When the school bell rang for the first time this fall, Kynlei Dill found herself in new surroundings as she moved from middle school to McCurtain High School where she’ll compete at a higher level on the baseball diamond and basketball court this year. But being a freshman doesn’t intimidate Kynlei who is ready for the challenge. “I’ve played basketball and softball since I was three including summer ball so I’m ready to go,” said Kynlei. “I know the talent and skill level of the players will be a lot higher this year, so I’ll have to adjust to that. Her new head coach, Shauntey McFarland, is also new to McCurtain High this year but is excited to see Kynlei in action. “Kynlei is a hardworking, highly competitive softball player that wants to exceed all expectations on offense and defense. She’s willing to sacrifice her body to make a play on defense and is aggressive at the plate and makes you work hard to get her out. She’s one of those players that if you ask her to run through a wall, she’ll do just that without asking why.” Over the years, Kynlei has mastered several positions on the diamond including catcher, second and third base, shortstop and the outfield but says she prefers playing shortstop because there’s more action there. Playing a sport as long as she has, she’s had a variety of coaches along the way and says at times that has posed one of the biggest challenges for her and caused a bit of burnout. “I’ve had coaches that played people just because they had some kind of relationship with them or because they come from well-off families instead of because they’re more talented and so that’s posed problems at times,” said the young freshman who is also involved in FCA and FFA where she has shown livestock in the past. “I still worry about burnout especially this time of year when I’m playing travel ball and school ball and now that I’m going into high school and I hope it doesn’t get to be too much.” In addition to her athletics and school activities, Kynlei is also in cheer thanks to her mom who is the school cheer coach. “She was “voluntold” she would do that this year,” said her mom as they both laughed.
