Boles excited to join Temple College softball program

Louisburg senior Allie Boles signed her letter of intent to play softball at Temple College, a junior college program in Temple, Tex. Sitting next to Allie is her mother, Leisa.

It has been about a year since Allie Boles officially decided where she wanted to continue her softball career, but that hasn’t changed her excitement much.

In fact, it is only growing as the day gets closer for her to leave to home in Louisburg and make the move down to Texas – a move she has been looking forward to for quite some time.

Last year, Boles signed her letter of intent to play softball at Temple College, a junior college program in Temple, Tex., that is filled with winning tradition as of late.

“Being able to sign to play in college means a lot to me because I want to go far with this game,” Boles said. “I was excited to sign there.”

Temple is known for having a lot of success and recently won the junior college World Series in 2018 and made it back to the national tournament again the following year. Boles is hoping that success that will carry over to her stay with the Leopards and that she can advance further in the world of college softball.

“I knew Temple was the right fit because of the way it felt when I was down there,” Boles said. “The campus and town has a small town feel to it and it made me feel like home. Softball in Temple is very big and they are ranked No. 4 in the nation for juco schools. They have a lot to offer in the softball world and they have some of the best coaches that lead their girls to succeed in higher divisions like Oklahoma State and Oklahoma University.”

Softball has been a big part of Boles’ life ever since she was a little, and a big reason for that was her father, Dave. He coached her for several years with their Mustangs team and he helped grow her love of the game.

Last year, Dave passed away unexpectedly and left a large void in the Boles’ family that was difficult to get through at times. Despite that, Allie is determined to honor her dad in the one way she knows how – on the softball field.

“My dad was not only a dad, he was a fantastic coach that taught me everything I know, on top of all that he made the game fun by being a great friend to all of the athletes he has coached,” Allie said. “He made the game fun, relaxing and got me out of my head. We would talk about softball on the field and off the field till late at night.

“Looking back now, he was the person that taught me to move forward after making a mistake and sometimes you just gotta laugh at the mistakes you make in the game. I wanna do the best I can in my softball career for both him and myself, along with the people I love. I want to inspire people the way he did.”

Allie saw it first hand as her dad coached her on the Mustangs and then she eventually moved on to Advanced Fastpitch Academy to hone her skills even more. Those are two times in her life that helped mold her into the player she is today.

“The Mustangs taught me more about the living in the game part rather than the techniques and skills part,” Boles said. “This made me love the game more and more. Later on I transferred to a big organization called Advanced Fastpitch Academy, and just like the Mustangs, they taught me what it’s like to feel like a family when you are on a team. This academy has made me improve a lot over the years. They have taught me plenty of new skills and knowledge of the game for the next level.”

Boles was all set to play for Louisburg High School in her senior year, but with the COVID-19 pandemic, her season was cancelled. Although it has been another difficult couple months for Boles, she is trying to look toward the future.

She will join Temple later this year, where the Leopards hope to use her in the middle infield and outfield at times. Boles is looking forward to playing for Temple in however they want to use her.

“I think my strength is in the outfield, primarily, but I love both the grass and the dirt,” Boles said. “I hope to show them a good perspective of the game. I want to succeed in everything with the team, work hard and stay committed to the game. I hope to help them with another World Series.”