University of Delaware Athletics
Women's 50th Profile: Sandy Kupchick
5/22/2020 10:34:00 AM | Softball
In every phase of her life, Sandy Kupchick has been involved in several sports.
After playing three varsity sports (volleyball, swimming and softball) in high school, Kupchick played softball for her entire collegiate career at the University of Delaware in the late 1970s, in addition to swimming as a freshman and playing volleyball from her sophomore year onwards.
While modern sports have become specialized to the point where competing in three collegiate sports would be nearly impossible, Kupchick, who was among the first women's athletes at UD, enjoyed her opportunity to compete on such a wide variety of teams.
"Oh God, loved it. I got to meet a whole lot of different athletes, so it was enjoyable to get to have a lot of friends," Kupchick said. "With the swimming starting when I was six, that provided a lot of upper body strength to help me in volleyball and softball."
A fierce competitor, Kupchick was a power hitter who batted clean-up for some of the first varsity softball teams at UD.
The memories that stand out to her from her time as a student-athlete aren't from competition, but instead the times she spent with her teammates.
"Travel and lodging and food as an athlete, it was different back then. With volleyball, for example, every weekend we traveled to a different tournament and we had to take University of Delaware vans. We would always have two vans and we would be the drivers," Kupchick said. "I want to say there were times that we were getting, say, $40 a day. [Head Coach Barbara Viera] always knew that a truck stop had a lot of food, and it was a good price for us to be able to get something. That was a lot of fun."
After graduating, Kupchick commenced a long career as a physical education teacher and a coach. Just as she had played several sports her whole life, she coached softball, swimming, volleyball and basketball. She took what she had learned from her collegiate softball coach, Kay Ice, as she led her own teams.
"Kay was very creative. The biggest thing that stands out in my mind was with her signal calling. She created a booklet of different symbols," Kupchick said. "I taught at Brandywine High School, and when I coached there I incorporated that into the signals. One hand was for my batter, one hand was for my baserunner."
Kupchick even played professional softball for a summer with the New York franchise in the International Women's Professional Softball Association. Although the league folded after that season, Kupchick still has her jersey.
She valued her time at UD as it prepared her for life, and as one of the first generation of 50 years of women's athletics at Delaware, has enjoyed how far Blue Hen women have come.
"Delaware was a great experience for me, because it gave me a fantastic education. I got to meet a lot of really nice people and I'm still friends with many today," Kupchick said. "I got to play a couple of sports that I loved and did well in, and it was wonderful. Now to see it keep growing, I like seeing that."
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After playing three varsity sports (volleyball, swimming and softball) in high school, Kupchick played softball for her entire collegiate career at the University of Delaware in the late 1970s, in addition to swimming as a freshman and playing volleyball from her sophomore year onwards.
While modern sports have become specialized to the point where competing in three collegiate sports would be nearly impossible, Kupchick, who was among the first women's athletes at UD, enjoyed her opportunity to compete on such a wide variety of teams.
"Oh God, loved it. I got to meet a whole lot of different athletes, so it was enjoyable to get to have a lot of friends," Kupchick said. "With the swimming starting when I was six, that provided a lot of upper body strength to help me in volleyball and softball."
A fierce competitor, Kupchick was a power hitter who batted clean-up for some of the first varsity softball teams at UD.
The memories that stand out to her from her time as a student-athlete aren't from competition, but instead the times she spent with her teammates.
"Travel and lodging and food as an athlete, it was different back then. With volleyball, for example, every weekend we traveled to a different tournament and we had to take University of Delaware vans. We would always have two vans and we would be the drivers," Kupchick said. "I want to say there were times that we were getting, say, $40 a day. [Head Coach Barbara Viera] always knew that a truck stop had a lot of food, and it was a good price for us to be able to get something. That was a lot of fun."
After graduating, Kupchick commenced a long career as a physical education teacher and a coach. Just as she had played several sports her whole life, she coached softball, swimming, volleyball and basketball. She took what she had learned from her collegiate softball coach, Kay Ice, as she led her own teams.
"Kay was very creative. The biggest thing that stands out in my mind was with her signal calling. She created a booklet of different symbols," Kupchick said. "I taught at Brandywine High School, and when I coached there I incorporated that into the signals. One hand was for my batter, one hand was for my baserunner."
Kupchick even played professional softball for a summer with the New York franchise in the International Women's Professional Softball Association. Although the league folded after that season, Kupchick still has her jersey.
She valued her time at UD as it prepared her for life, and as one of the first generation of 50 years of women's athletics at Delaware, has enjoyed how far Blue Hen women have come.
"Delaware was a great experience for me, because it gave me a fantastic education. I got to meet a lot of really nice people and I'm still friends with many today," Kupchick said. "I got to play a couple of sports that I loved and did well in, and it was wonderful. Now to see it keep growing, I like seeing that."
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