(Coach Hesse welcomed students attending the Ursa Experience to Missouri State on August 15th. Here are the words she shared with them.)
My name is Holly Hesse, and I am the Head Softball Coach at Missouri State. I am here to welcome you on behalf of the Athletic Department. What an exciting time in your life and what an exciting place Missouri State is to be! I have spent every day of your life on this campus and have loved every day of it. I am sure that you will also love the four, or five, or maybe six years that you spend here. 
I am going to give you your very first test here at Missouri State and we are going to test your athletic IQ with 3 questions. Let’s see how many you know the answer to.
Let’s start with an easy one…what is the Missouri State mascot? And what are their names?
Boomer and Growl
Missouri State competes at the NCAA Division I level in what conference? Missouri Valley Conference
Those were the easy ones meant to build your confidence.
This last question is tougher so I have a couple of Bear Wear T-shirts for the first two people to raise their hand and give me a correct answer…MSU won 4 team MVC conference championships last year. Name those teams: Men’s Soccer, Women’s Swimming, Women’s Softball, Men’s Baseball.
One of the things that makes Missouri State such an exciting place to be is our sport teams and the facilities that they play in.
You will enjoy watching sporting events in
o Plaster Sports Complex…home to football, ranked 5th nationally
o Hammons Student Center…home of MSU Volleyball, Beach Volleyball & Swim Teams
o Betty & Bobby Allison South Stadium…home to men’s and women’s soccer…men’s soccer currently ranked 19th nationally & women’s track and field
o Great Southern Bank Arena…home to men’s and women’s basketball
o Hammons Field…home of the Baseball Bears
o Killian Softball Complex…home of MSU Softball
We invite and encourage you to do four things as a student of Missouri State:
1. Wear BEAR WEAR on campus and to sporting events…and especially on Fridays. (and do NOT wear other university clothing on campus!)
2. Attend as many sporting events as you can. Cheer on the Bears as they represent Missouri State on the field, court, track, or pool.
3. Join Maroon Madness, student spirit group over 1,000 strong. If you love college sports this the club for you!
4. Follow our teams on social media and download the Missouri State Bears App
CORE VALUES: three deeply held core values of the softball team
Work ethic: pay the price for success every day. Do more than just show up. Work hard and love what you are doing, what you are learning, the relationships you are building. Be fully engaged and put in the time it takes to be successful.
Positive attitude: fuel your time here with positive energy, energy that helps you overcome obstacles and challenges. Energy that comes from trust, faith, enthusiasm, purpose, joy, and passion. Get every word, every thought, and every action going in a positive and optimistic direction for that is how you get positive results.
Selflessness: which is all about service. I love the quote, “not everyone can be famous, but everyone can be great because greatness is determined by your service. “ Our public affairs mission is all about cultivating a perspective of service and strengthening the bonds that unite people. Get involved in giving back to the Springfield community in as many ways as you have time for.
And let me leave you with another one of my favorite quotes, “Life is a grindstone and whether it grinds you down or polishes you up is for you a lone to decide.”
Some days are going to be a grind, finals week is going to be a grind, College in general is going to be a grind. But use that grind to shine bright.
So again, welcome. We are glad you are here and we hope to see you a lot!
Go Bears!