BALTIMORE – Candice Van Horn’s vision never changed. After coming home from school each day, the recent Coppin State University graduate did something most kids her age wouldn’t. She milked cows and cleaned up a barn on her grandparents’ dairy farm, all the while daydreaming about playing softball overseas.
Those escaping thoughts have become a reality.
Van Horn departs next week to begin a new chapter of her amazing life. She signed a contract to play for the Karlsruhe (Germany) Cougars. Karlsruhe is the second-largest city in the state of Baden-Württemberg, in southwest Germany, near the Franco-German border. It’ll be the continuation of an exciting journey for Van Horn, one that started on the softball fields of Hazleton (Pa.) and blossomed into excellence at Coppin State during a remarkable four-year career.
“It’s surreal,” Van Horn said. “I am not nervous yet, but I know I will be when it comes time for my flight. I’ll be freaking out because I never traveled alone before. I always traveled with my team or parents. This is a great opportunity and I am blessed to be in this position.”
The bedrock of Van Horn’s softball career was planted while working on her grandparents’ Hazleton dairy farm, which is two hours north of Philadelphia. That's where her work ethic was forged. There she learned about dedication, discipline and diligence.
“I didn’t like working on the farm, but it was something I had to do without question,” Van Horn said. “It was lots of physical labor. Doing the hard work helped me a lot. I had no problem doing the work because looking back that helped in my success.”
Van Horn was buoyed by those very traits at the outset of her Coppin State career. She hit .210 as a freshman and missed several games as a sophomore with a broken hand. Van Horn finished her sophomore year strong by fueling a season-ending series victory over Morgan State that clinched a trip to the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Tournament for Coppin State.
Despite the obstacles and tears, Van Horn remained confident that she would depart North Avenue as one of the greatest players in Eagles' history. Her storybook accomplishments include hitting over .400 in her junior and senior seasons, clubbing 14 home runs and compiling 29 multi-hit games. Van Horn is a two-time MEAC first-team selection and a CoSIDA Academic All-District Two first-team honoree.
A Coppin State scholar-athlete, Van Horn received the distinguished Athletic Director’s Academic Excellence Award during the annual banquet earlier this month.
“I am proud of my accomplishments both academically and athletically,” Van Horn said. “I stunk my freshman year and it was emotional for me, because I didn’t know how to handle myself. I remember crying in the car with my mom.”
Four years later, Van Horn is shedding tears of joy. She earned her sports medicine degree last week during Coppin State’s commencement ceremony and now she is having her dreams come true.
“This opportunity came about because of somebody I played travel ball with played in the Netherlands last summer,” Van Horn said. “She came back in November and got me in contact with the coach. I posted something on the ISF webpage and received an email back. I didn’t think I would get picked up by the team because I thought what they were talking about playing in 2016.”
So a few weeks after wrapping up her career with Coppin State, Van Horn is excited to get started on her new career.
“I played with great players during my career like Heather (Josker), Paige (Arnold) and my best friend Gabby (Ziller), which helped me through some tough times as well,” Van Horn said. “My mom (Donna) was a big a big influence on me. She supported and helped me so much. She took me to pitching lessons, my travel teams and brought 90 percent of my equipment. Without her, none of this would be possible.”