Freshman pitcher Danner Allen seeks to use her athletic strengths to honor Christ on and off the field and encourage her teammates on the Liberty University Softball team.
While a newcomer to Liberty Mountain, Allen has been on the softball field since the age of four.
Growing up in Charlotte Court House, Virginia, Allen graduated from Randolph-Henry High School. Throughout middle school and high school, she played golf and basketball, but she has always kept softball as her main athletic focus.
Coming off of a successful senior season as the Class 2A Softball Player of the Year for the Virginia High School League in 2024, Allen has begun her freshman year at Liberty majoring in sport management. She chose this major because of her passion for sports, and the degree program has provided her with courses, like a coaching class, that she hopes will provide growth and training as she pitches for the Lady Flames.
The love of sports and coaching runs deep in Allen’s family as she has gotten a front seat observing her father coach high school and college baseball while she was growing up. She fondly remembers watching him train the students he coached, which has inspired her to grow in her love for softball.
Allen noted there are also similarities and differences between playing with the Lady Flames and her former teams. Both Liberty and Allen’s previous teams have shared the goal of winning and improving in the sport. Allen also credits her fellow teammates and her supporters for their continuous encouragement.
“I think that I have a lot of people here that support me, and I’ve had that growing up too,” Allen said. “So, it’s been really nice to have that carry on from being younger in high school to here, knowing that people have my back in any type of situation.”
Allen said she is optimistic about Liberty’s softball program, knowing that she has opportunities for growth on the team. Crediting Head Coach Dot Richardson and her encouragement, Allen finds herself and the team seeking to represent Liberty’s mission, Training Champions for Christ, in each moment as they play.
“I think that they’re (her teammates and coaches) going to help me grow as an athlete and as an individual,” Allen said. “Obviously this school trains us to be Champions for Christ, and I think that Coach Dot really allows us to grow our faith here and pushes us to learn.”
The central focus and motivation of the Lady Flames Softball team is to glorify God, which they represent through strengthening their faith as a team and worshipping in song.
“Before every game we have chapel, and that’s a time for us to gather and to learn a message from our leaders, and then we worship,” Allen said.
Allen values the opportunity to share the Gospel with others, including the opposing teams. After each game, Liberty provides a gift of bracelets and bookmarks to the teams, which has been impactful for many, even years after receiving the gifts.
“We made little … bookmarks, and they have a verse on it,” Allen said. “On the back we were able to write a message, and it’s a QR code on there, so we are able to record messages, and any team can scan that QR code and get to the messages that we’ve recorded for them.”
Softball has had a direct impact not only on Allen’s life but also her identity in Christ. Her experience on the team has taught her to never quit and value the opportunity she has to pitch for the Lady Flames.
“Knowing that this sport doesn’t define me really has helped, and knowing that the only person that matters and the only person that I’m trying to prove myself to is God and not any of my coaches, teammates or any of the fans,” Allen said.
While unsure of her postgrad plans right now, Allen said she wants to stay in the sports world as she continues her next three years at Liberty, but she has yet to decide how softball will play a part in her life beyond college.
“It’s still a very young career, as a freshman, but right now I’m just taking it day by day,” Allen said.
As for now, Allen loves the Christ-centered community at Liberty, and she plans to continue to find ways to represent Jesus to people in every game she pitches this spring season.
Sanford is a sports reporter for the Liberty Champion.