By: Ashlee Fincher
Samford Athletics
 
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Today, we continue our series named the S-Club Profile, focusing on former student-athletes and giving updates on what they have been up to since finishing their Samford playing careers. In this month's edition, we highlight former softball star Abbie Miranda Teague.
 
A local kid from Vestavia Hills, Teague grew up playing softball, being named to the All-Over the Mountain teams in both 2012 and 2013. Growing up she learned techniques from her Birmingham-Southern College Hall of Famer dad, Mark Miranda.
 
She started by taking hitting lessons from then assistant coach at Birmingham-Southern Mandy Burford, who would later become Samford's head coach from 2012 to 2021, in the seventh grade. Teague originally became connected with BSC through her dad's connections from his time playing baseball there. The relationship she built with the coach during their hitting lessons led her to join the Samford Softball team for the Spring 2014 season. "I had blinders on", Teague says of her desire to play for Burford.
 
A powerful force on the team, Teague garnered many accolades while at Samford. She was named to the 2015 and 2016 All-SoCon Tournament teams. Teague led the team in RBI in 2016 with 42, with that total tied for second most in a single season in program history. She is also sixth in school history in career hits (173), fourth in career runs scored (115), fourth in career doubles (36), fifth in career RBI (116) and she holds the record for career games played (230).
 
During her junior season, the Bulldogs won the program's first-ever Southern Conference Tournament title and NCAA Tournament bid. Teague delivered the game-winning single that drove in her teammate, Callie Brister, during the bottom of the eighth inning to secure the 2016 Southern Conference Tournament Championship. When asked about her favorite memory, Teague reminisced that her teammates still talk about this game when they gather together.
 
"We had worked so hard and for so long, and we felt that we weren't always the top team in the conference until then", Teague remembers.
 
Later that year, the team was able to play Alabama in the NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional. Teague said the memories she created with her teammates during experiences like that are what is important to her now.
 
"Having those moments with your teammates is one of the most important things. The wins are great, but the moments in the locker room, and the relationships that I built, those are what are important now," Teague said.
 
After graduation, Teague walked into an Iron Tribe Fitness gym and never looked back. Starting as a trainer in the downtown office, Abbie was a coach for two years. During her time as a coach, she drew on lessons from her college coach. Teague says her Samford coach always brought energy to her coaching saying that Burford taught her that "you are the person that controls the room and the energy of that room. The people that you are coaching are going to adapt to the energy that you have, and keeping that energy is something that is crucial to a trainer".
 
The draw to a competitive gym is not an anomaly for former Samford student-athletes. It has become common for many Samford student-athlete alumnae to join a CrossFit type gym like Iron Tribe or Nexus fitness. When we sat down with Abbie to understand what draws former athletes to this specific type of work out, she had some very valuable insight.
 
"You spend four years with your team and four years waking up to go work out and all of a sudden one day that's done," Teague said. "And you don't have a sense of comradery anymore, and it's something that's really hard to transition out of in adulthood."
 
Teague said Iron Tribe provides another sense of community for former student-athletes.
 
"It's a set schedule for when I work out, and I don't have to think about what I'm going to go in and do," Teague said. "Similar to going into a workout while you're an athlete at Samford. You're doing similar workouts and I think that's why its such a big draw for athletes".
 
Now, Tague manages a gym in Homewood and has since stopped coaching. However, she has a message for all current softball players.
 
"Enjoy every moment because it's going to go by really fast," Teague said. "It might not seem like it when it's freezing cold outside, and you're waking up early for a workout. There are going to be games that aren't going to turn out so good, and games that you win, but you can learn something from everything. Enjoy every single second you get to walk out on the field, because it's something you will cherish for the rest of your life".
 
For more information on the S-Club, contact Hal Langston at hlangst1@samford.edu. For giving opportunities, please contact Maggie Folker at mrountr1@samford.edu.