University of Connecticut Athletics
Dahman Enlists in U.S. Army
4/7/2020 2:50:00 PM | Softball
A week after she was hired last July, UConn head coach Laura Valentino received a call from Ashlee Dahman.Â
The outfielder asked Valentino if she could write a letter saying it would be OK for Dahman to leave school this June to enlist in the Army.
The request caught Valentino by surprise. She knew a little about each player's backgrounds through short phone conversations, but hadn't been on the job long enough to delve much deeper.
"It was very eye-opening to me. I had never had a player like this before that was just so willing to give back," Valentino said. "You could hear it in her voice how passionate she was about serving her country."
Regardless of the NCAA granting eligibility relief for spring sport athletes because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dahman was never planning to return to UConn. This season was the end of the senior's softball career. The final game just came more abruptly than anyone could have imagined.
Dahman is scheduled to leave in June for basic training in Fort Sill, Oklahoma. The Ohio native will spend nearly nine weeks there before heading to Advanced Individual Training for six months.Â
She is preparing to become a signals intelligence analyst, which examines foreign communications/activity and relays that information by producing combat, strategic and tactical intelligence reports.
"I will be trading in one team for another and taking off one uniform and putting on another," Dahman said. "I don't know too much about the job, but I can use my degrees in psychology, criminal behavior and linguistics to kind of put my foot in the door of understanding the information I will be dealing with."
Dahman comes from a military family. Her grandparents, great uncles and mother enlisted and served. She was born in Fort Stewart, Georgia, the largest Army installation east of the Mississippi River.
Serving her country was always something Dahman thought about doing, but she wanted to play softball in college at a non-military school.
"That was always a dream of mine," Dahman said. "The moment I stepped on campus at UConn, I felt very comfortable. It felt a lot like home. My mom saw me light up and figured that was probably where I was going to go and it was."
Last summer, as her senior year approached, Dahman began thinking about the next stage of her life. The passion to serve her country was still burning inside.
Her mother, a high school teacher who was a combat medic in the Army, put Dahman in touch with a local Army recruiter in Ohio.
"I took a placement test to see what kind of job I might excel at from my scores and I found out I would be able to get into some higher-level military intelligence jobs," Dahman said. "That was really exciting because I want to eventually work for the FBI or NSA or a government agency after my military service."
Dahman's final season at UConn was off to a memorable start. The Huskies were 16-5, the best record in nearly 30 years through as many games.
They staged their last practice knowing the season would likely be suspended, only to find out hours later it had been canceled completely.
"The way it ended was heartbreaking," Dahman said. "The program went through so many changes, and for us to finally come together this season and really see how good this team could be was really exciting. We were all working for each other and not just for ourselves. I think that is the hardest part, not so much the end of my softball career, but knowing how close everyone got this year."
Valentino was grateful to have Dahman on the roster when she arrived to take over the program. Dahman was always asking what she could do to help and how she could make the program better.Â
As a member of the team's leadership council, Dahman helped UConn navigate some of the ups and downs that come with a culture change under a new staff.
"She is very coachable and is an outstanding kid to be around," Valentino said. "She was ready to jump right in head first for us as a leader. She always brought positive energy to every practice, and if you asked her to do something, she would go above and beyond for you to get it done."
Dahman has been under stay-at-home orders with her family in Amherst, Ohio. She is taking online classes to finish, and building a home gym to stay in shape for basic training.
She is not sure if her report date will change given all the unknown with the pandemic. But she will be ready for anything thrown her way.
"I am just really thankful for the opportunity I had through UConn and softball itself. I feel like it prepared me for the next step in my life," Dahman said. "It's going to be a challenge, but I have the greatest support system of friends, family and coaches. I couldn't ask for anything more from them."
Dahman wished her softball career could have extended longer, but she understands the health and safety of the country was the most important thing.
She would have liked a few more months with her teammates to bond even more and help prove the low preseason projections for UConn were wrong.
The Huskies plan to write Dahman letters during basic training to provide encouragement and keep her spirits high.Â
Although Valentino didn't get a full season of coaching Dahman, she saw enough to know Dahman will make her country proud during her six-year enlistment.
"She put her best foot forward as a softball player for UConn and now she is going to go on and do bigger and better things for our world," Valentino said. "She left her mark on this program and I am excited to see all the great things she does for the Army and in her life."
