Kaleigh Off to Connecticut

Kaleigh Off to Connecticut

Julie Williams, Editor

A batting average of .460, struck out only 3 times last season, 10 home runs and 86 hits in her high school career. These are just a few accomplishments that personify the kind of athlete that Kaleigh Edwards is.

Next fall Kaleigh will be taking her talents to Central Connecticut State to play softball as a catcher. Central Connecticut State is a Division 1 school in softball. She committed to the school after a visit during the spring last year. Kaleigh said she made the decision to play for them after seeing the campus, “it was a good size, and the campus was beautiful,” also they had her major of physical therapy or sports medicine. Next year Kaleigh is looking forward to playing at the next level and meeting new friends and teammates. Kaleigh is looking forward to the future that softball can give to her. She has already experienced some of its advantages when she went on a trip to Oregon this past summer for a tournament. Kaleigh understands that softball will be a commitment but it is the sport she loves and that is all that counts.

Kaleigh 2

Even though Kaleigh is excited for her next big adventure she says she will never forget her time here at Tuscarora. Kaleigh’s favorite memory from her high school career was when the Varsity softball team made it to regional finals during her freshmen year. Ever since her freshman year Kaleigh has been a core part of the softball team, she has been their captain and a spectacular leader. She has even been one of the teams best players, she has been honored with first team all conference and all area for all three years she has played at the high school level.

Kaleigh has been playing softball for close to 8 years. Her commitment to the sport is shown by her year round softball schedule. She has tryouts at the end of the summer for her club team, who then meet for tournaments together in the fall. Directly after tryouts she has a two week break which is her only time off from the sport all year. In the winter her club team meets for workouts and then that ends just in time for high school tryout in the spring. She says her favorite part about playing softball is that, “it’s a team sport and if you make a mistake your team can help you out and vice versa.”

Kaleigh 3

The recruitment process is a hard one to navigate. For those who think they may want to start this process Kaleigh has one thing to say: Start Early. The earlier the better. Do as many camps as possible, you have to get your name out there.  She says, “Never settle till you know 100% that that is going to be your school”.  Kaleigh says you shouldn’t look at schools that don’t have your major; your education is what comes first. Kaleigh says that the recruiting process can be stressful but in the end it was very rewarding. She was able to learn how to talk to adults on a mature level and she was able to see that her hard work was paying off.  Kaleigh thinks the best part of the whole process was finding a place where she belongs, a campus that meets her academic and athletic needs. “The hardest part of the process was the anticipation, you never know when you will actually get recruited,” says Kaleigh. All in all the recruiting process was a positive experience that Kaleigh will never forget.