PINT-SIZED POWERHOUSE: Windermere Prep Kylie Konstand, power at third base

At only 12 years old, Windermere Prep sixth-grader Kylie Konstand is the youngest member of the Lady Lakers varsity softball team — and its starting third baseman. 

Everything started two years ago, when her parents —Bill and Stacy Konstand — asked the team if she could practice with the girls and be the bat girl. The team said yes. 

“If you are in elementary school, you can’t join the team,” Kylie said. “So in sixth grade, we had a new coach, because all of our players left — they were all seniors — and they accepted me on the team.” 

After tryouts and a couple of trial runs at second base, Athletic Director Patrick Hollern — currently the head softball coach — moved her to third base, aka “the hot corner.”

“They realized how quick my reaction was and (in) third base, (the ball) gets hit much harder to you,” Kylie said. “(Because) I had such a quick reaction, they put me to play in third base.” 

And being the one in the hot corner is a dream come true to Kylie. She loves to get involved in all the action that is taking place during every play and also use her arm strength to throw the ball — when needed — all the way to first base.

Photo by Andrea Mujica

SOFTBALL ROAD

Kylie has played softball since she was 5 years old. In that time, her parents combined have missed fewer than three games; they love to see her perform on the field. 

“We are extremely proud,” Bill Konstand said. “We want her to get everything that she can out of the sport (and this experience). The day she decides she doesn’t like it anymore, she will not have to do it anymore, but she says she loves it, so we love it for her.” 

Kylie practices five days a week at school, a couple of days a week at her travel team — The CF Phoenix— and also works on her swing every so often with her swing coach Nikki Rombough, from RBI Training. 

“She’s grown a lot, but she puts in a lot of hours,” Bill Konstand said. “She works extremely hard. … We’ve watched her grow but she’s grown because she has put in the work.” 

One of Kylie’s goals is to take 100 swings every day. 

“I practice almost every day,” she said. “But, (because) I do practice almost every day, it’s also good to have a day or two for a break, because if you practice every day, you would get tired of it.” 

Her earliest memory on a softball field was back when she was still playing T-ball, as she remembers swinging her very sparkly — and very pink — Hello Kitty bat. 

“It would go ‘Ding!’ every time I hit the ball,” Kylie said. 

Recently, as part of the varsity softball team at Windermere Prep, she hit her first almost-homer, and that motivated her to continue pushing hard to soon be able to take the ball out of the park. 

“The ball hit the fence, and everyone was cheering,” Kylie said. “I haven’t hit a home run yet, but I’m really close.” 

LEADING LADY

For Stacy Konstand, her favorite memory of Kylie in the softball world happened earlier this year, when she got asked by her teammates at the CF Phoenix travel team to be their captain. 

Her contagious cheerful personality is one of the reasons Kylie believes her travel softball teammates chose her as captain. And even though she is not a captain at Windermere Prep, she still arrives at the softball field — for practices or games — with the same energy. 

“I think I can just be really loud and cheerful,” she said. “I’m always cheering at the pitcher when she’s pitching and at the batters when they are at bat. So, I think that’s one of the things (I bring to the team) and also, if I make a mistake, I am really good at just shaking it off.” 

During the years with the Lady Lakers, the Kondstands believe Kylie will get stronger and better thanks to the opportunity to play with older and stronger opponents. 

“You only become better at things when you compete against people that are a lot better and a lot stronger,” Bill Konstand said. “This teaches her to compete, to be resilient, to not get nervous. … She has to get herself over (those nerves). Now, the girl (who) plays shortstop next to her is a senior, and they (her teammates) love her, they can’t believe she’s out there (on the field) playing with them.”

For Kylie, her favorite thing about playing — and the reason she loves softball — is her team’s camaraderie and getting good plays during a game. 

“I love the feeling after you get a good hit or if you get a really good field,” she said. “And even if you don’t, your teammates are always there to cheer you on. I just love to say I’m on the varsity team.”