Brittney Mackey learned a valuable lesson while trying to choose which college she was going to attend while playing softball. She had all but eliminated Edinboro University early in the process without a visit.

After a visit to the campus, Mackey pulled a complete 180.

The Edgewood graduate has decided she will play softball for the Fighting Scots while attending the school next fall.

“Actually, I didn’t want to go there,” Mackey said. “I was against it. My parents said it was a good school and I should at least go visit. So I made an appointment to visit and I loved the campus. I got ahold of the coach and told him I wanted to go there and things progressed from there.

“I didn’t hear a lot of good things about it,” Mackey said. “Somebody that went there didn’t like it. I went and saw the campus and fell in love with it.”

Mackey, the daughter of Bob and Ruth, now knows that eliminating a choice without researching it might be a mistake.

“I probably should have learned that lesson a long time ago,” Mackey said.

Edinboro won the services of Mackey over Malone University and Cedarville College (Columbus).

Despite catching for the Warriors as a senior and playing a host of other positions throughout her career, Mackey will pitch for Edinboro.

“I’ve played pretty much everywhere,” Mackey said. “The coach said he’d work with me on (playing other positions, too). I kind of want to be a pitcher. I’ve been doing it pretty much my whole life. I really enjoy it.”

As a catcher, Mackey learned a little about her pitching.

“(I learned) how to judge the batters,” Mackey said. “That was one of the major lessons I learned catching. When I was calling pitches, I had to see the batters, how they had their feet set, how they were swinging. You want to throw what they don’t like. Now, when a catcher calls a pitch I don’t like, I can shake her off and call something else.”

Mackey served as a reserve pitcher for coach Shelley Monas and the Warriors behind 2009 Star Beacon Ashtabula County Player of the Year Megan Dragon. But on the numerous other teams she played for, she was the pitcher.

“High school was just another team for me,” Mackey said. “It wasn’t the only team I played for. I played on four teams. I played on a travel team, a fall team and MYAA. Those were all teams I pitched for. High school was a turning point, but it didn’t jeopardize anything.”

“I love pitching. If (the Warriors) needed me, I was ready to go. I played where Coach Monas needed me to play. It wasn’t a big deal for me.”

Having played other positions throughout her high school career will be a help to Mackey in college.

“It’s a good thing,” Mackey said. “Anyone can play one position. Somebody that can play every position is very valuable. The coaches said that would help me a lot. If somebody gets hurt, I can go play there until they come back. It’s a good thing.”

“I always focused on pitching,” Mackey said. “I didn’t realize it would be important to be versatile.”

Playing for Monas gave Mackey the focus she’ll need to play at the collegiate level.

“She’s a very outspoken person,” Mackey said. “It’s tough to play for her. My other coaches are more laid back. They like to have fun and win, too. (Monas) gets the best out of people. She brought the best out of us. She knew what was needed for us to play at the top of our game. She kept us in the game and focused. That helped a lot.”

Edinboro is a school known for developing teachers and Mackey will make good use of that resource. She will major in special education.

“I know it’s a different major,” Mackey said. “I knew I always wanted to go into teaching. It’s something I enjoy doing. I didn’t want to be with older kids, so I was looking at kindergarten, first grade and second grade or somewhere around there. I did a job shadow, and my mom said I should go to Happy Hearts to do it. I was with a preschool group and an older group. I fell in love with the preschoolers. It’s what I want to do. It just kind of clicked.”

A number of teachers along the way inspired Mackey to pursue a career in education, but one made her decide to make the commitment to the field.

“I had a lot of great teachers that inspired me to go into teaching,” Mackey said. “Going into special education was kind of a coincidence. I didn’t know that’s what I wanted to do until I went on the job shadow. I had (Jim) Sanchez for a lot of classes. He opened my eyes to that career. He made all his classes fun. He really kept us awake and our eyes open. He’s probably one of my best teachers.”

Mackey knows it will be tough to play softball and give the needed attention her major, one which the school takes very seriously.

“It’s going to be tough,” Mackey said. “They have high standards, especially in the teaching college. You can’t have under a 3.0. You have to stay on top of your classes. If you don’t, they’ll tell you that you’re not doing well and that you should switch majors. You have to study hard and stay focused.”

But softball will not get in the way of Mackey’s chosen career. She vows to keep her academic career in the forefront.

“My education means more to me than softball does,” Mackey said. “I’d never let my grades drop because of softball or any other sport. My education will be my career. Softball is just something I’ll do to get me through college.”