DePaul University Athletics
Healy Embodies What Makes DePaul So Special
2/14/2017 12:00:00 AM | SOFTBALL
(DePaulBlueDemons.com will be posting feature stories for the next two weeks on the DePaul Athletic Hall of Fame inductees from the class of 2017. The Hall of Fame ceremony takes place Saturday, Feb. 25 at McGrath-Phillips Arena.)
CHICAGO - There is no doubt Yvette Healy left a lasting imprint on the time-honored and illustrious tradition of DePaul softball.
She was a two-time All-American who ranks second in Blue Demon history on the single-season list with a .424 batting average in the 1998 season while also ranking first all-time in steals with 102.
Healy was the first freshman to earn All-American recognition in program history and the second player ever to become an All-American in multiple seasons (1996, 1998). Equally adept in the class room, she was a three-time GTE Academic All-American.
Her senior year, Healy helped the Blue Demons amass a school-record 54 wins and advance all the way to the Women's College World Series.
On Feb. 25, one of the cornerstone players of coach Eugene Lenti's nationally renowned program will be inducted into the DePaul Athletic Hall of Fame in a ceremony at McGrath-Phillips Arena.
Reflecting back on her time in Lincoln Park, Healy is struck by the culture of winning that permeated from all things DePaul in the late 1990s.
"The whole experience was really memorable," said Healy who is in her sixth season as the Wisconsin softball coach enjoying unprecedented success. "You choose a school and you pick things that you love about it, but to have the type of athletic success that was going on all across the board at DePaul from men's basketball to women's basketball to softball was a really special thing to be part of.
"It actually just made winning seem really easy and like it was the norm. You were used to cheering for the basketball team as they were getting big wins and you were used to supporting coach Doug Bruno and watching his players go onto the WNBA---so I think softball just really followed suit and thought 'why not us?'."
Healy's recruiting class featuring fellow Hall of Fame 2017 inductees Karen Stewart and Nicole Terpstra won more games than any Blue Demon team in history during their four years on campus. That immensely talented trio each brought their own ingredient to the table with the end result of a winning recipe.
"I was so lucky to be in that talented class," Healy said. "We were surrounded by great players and that is the biggest thing I think about when we talk about making it into the Hall of Fame.
"It has everything to do with the culture being so good and having so many good players that you could just focus on what you did. Nicole was so outstanding on the mound, such a competitor, always hitting her spots and staying in control of the game. If we played good defense, we'd say it was because the ball must not have been getting hit very hard at us.
"Then with Karen Stewart coming in and playing shortstop, that's such a hard position to play and as a freshman she played all four years. She had this monstrous arm and was so strong, just this big physical kid so we made a fun keystone combo with me using my speed and her using her strength."
As a coach, Healy reflected on all the ways Lenti made those Blue Demons into winners, hoping to capture some of his magic.
"The way 'Eug' ran the program, he never tried to make it more complicated than it was," she said. "At the core of everything was trying to empower your kids to be fearless competitors, and I think a lot of people in sports right now are overplaying the technical side.
"You focus so much on the mechanics and making everything look perfect that you never spend enough time focusing on winning, finding a way to win and gutting it out. As a coach, I'm really big on that. I think it's about putting your players in a position to win and helping them learn how to compete which is a very DePaul way to do things."
The reality of her induction hasn't fully sunk in for Healy who is in awe of the honor.
"I just feel really grateful," she said. "I was so lucky to get recruited and have my college education paid for and to compete on the diamond. I learned so much that I really feel like the school shouldn't be giving me an award.
"I wish I could give more accolades and awards back to the university. It made me the person I am today. Being such a fan of the school's history, going back to the coach Ray Meyer basketball days, I am just in awe to be named in the same breath as some of the people already in that Hall of Fame. It's a little bit surreal. I'm not sure I totally believe it, but I definitely feel blessed and lucky."
Her unparalleled success in Madison, Wis. can be traced directly back to her college coach.
"He was a really fearless competitor, and now looking at it from a little more distance, you realize what an underdog a lot of these schools are if you're not a big 'Power Five' school," Healy said. "With Eug, it never felt like you were an underdog at DePaul. You really felt like you could beat anyone.
"Being at DePaul made you fall in love with social justice and understanding how important it is to give back for all the gifts and blessings that you have. I really loved being at a Catholic university because you could be really intentional about that and get your team involved that way. I have carried this on to any team that I have been a part of, making sure we get involved with local organizations and charities.
"It just makes your players more gracious and better leaders the more you serve."
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For information on the Feb. 25 Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony including purchasing tickets, please contact Catherine Ramsey at cramsey@depaul.edu or 773-325-7504.
