Kira Simmons '23 Recruiting Profile

Hello, my name is Kira Simmons. I’m a 16 year old living in Niagara Falls, Ontario who has been playing softball for 13 years at a house league level and as of October 2021 started playing at a Tier 2 level with Barrie Storm. I have been passionate about softball since age 4 and want to play softball to the highest level. 

In school, I am currently in the French immersion program where I took my core subjects in French (excluding mathematics)  up until grade 11. While I am in the process of my second semester in grade 11,I have been able to maintain an 83% average while actively participating in extracurricular activities such as cheerleading and badminton. I really enjoy school with my favorite subject being English. 

From birth, I have had a spinal cord injury called Brachial Plexus which affects my left arm. Brachial Plexus is  a network of nerves in the shoulder that carries movement and sensory signals from the spinal cord to the arms and hands. This injury has affected how I play softball looks wise but has not held me back any other way. For example, I field differently. When I field a ground ball I will catch it backhanded majority of the time as well as when I catch a ball it looks different from how one would normally catch a ball. I was also diagnosed with scoliosis at 10 years old which is a curvature of the spine. Scoliosis and Brachial Plexus have not affected me physically when it comes to softball but they have made me a mentally strong player who strives to work harder every single day. 

As a softball player, My core strength is hitting. I enjoy playing third and outfield but, I am also considered a Utility player. Currently one of the things I'm working on is agility. I love everything the game has to offer. Softball pushes me to be the best version of myself both mentally and physically. The feeling of being with your teammates, growing together as players while having fun, bonding over something you love and feeling like a family is one of the best feelings and is something I'm looking for when taking softball to the next level.

My ultimate goal would be to give back to my community by starting a travel softball team in my current hometown as we don’t have a travel program to take girls to higher levels. Throughout my career as a player I would like to learn new drills and new skills to show future softball players how to improve their game and shine a light on them. The inspiration for this idea comes from Scott Bullet who is a former MLB player who I myself train with in my area who offers affordable baseball programs to the youth of the community. 

Last but not least a favorite thing about softball is the comradery of the team. 

I appreciate you taking the time to read a bit about me.