Jean Lane named softball sportswoman of the year

The Delaware Amateur Softball Association has honored Jean Lane, health and exercise sciences, with its Senior Sportswoman of the Year Award.

The award honors an active female athlete, 50 or older, for exceptional accomplishments in athletics, leadership and community service.

"It was quite an honor to be associated with all those people who have received the award," Lane said.

A maintenance technician at the Carpenter Sports Building, Lane began her involvement in the Delaware sports scene during the 1960s, when she played basketball at St. Elizabeth's High School in Wilmington and spent her summers playing fast-pitch softball on a state championship team. She switched to slow-pitch softball during the 1970s.

The team went through several sponsors and name changes before settling on the Travelers, and Lane and her teammates made it all the way to California to compete in the 1974 national tournament.

In 1980, Lane was part of the Delaware Air National Guard team, which went to Alabama to compete in the Air National Guard Tournament final competition.

Involved in many competitive sporting activities as an amateur athlete, Lane said there is no single team or sport that stands above the rest.

"I don't think about any favorite period or achievement," Lane said. "I am happy with whatever I'm doing at the time."

Still active as a softball player in the Women's Recreational League, Lane joined her teammates on the Delaware Blue Chicks as they competed in the 1999 National Senior Olympics in Orlando.

While interested in all levels of athletic competition, Lane also has worked to make such opportunities available to others. In the early 1970s she helped found the Catholic High School Girl's Athletic Conference, giving members new opportunities to play in postseason tournaments.

To her colleagues in Carpenter Sports Building, Lane is appreciated as a morale booster who person who does special things like bringing people together for holiday or theme potluck lunches.?

"Jean does more for boosting the morale of those working in Carpenter Sports Building than anyone," Stephanie Shields, exercise and health sciences, said. "We are so happy and proud of Jean."

For Lane, playing her favorite sports, meeting new friends and having fun are the main reasons she has remained active in athletic competition.

"I have met a lot of nice people I normally would not have met," Lane said. "I also think you should keep doing something if it is fun for you."