Kasie Smith '17 Recruiting Profile

I started playing softball when I was seven years old. Instantly it became my favorite thing to do! I started with coach pitch on a district ball team playing first base. I lived and breathed ball that season, the season came to an end but I still had a ball in my hands everyday. I would come home from school and do my chores, and homework then would go outside and throw or hit the ball for as long as I could. I have played on that district team every year since then. My mother couched my team for a few of those years and some might think she was an laid back couch she never let me slack on anything. I can remember her saying this is your team, if you don't give everything you have how do you expect them to give everything. I have aged out of the district teams now but I have made lifelong friends from those years I grew, played, cried, laughed, won and lost with. I made the All Star team every year that I played for the district and though we never won a tournament we came in second a few times and always walked away with my head high saying we will try again next year. I played for school during my middle school years at Brunswick Academy then moved to Park View Middle. I am now playing with Park View High School freshman year a Jr. varsity member. The season will start for us again in January when we start with our conditioning and training. As I stated earlier I started out on first base then quickly through the years have played every position. My best and  favorite position is catching, and my least favorite and the one that I need the most work on is my pitching. I would love to be able to play travel ball with a local team but my parents can not afford the expense of traveling almost every weekend for games and/or tournaments. I have dreamed for as long as I can remember that I want to go to Virginia Tech. when I go to college. My mama always told me "girl if you want to go to that college you better get good grades and keep playing softball so you can get scholarships to help pay for it, cause your dad and I don't have that kind of money". I have trying my hardest in school to get the best grades and to do everything to the best of my ability, and continue to practice and work hard in softball. I am older now and understand that sometimes I have to expand my horizon's for my future. I have lived on a farm my whole life until this past year and have worked the land and tended to the livestock enough to where I want to do something in agriculture in my future. I am still not decided on what exactly because I love all aspects of it but am positive that it will be everything I need it to be. Although I have only been in the FFA at my schools for three years now, it has been so rewarding to me that I want to be able to help others see the beauty and wonder in our land.