Photo by: Tom Lynn
Baggot: For the love of the game
May 15, 2019 | Softball, Andy Baggot
Lauren Foster and her father share passion for softball and baseball
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BY ANDY BAGGOT
UWBadgers.com Insider
When the sophomore shortstop for the Wisconsin softball team heard the definition – the child of a career soldier, especially one who has lived in various places as a result of military transfers – she smiled.
Yes, Foster can relate.
Her father, Steve, wears a uniform and has spent the better part of his professional life moving about the country on behalf of his job. He's had assignments in Florida, Michigan, Missouri, Texas, Colorado and Wisconsin. He's held various ranks of authority as well.
But he's not a soldier.
Foster is in his fifth season as a Major League pitching coach for the Colorado Rockies.
Prior to that Foster spent five seasons with the Kansas City Royals, including two as pitching coordinator and three as the bullpen coach.
Foster was hired in KC after five seasons with the Miami Marlins, including three as bullpen coach.
Before that came two stints as a Major League scout with the Tampa Bay Rays, two stops at the college level – UW-Stevens Point and Michigan – and a decorated stop as manager of the Wisconsin Woodchucks of the Northwoods League.
All that moving around came after Foster played three Major League seasons for just one team, the Cincinnati Reds, before suffering a shoulder injury that ended his career.
Lauren was born in Wisconsin and was 8 when her father returned to the majors in a coaching capacity in 2007. She understands why people think her world is filled with unusual fun and wonder, but she's sure that most don't comprehend the sacrifices.
"You don't wish for this life,'' Lauren said, "because you never get to see your dad.''
She grew up watching her father routinely leave for work for weeks at a time. Even when Steve was home – regardless of the address and zip code – he was at the ballpark well before the first pitch and typically returned well after bedtime.
That's a challenge for a baseball-loving daughter – the youngest of two – who learned from her father how to swing a bat in minor-league batting cages when she was 6.
"It's a difficult, difficult position for a family,'' Steve said of Lauren, wife Cori and son Casey, "and it takes a strong wife and kids to make tough decisions and that's what I have.''
You find a way to make it work.
In Lauren's case, you drive to Milwaukee after classes and practice to see your father do his thing when the Rockies played the Brewers at Miller Park earlier this spring. She stayed overnight at the team hotel, caught up with dad before rising at 4:30 a.m. to make it back to campus in time for a weight-lifting session.
In Steve's case, you get up earlier than normal after a night game in Denver to watch the Badgers play Michigan in the semifinals of the Big Ten Conference tournament on the Big Ten Network. Then you wait for the near-daily communique – text or phone call – to get pertinent updates.
Sometimes father and daughter collaborate on a project that brings their worlds together.
The last two years have seen the Badgers spend part of a day with the Rockies at their Cactus League spring training headquarters in Scottsdale, Arizona. The visit was built into a college tournament – the Wildcat Invitational hosted by Arizona in Tucson in 2018 and the Sun Devil Invitational hosted by Arizona State in Tempe earlier this year – that Wisconsin played in.
Steve said the idea was endorsed by his bosses, noting that owner Richard Manfort is a huge fan of the Green Bay Packers and general manager Jeff Bridich was born in Milwaukee.
"They were elated that they'd take a day to spend with us as much as us with them,'' Steve said of the Rockies. "It's been a great experience for both.
"I'm very privileged to work for an organization that's family friendly.''
Meanwhile, Wisconsin coach Yvette Healy is an unabashed fan of the Chicago Cubs and nine of her 20 student-athletes hail from Wisconsin, hence some strong allegiance to the Brewers.
#RoxSpring X #OnWisconsin
— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) March 9, 2018
We had a great visit with the Wisconsin @BadgerSoftball team yesterday! Steve Foster's daughter, Lauren, is a freshman shortstop on the team. pic.twitter.com/9jBIRNvxOJ
"It was big thing for the team to get to do that the last couple years,'' Healy said. "To see the sport that you love played at the highest level – to see the attention that goes into training and breaking down the game at the major-league level – what a treat that is for all of our team.''
Of course, Lauren follows the Rockies, but she appreciates the shared enthusiasm.
"I'm so blessed that my coaches love baseball because that trip means so much,'' she said. "It's awesome that they love baseball and they just want to go.''
.@Rockies pitching coach Steve Foster and his daughter, @BadgerSoftball's Lauren Foster, have plenty of love for Wisconsin pic.twitter.com/XvuIQuwvuP
— FOX Sports Wisconsin (@fswisconsin) August 5, 2018
Baseball and softball employ similar tactics, drills and techniques, so it benefits Wisconsin players to see those concepts at a high level. Lauren said swinging a softball bat is second nature to her now even though she started out in a baseball batting cage.
"It's engrained in my head,'' she said.
The most recent visit to spring training included a motivational speech to the Badgers from Steve Foster, who called it "a kind of kick to the pants, a little motivator.''
A former youth pastor who was the Northwoods League Manager of the Year in 2003, he related that pitching for the Rockies is uniquely challenging because home games are played in the thin air of Coors Field in the Mile High City.
Altitude matters – the ball is affected by the rarified conditions – he tells his professional charges, but attitude matters more.
LAUREN FOSTER IS OUR HERO!!!!!!!!!!!!
— Wisconsin Softball (@BadgerSoftball) April 20, 2019
BADGERS WIN IT IN 13! pic.twitter.com/00A0emlbRR
"That's kind of the same message I gave to them,'' Steve said of the Badgers. "Nobody expects them to do well. In reality, how many people really believe the Badgers are going to do well at softball from a national standpoint?''
After all, Wisconsin plays its home games in the cold wet of spring and it's hard to up your game while fighting the elements.
It's all about attitude, Steve told them.
"Lauren's dad is a really inspirational-type guy,'' Healy said, noting that he loves to talk about people's passion and doing something that hasn't been done before. "The team really embraced it.''
The Badgers responded with one of the best seasons in program history. They lost to perennial power Michigan in the Big Ten semis, but take a 40-12 overall record into their third straight at-large berth in the NCAA tournament, a first for the team.
Wisconsin will open Friday in Norman, Oklahoma, opposite Notre Dame (36-16) in a double-elimination regional that also includes top-seed Oklahoma (49-2) and Maryland-Baltimore County (30-22).
Steve Foster said an advantage for the Badgers is their tight-knit chemistry. He said Healy is a positive motivator, someone who has a knack for inspiring people.
"It starts at the top,'' he said.
That atmosphere explains why Foster thinks Wisconsin is going to have an interesting postseason.
"They're going to make some noise,'' he said. "I'm not a predictor or a prophet, but the closeness of the team … they could really go all the way.''
Healy likened Lauren Foster to a basketball point guard, someone who reads the situation and reacts accordingly.
"A very engaging, team-first-type player,'' Healy said. "She's got this saavyness about the game where she really understands the flow of it.
"She has such a high ceiling. She understands the game at a different level.''
After a slow start at the plate, Foster hit .284 in Big Ten play, ranking in the top five on the team in average, hits and doubles.
Foster chose Wisconsin after visiting Southeastern Conference powers Arkansas and Auburn. All the moving her family did paid some dividends in that process.
"It took a lot of courage on her part and it took a lot of willingness to meet new people and start new,'' her father said.
"I told her, 'It's great preparation for when you get to Wisconsin because you're going to be playing with all new people and you're going to be that much further ahead.'
"I credit her for being able to take a mature viewpoint, a perspective of life, and embrace it because I know how difficult that is for young people.''
That difficulty ultimately led to Lauren's chosen fields of study: Human development and family studies and communication arts.
"I love interacting and engaging with people and making a difference in people's lives,'' she said. "I love working with people.''
Almost as much as Lauren loves life on the diamond.
"She's helped bring that love for how you can understand the game and watch the game and learn from it,'' Healy said.
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