Mohegan — It was a panel discussion — “21st Century Softball: Where's the Game Going?” — based on the premise that the sport's numbers are rapidly decreasing at the youth level and designed to offer a few solutions.

The panel, though, could have been the best advertisement for the game.

Hall of Fame coach Sue Enquist, formerly of UCLA, highlighted the lively discussion Saturday afternoon at the World Softball Coaches' Convention being held for the 10th time at the Mohegan Sun Convention Center.

The room was full, despite the forecast for a blizzard, and quiet, as ESPN baseball/softball analyst Jessica Mendoza moderated comments from Enquist, UNLV coach Lisa Dodd, University of Florida pitcher and 2015 National Player of the Year Lauren Haeger, College of Charleston assistant coach Sam Marder and Planet Fastpitch Founder Denise Davis.

Haeger told of the pressures she felt upon arriving at Florida which made her fall out of love with the game for a time.

“I loved the game forever and when I got to college it was a lot. It was a lot of pressure,” Haeger said. “I felt like, 'The Gator Nation isn't going to like me if I don't perform.' I just kind of lost it a little bit.

“Then I thought, 'Who cares?' Not who cares, but who cares. Who cares about this crying fan on Twitter that's hating on me. Who cares. I'm playing in the College World Series and you're behind your Twitter account. … I thought, 'Look who I'm surrounded by. My best friends.' Once I reminded myself of that, I really fell in love with the game again my senior year.”

Haeger graduated from Florida as the only person in NCAA softball, NCAA baseball or Major League baseball other than Babe Ruth to have more than 70 home runs (71) and 70 pitching victories (73) in a career, finishing 32-2 as a senior and earning MVP honors at the Women's College World Series.

Mendoza said later that the strength of the panel was its relatability to coaches, players or just the common fan in attendance.

Mendoza lauded Haeger for her comments and suggested that part of maintaining interest among younger players is to teach them the history of the game, allowing the girls to have something which to aspire.

“It's like, 'You don't know who Lisa Fernandez (former U.S. and UCLA pitcher) is? She's our GOAT (Greatest of All-Time). … Find a couple. Take a practice and talk about a couple players. Educate these girls.”

Enquist, who has been an attendee at the convention since the start, won 11 national championships as a player, assistant coach and head coach combined at UCLA with a career record of 887-175-1 as head coach. She is a member of the Women's Sports Foundation International Hall of Fame, the National Fastpitch Coaches' Association Hall of Fame, and the UCLA Hall of Fame.

Among the suggestions Enquist has heard for the decline in youth softball participation is that the game is no longer fun.

“The generation of athletes I recruited, the game was a game, the coach was a coach,” Enquist said. “Let's give the game back to the kids.”

She suggested that the game will regain some popularity when it is expected to be added once again as an Olympic sport for the 2020 Games in Tokyo (each host city is allowed to add sports that would be popular in its culture).

Mendoza, meanwhile, had a historic 2015, serving as the first woman to analyze a nationally televised Major League Baseball game, calling the Monday night matchup between the Cardinals and the Diamondbacks on Aug. 24, and joining the next week's Sunday Night Baseball telecast during which the Cubs' Jake Arrietta no-hit the Dodgers.

She was the first woman ever to work a nationally televised MLB playoff game during the American League wild-card matchup at Yankee Stadium and earlier this month Mendoza was named as a full-time member of the Sunday Night Baseball crew.

“I'm just going to be me,” Mendoza said. “If someone has a problem with it – it's supposedly 2016 – that's their problem. I can just be me. … I love what (Haeger) said today. I love that more girls are getting the opportunity to see more women (excel)”

v.fulkerson@theday.com

Twitter: @vickieattheday