{"id":317879,"date":"2025-10-20T06:11:13","date_gmt":"2025-10-20T06:11:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/317879\/"},"modified":"2025-10-20T06:11:13","modified_gmt":"2025-10-20T06:11:13","slug":"maryland-college-athletes-find-unique-benefits-lessons-in-redshirting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/317879\/","title":{"rendered":"Maryland college athletes find unique benefits, lessons in redshirting"},"content":{"rendered":"

Isimenme Ozzy-Momodu\u2019s mindset shifted after redshirting last season for Maryland women\u2019s basketball. Sitting out made the redshirt junior hungrier than ever to play again \u2014 what she said means \u201ceverything\u201d to her.\n<\/p>\n

Ozzy-Momodu is one of multiple Maryland college athletes who have taken a redshirt year, which is when a college athlete postpones participation in gameplay for a season. They can still practice with their team, but don\u2019t use one of their four years of eligibility.\n<\/p>\n

Ozzy-Momodu decided to redshirt after tearing her ACL in February 2024. Teammates who endured similar injuries told her not to rush recovery, reminding her the importance of avoiding further injuries.\n<\/p>\n

The forward struggled with sitting out initially since she was used to constantly being on the court in her previous two seasons at Gulf Coast State.\n<\/p>\n

But her mentality quickly changed.\n<\/p>\n

She focused more on the team as the season progressed. While she was unable to contribute on the floor, if her team was winning, so was she. Ozzy-Momodu said redshirting allowed her to develop skills she never would have focused on without the year off.<\/p>\n

[Recruiting roundup: Olympic gold medalist Quincy Wilson attends Maryland football game<\/a>]<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n

Logan Turner, a redshirt junior for Maryland softball, also took a medical redshirt year. The transfer underwent labrum surgery three days before her opening game at the University of North Florida in 2024.\n<\/p>\n

The infielder said her redshirt year gave her the chance \u201cto slow down and focus on recovery\u201d while still being able to play four collegiate years.\n<\/p>\n

The process wasn\u2019t easy, though.\n<\/p>\n

Turner said she was in a rough place after her surgery \u2014 there were times she wasn\u2019t sure if she wanted to pick up a softball again.\n<\/p>\n

But reflecting on what the sport meant to her and \u201cfinding that love again\u201d kept her motivated. She also learned valuable lessons on different team roles while on the sidelines.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone has something that they\u2019re really good at,\u201d Turner said. \u201cPeople can fill their role and not be too big or small \u2026 that makes the team the best that they can be.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

[Questionable goalie switch costs Maryland women\u2019s soccer in 3-1 loss to Ohio State<\/a>]<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n

Turner credits her redshirt year with renewing her passion for softball. She had time to recollect and remember why she dedicates so much to the game.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cI love softball like I never have in the last few years,\u201d Turner said.\n<\/p>\n

While injuries are a common reason for redshirting, they\u2019re not the only cause. Other motives include enhancing athletic skills and extending an athlete\u2019s eligibility.\n<\/p>\n

Saylor Poffenbarger, a guard for Maryland women\u2019s basketball, redshirted after transferring to a new college mid-season. The redshirt senior didn\u2019t want to lose a full year of eligibility to play half a season.\n<\/p>\n

Poffenbarger said her decision to redshirt came at a time when her relationship with basketball wasn\u2019t at its best. She said she wasn\u2019t truly enjoying basketball at UConn, and redshirting allowed her to \u201cgrow another respect for the game.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\u201cLooking at [the] bigger picture, I knew in the long run it was the best thing for me,\u201d Poffenbarger said. \u201cIt gave me a new aspect of the game \u2026 more coach outlook \u2014 I was watching a lot, seeing different things on the court that I wouldn\u2019t see as a player.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

While Poffenbarger recommends the redshirt year, she said it takes a strong mentality to take time off.\n<\/p>\n

Poffenbarger said the key is not looking at redshirting as a negative, but instead as an opportunity for players to ask themselves, \u201cHow can I get better? How can I grow off the court?\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Isimenme Ozzy-Momodu\u2019s mindset shifted after redshirting last season for Maryland women\u2019s basketball. Sitting out made the redshirt junior…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":317880,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[1339,1317,1337,1338,62,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-317879","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ncaa-basketball","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-ncaa","10":"tag-ncaa-basketball","11":"tag-ncaabasketball","12":"tag-sports","13":"tag-united-states","14":"tag-unitedstates","15":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115405015226245101","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317879","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=317879"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317879\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/317880"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=317879"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=317879"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=317879"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}