Kalista Birkenstock '24 Recruiting Profile

I am very passionate about softball and I would love to pursue it at a college level. I feel that the reason I love softball so much is because of the challenges that comes with it and how you overcome these challenges. The game of softball is very mental and if you only focus on the problems instead of the answers to overcome these problems, your game will not be as successful. Being a softball player for most of my life has taught me to not be stuck on the reason of why I just made a mistake, but to figure out what I did wrong and do better next time. It is very important to be positive in softball because as soon as one person gets upset it brings the whole team down. I have always been supportive of my team and try to be the cheerleader whenever I am not up to bat. I think that being a slapper is a very fitting position for me because I love how I could do anything and the fielders won't see it coming. One at bat I can lay a bunt down and the next I can hit it over their heads. I love the feeling of an adrenaline rush and freedom it gives me. I have always been driven to be the best I could possibly be and I always work hard in order to accomplish this. I push my teammates as much as I push myself because I want my teammates to improve just as much I want myself to improve. My logic here is that if everyone works hard to improve their skill, than our team will only improve. I understand that each person on the field will have a particular role, but that playing together as a team will be the difference between winning and losing.  I work everyday to improve my skill from working out, to hitting off a tee or to working on my fielding. I have already improved so much from last year and I can't wait to see my skill level grow throughout the year.

I am just as passionate about academics as I am of softball. My love of learning has steered me to want to become a teacher. Although my favorite subjects in school are English and math, I would love to become a physical education teacher because of my love for sports. I would love to be able to do two of my favorite things as a career.