senior Onya Golightly was just a young girl, she decided she wanted to play college softball, and if possible, receive a scholarship to do so.
“I’ve known I wanted to play in college for seven years,” said Onya.
When she told her dad about her desire, he was all in.
“I quit my second job to focus on being available to train with her after school and after practice,” said Mr. Daniel Golightly. “As a parent, you need to be available to help your kids reach their dreams.”
That dream is coming true. After being scouted for months, the younger Golightly was offered a full-ride scholarship to play softball for Florida National University, a NAIA division team.
A former D1 athlete himself, the elder Golightly had played football in college. He played the position of safety, so he knew how hard it was.
“I just made sure to let her know when she was giving that effort and when she was not. And I would always be available to work with her on getting there,” said Daniel.
Onya started playing softball when she was 11.
“I’ve never quit before, but the feeling of wanting to quit crosses my mind all the time,” said Onya.
According to her father, the first time Onya hit a home run was at a practice field.
“I told her if she hit one over the fence I would pay her $100. A couple pitches later she was $100 richer,” said Daniel.
He says that she used to rely on pure power to try to hit home runs. Because of that she would find herself hitting grounders and pop-ups. Once she was able to understand that technique of her swing mattered more than her power. She’s been a very consistent hitter.
Onya isn’t really sure if she has set a school record, but her career total at SBHS for homeruns is 11.
“I love the homeruns, but I love knowing that she’s going to come up and make contact and put the ball in play almost every at bat more. That to me is what coaches look for in a player,” said Daniel.
SBHS Softball Coach Danielle Taylor couldn’t agree more. She’s been coaching Onya for two years now and has noticed immense growth.
“She has matured in the last two years and it shows in how she handles herself on the softball field.” said Taylor.
FNU wasn’t the only offer Onya received. She also got offers to play D2 softball from Barry University in Miami, Clark Atlanta University in Atlanta and Lynn University in Boca Raton. But, she chose to stick with FNU, which, although it is not a D2 school, it offered her a scholarship.
“It wasn’t a hard decision choosing between my offers,” said Onya. “What stood out to me about FNU is that they offered me a full ride scholarship.”
The FNU coach was one of the first people to follow Onya on Twitter. He saw something in her early and maintained an interest in her through out her junior and senior years. It made it clear that he wanted her on his team by liking her posts, sending her messages and commenting on her ability.
Since FNU does not offer marine biology as a major, Onya plans majoring in natural science, which fits in nicely with her interests, since she is always outside and whose list of pets includes dogs, cats and a variety of exotic animals. She even runs a snake breeding business.
If either of the programs at FNU don’t offer her an opportunity to take her where she wants to go, she says she’ll transfer to another university. She also has advice for fellow softball players looking to follow in her footsteps.
“There is a place for everyone, no matter how good or bad you play,” said Onya. “Just work to get better. You can always transfer.”
