BEAVER TOWNSHIP — From 2009-12, the Poland Bulldogs were one of the most dominant girls softball programs in the state of Ohio.

A well-rounded unit under the guidance of head coach Reid Lamport, pitcher Erin Gabriel was a key cog in their success as she helped the team to the 2011 state title, a state runner-up finish in 2010 and three consecutive state semifinal appearances.

A three-time ESPN High School All-American selection — she was also an all-state soccer player — she went 16-2 as a senior with 232 strikeouts while batting .461, becoming the only scholastic player named to the Junior Women’s National Team that won the 2011 ISF Junior Women’s World Championship in South Africa.

She credits her family for helping to lay the foundation for her future success.

“When I was growing up, my brother [Sean] always played baseball and I went to his games, wanting to do what he did, so he sparked my interest in softball,” Gabriel told the Curbstone Coaches during Monday’s meeting at Avion Banquet Center. “My father [George] was a big sports person who grew up playing football. While my brother wasn’t a football guy, my dad had to start to learn baseball, and he definitely did that for me with softball. He was my coach growing up, did everything for me and sat on the bucket countless hours while I was pitching.

“It was our way of bonding, then my mother [Lori] got involved and she would help by backing up whenever I would overthrow a pitch, so it became a family event. I was a big competitor, wanted to compete in everything that I did so from there on out sports became a big part of my life.”

Gabriel credited Lamport for coming along at the right time during her development as a player.

“Coach Lamport retired right after I was done, so I was very fortunate to have him as my head coach all four years,” she said. “He was a phenomenal coach and very good at keeping everyone humble, keeping us focused on the same goal year in and year out, especially as we continued to get older and our successes became greater and greater.

“The one thing that coach [Lamport] did was that he treated us the same. He never changed the way he treated me. I was always the same player to him, so I was very fortunate to have him in my life at that time, especially when a lot of things were getting bigger than I could swallow.”

Her recruitment process, while nice to hear from so many schools, became overwhelming.

“Recruitment time for me was extremely difficult,” Gabriel said. “I really didn’t have anyone I was able to ask questions of during that process, someone who had gone through it and I could trust. It became overwhelming, so we kind of stuck to a top-10 list of schools and visited quite a few campuses, some multiple times.

“I went to Tennessee five or six times before I even committed. I narrowed my list to my top three schools, wanting to play in either the PAC-10 or SEC. At that time, those were by far the best collegiate conferences for women’s softball and I wanted the opportunity to play at the highest level.

“A big consideration was location. My family means the world to me, so being able to have my parents make the eight-hour drive to my games was a big factor in my decision. They were at every single collegiate game, except for one series, so to have them there constantly was a big deal.”

She chose Tennessee over UCLA and Kentucky.

“My college coach, Ralph Weekly, was on the U.S. Olympic selection committee at that time. I wanted to play for team USA so that was a huge factor in my deciding to go to UT,” Gabriel said. “Also, one of my role models growing up was Tennessee pitcher Monica Abbott, plus their emphasis on female athletics. It was a priority for the university and I remember going to a game on one of my visits where people were scalping tickets to get in. I thought if this is how they are treating female athletics, then I want to be a part of that feeling, too. Plus, how they respected and treated their female athletes was also a key.”

In college, she was a sports dietitian major, tossed three no-hitters, two perfect games, won 21 games her senior season and earned academic All-American honors.

A hip injury during her freshman season almost derailed a promising collegiate career, an injury that changed her professional aspirations.

“The biggest thing to me was just being able to pitch again because I had major surgery on my hip,” Gabriel said. “I was told I should never pitch another softball game and that, quite honestly, shaped the rest of my career path, both athletically and professionally.

“I thought I was going to be a sports dietitian but my hip injury shaped my path to physical therapy. I didn’t go to physical therapy school until after my last semester at Tennessee, as I was already accepted at Ohio State for their sports dietitian program. It was like I’ve been through all this with my hip, I want to be able to help others go through it and get them back on the athletic field, so I ended up coming back home, going to YSU and getting my doctorate in physical therapy.”

Since September of 2020, Gabriel has been employed as a physical therapist at Tri-County Physical Therapy in Canfield.

Along with her father, they also own Full Circle Fast-Pitch, an indoor softball facility in Poland.

“Everything really did come full circle for me and that is where I came up with the name,” she said. “It really put things into perspective for me after I was injured. I did a little bit of coaching in the area when I first returned and felt this is what I want to do. I want to be able to give back and remain in this community, helping the girls anyway that I can, either on the physical therapy side or with their recruitment process.

“I get to see some of the athletes who get injured, and we all know how tough it can be mentally when you are injured and cannot play. I want to help them from the time they are injured all the way back to their return, then I get to be their coach afterwards and help them get back to their same level of play.

“Everything also came full circle for me with my dad. From catching me to now owning a facility with him, I get to coach with him and then be able to use what I went through with my injury, all the while, helping others who are going through the same thing. That is very special.”

Next Monday, Matt Thompson, Mahoning Valley Scrappers assistant general manager, will serve as guest speaker.